Villarta

Villarta municipality
Villarta - Iglesia Dulce Nombre de Jesus
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile-La Mancha
Province :	Cuenca
Comarca :	Manchuela conquense
Coordinates	39 ° 26 ′  N , 1 ° 39 ′  W Coordinates: 39 ° 26 ′  N , 1 ° 39 ′  W
Height :	760  msnm
Area :	25.62 km²
Residents :	793 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	30.95 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	16280
Municipality number  ( INE ):	16271
administration
Website :	Villarta

Villarta is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) with a total of only 793 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the southeast of the province of Cuenca in the autonomous region of Castile-La Mancha . The place was on the Ruta de la Lana , a once important trade and pilgrimage route that came from Alicante to Burgos .

Location and climate

The place Villarta is located on the west side of the Iberian Mountains at an altitude of approx. 760  m . Cuenca , the provincial capital, is about 100 km (driving distance) to the north-west; the city of Albacete is about 70 km to the south-west. The climate in winter is temperate, while in summer it is warm to hot; the rather low amounts of precipitation (approx. 415 mm / year) fall - with the exception of the almost rainless summer months - distributed over the whole year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2019
Residents	371	536	1,042	818	793

Due to the mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting loss of jobs, the population of the municipality has declined significantly since the middle of the 20th century ( rural exodus ).

economy

For centuries the town's economy was largely self-sufficient ; Durable products such as cheese , sausage , animal skins and wool could be sold to traveling traders or exchanged for other products. Today viticulture plays an essential role in the economic life of the municipality.

history

Finds suggest a settlement in Roman times, but there are no finds from Visigothic and even Islamic-Moorish times. One must therefore assume that the area was barely or barely populated until around the year 1000. The situation changed after the reconquest ( reconquista ) of the city of Cuenca and its surrounding region by the troops of Alfonso VIII. Of Castile in 1177 and the subsequent repopulation ( repoblación ) by Christians from all over the Iberian Peninsula .

Attractions

• The most important attraction of the place is the Iglesia Dulce Nombre de Jesus , which was built in the early 19th century and whose bell gable (espadaña) towers above the otherwise unadorned west facade.
• The ground floor of the town hall (ayuntamiento) is provided with an archway (soportales) ; the middle part of the upper floor is emphasized by a balcony .

Web links

Commons : Villarta  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).
2. ↑ Villarta / Casas-Ibáñez - climate tables
3. ↑ Villarta - Population Development