Almenara de Adaja

Community of Almenara de Adaja
Almenara de Adaja – village view
Coat of arms	Map of Spain
Help for coat of arms
Basic data
Autonomous Community:	Castile Leon Castile and Leon
Province:	Valladolid
Comarca:	Tierra de Pinares
Coordinates	41° 13′ N, 4° 41′ W41.213611111111-4.6769444444444780Coordinates 41° 13′ N, 4° 41′ W
Height:	780 msnm
Area:	17,16 km²
Residents:	22 [1 Jan. 2019][1]
Population Density:	1.28 inhabitants/km²
Zip code:	47419
Municipal Number (INE):	47008 Template:Infobox Municipality in Spain/Maintenance/cod_ine
Administration
Website:	Almenara de Adaja

Almenara de Adaja is a town and municipality in Spain with 22 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2019) in the province of Valladolid in the Castile-León region.

Location

The town of Almenara de Adaja is located in the Iberian Meseta about 53 km (driving distance) south of Valladolid or just under 32 km southeast of Medina del Campo, at an altitude of about 780 m above sea level.^[2] The climate in winter is cold but rarely frosty, in summer warm to hot; the sparse rain (about 400 mm/year) falls distributed throughout the year.^[3]

Population development

The continuous population decline in the 20th century is mainly due to the mechanization of agriculture and the resulting loss of jobs.

Economy

For centuries, the inhabitants lived mainly as self-supporters from agriculture, which also included a little livestock breeding (sheep, goats, chickens) and, to a lesser extent, viticulture. Surpluses earned could hardly be sold because of the great distance to the cities.

History

A Roman estate (villa rustica) was discovered and uncovered in the municipal area. In the 8th century the area was conquered by the Moors. In the 10th century, united Leonese-Castilian armies led by the Castilian Count Fernán González conquered the depopulated areas south of the Duero, but the Moorish military leader Almanzor reversed the successes at the end of the 10th century. After the final reconquest (reconquista) by Alfonso VI in the late 11th century, the almost deserted area was repopulated; the town of Almenara de Adaja belonged to the Kingdom of León. After previous attempts, León finally united with the Kingdom of Castile in 1230. The town flourished at the end of the Middle Ages and in the early modern period.

Places of interest

Pegasus(?) Mosaic

• The single-nave Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary and was built in the 13th century in a simple Mudejar style. In the 17th century, a half-open bell storey was added to the apse. Inside the church there are several baroque altarpieces.^[4]
• In front of the entrance to the church is a stone cross.

Surroundings

• The Roman villa is located about 2 km south of the village, on the border with the neighbouring municipality of Puras. Excavation work carried out at the end of the 20th century uncovered the plastered foundation walls with painting remains and several figurative and geometric mosaics of good quality. The entire complex of the villa has been reconstructed in its original size and furnished.
• A museum was opened next to the excavation site in 2003, offering a variety of information and insights into life on a Roman estate.^[5][6][7]

Web links

Commons: Almenara de Adaja– Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual references

1. ↑ Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero. Population statistics of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update)
2. ↑ Almenara de Adaja – Map with altitude data
3. ↑ Almenara de Adaja – Climate tables
4. ↑ Aldeamayor de San Martín – Church of San Miguel
5. ↑ Almenara de Adaja – Roman villa
6. ↑ Almenara de Adaja – Roman villa
7. ↑ Almenara de Adaja – Roman villa