Alhama de Aragón
Encyclopedia
Zaragoza (province)
Zaragoza is a province of northern Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Aragon.Its capital is Zaragoza, which is also the capital of the autonomous community. Other towns in Zaragoza include Calatayud, Borja, La Almunia de Doña Godina, Ejea de los Caballeros and Tarazona.Its...
, Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, situated on the river Jalón
Jalón (river)
The river Jalón is located in the northeast of Spain, and is one of the principal tributaries of the Ebro. It has a length of and drains a watershed of . The flow rate in Calatayud is , but is highly irregular due to the great range of Mediterranean rainfall patterns.The course of the river forms...
, a tributary of the Ebro
Ebro
The Ebro or Ebre is one of the most important rivers in the Iberian Peninsula. It is the biggest river by discharge volume in Spain.The Ebro flows through the following cities:*Reinosa in Cantabria.*Miranda de Ebro in Castile and León....
. According to the 2004 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
(INE
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain)
The National Institute of Statistics is the official organisation in Spain that collects statistics about demography, economy, and Spanish society. Every 10 years, this organisation conducts a national census. The last census took place in 2001....
), the municipality has a population of 1,150 inhabitants.
Principal industries are the balnearios (spa hotels) and a lighting factory. There are extensive fruit farms and some wine-making in the area.
The town is served by railway services to Arcos de Jalón
Arcos de Jalón
Arcos de Jalón is a municipality located in the province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain. , it has a population of 1,782....
and Calatayud
Calatayud
Calatayud is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza in Aragón, Spain lying on the river Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest city in the province after the capital, Zaragoza, and the largest town in Aragón other than the three provincial...
, where there is a connection to the high speed AVE
AVE
Alta Velocidad Española is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . The name is literally translated from Spanish as "Spanish High Speed", but also a play on the word , meaning "bird".AVE trains run on a network of...
trains between Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
.
The 1957 film Los jueves, milagro
Los jueves, milagro
Los jueves, milagro is a 1959 Spanish film directed by Luis García Berlanga.- External links :...
(Every Thursday a Miracle), by Luis García Berlanga, starring Richard Basehart
Richard Basehart
John Richard Basehart was an American actor. He starred in the 1960s television science fiction drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, in the role of Admiral Harriman Nelson.-Career:...
was filmed in the pueblo. Set in the fictional village of Fuentecilla, the story concerns a plot by local business men to revive the business of the spas by staging a miraculous appearance by San Dimas every Thursday evening.
History
The town has been known for over two thousand years, primarily because of the hot springs of the area. The RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
poet Martial
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis , was a Latin poet from Hispania best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan...
refers to its pre-Roman name as Congedus.
In the Roman era it became known as Aquae Bilbilitanorum, a reference to the waters of Augusta Bilbilis
O you, whose name must not be left untold by Celtiberian nations, you the honour of our common country, Spain, you, Licinianus, will behold the lofty Bilbilis, renowned for horses and arms, and Catus venerable with his locks of snow, and eased Vadavero with ita broken cliffs, and the sweet grove of delicious Botrodus, which the happy Pomona loves. You will breast the gently-flowing water of the warm Congedus and the calm lakes of the Nymphs.
Augusta Bilbilis
Augusta Bilbilis was a city founded by the Romans in the province of Hispania Tarraconensis. It was the birthplace of Martial c. 40 AD...
, the Latin name for Calatayud. The modern name derives from the Arabic Al-Hammam, meaning "the baths". An Arab fortress was captured by El Cid
El Cid
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar , known as El Cid Campeador , was a Castilian nobleman, military leader, and diplomat...
in 1070 but then reverted to Moorish
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
control until re-captured by king Alfonso I
Alfonso the Battler
Alfonso I , called the Battler or the Warrior , was the king of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Peter I...
of Aragón in 1122.
In the ensuing three centuries the town was disputed by the rulers of Castille
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
and Aragon, finally becoming part of the latter in 1457. In the nineteenth century, the hot springs were exploited and several balnearios were built, four remaining in operation and popular with visitors today.
Attractions
A unique thermal lake of nearly two hectares is open throughout the year in the grounds of Balneario Termas Pallarés. The water is a constant temperature of 34°C. The famous Cistercian abbey of Monasterio de PiedraMonasterio de Piedra
Monasterio de Piedra is a monastery, hotel and park complex in the Iberian System area, near Nuévalos, province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. The monastery was founded in 1194 by Alfonso II of Aragon wiht thirteen Cistercian monks from Poblet Monastery, in an old castle next to the Piedra river,...
with its water gardens lies approximately 25 kilometres to the south-west. The city of Calatayud
Calatayud
Calatayud is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza in Aragón, Spain lying on the river Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest city in the province after the capital, Zaragoza, and the largest town in Aragón other than the three provincial...
which has famous mudéjar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
church towers is about 35 kilometres to the north east. Other examples of mudéjar art can be found in neighbouring villages.
Fiestas
- La Virgen de las Candelas and San BlasSaint BlaiseSaint Blaise was a physician, and bishop of Sebastea . According to his Acta Sanctorum, he was martyred by being beaten, attacked with iron carding combs, and beheaded...
, February 2-3 - Pilgrimage (romerio) to the hermitage of San Gregorio, 2nd Sunday in May
- Pilgrimage (romerio) to the hermitage of Santa Quiteria, May 22
- San Roque, August 14-17
Famous people
- Don Pedro Gregorio Padilla y Soler, (1650-1734), bishop of HuescaHuescaHuesca is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the comarca of Hoya de Huesca....
and BarbastroBarbastroBarbastro is a city in the Somontano county, province of Huesca, Spain... - Don Pablo Luna Carné, (1879-1942), famous composer of zarzuelaZarzuelaZarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...
s. - Jorge Francisco Tello Muñoz, (1880-1958), doctor and colleague of Nobel laureate Santiago Ramón y Cajal
- Ángel ViciosoÁngel ViciosoÁngel Vicioso Arcos is an Spanish road racing cyclist for UCI Professional Continental team .- Palmarès :20002001...
, (1977-), racing cyclist