Puertollano
Encyclopedia
Puertollano is an industrial city in province of Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha
, Spain
. It is situated on the AVE
High Speed Train line linking Madrid
and Seville
(opened 1992). The city has a population of 51,842 (2009).
of the spanish word "puerto", which means both "pass" and "port". People often say that Puertollano doesn't have a port neither it is flat. It is partly built on the slopes of surrounding mountains.
town but today only one open-cast mine remains. Nowadays the main industries are petrochemicals (REPSOL), fertilisers (Fertiberia), power generation and, most recently, the manufacture of solar panel
s. The city has received national and EU aid to diversify its economy after the decline of the coal industry.
and Homo antecessor
). Bronze Age
weapons have been found and also a Visigoth
necropolis
from the post-Roman
period.
Later the region formed part of the depopulated nomansland between Christian
(Northern) Spain and the Moorish Caliphate to the south.
With the Spanish victory at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
(1212) the region was reconquered
. The authorities encouraged people from northern Spain to settle in the newly-conquered empty lands. Puertollano (then Puertoplano) was founded as a hamlet
shortly after. In 1348 however, the Black Death
devastated the village, killing all but 13 inhabitants.
Puertollano was granted the status of town (Villa) in the sixteenth century. It continued to grow slowly as a small town specializing in textiles and ceramics
until, in 1873, the opening of the coal mines led to a sudden growth in the population. By 1920 the population had reached 20,000 and city (Ciudad) status was granted in 1925 by Alfonso XIII.
Castile-La Mancha
Castile-La Mancha is an autonomous community of Spain. Castile-La Mancha is bordered by Castile and León, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and Extremadura. It is one of the most sparsely populated of Spain's autonomous communities...
, 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...
. It is situated on the 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...
High Speed Train line linking 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 Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
(opened 1992). The city has a population of 51,842 (2009).
Legend of the lie
The name of Puertollano is a concatenation of "puerto" (pass) and "llano" (flat). It is often said that "Puertollano is the town of two lies" ("Puertollano es el pueblo de las dos mentiras"), because of the polysemyPolysemy
Polysemy is the capacity for a sign or signs to have multiple meanings , i.e., a large semantic field.Charles Fillmore and Beryl Atkins’ definition stipulates three elements: the various senses of a polysemous word have a central origin, the links between these senses form a network, and ...
of the spanish word "puerto", which means both "pass" and "port". People often say that Puertollano doesn't have a port neither it is flat. It is partly built on the slopes of surrounding mountains.
Economy
Puertollano is the largest industrial center in the Castilla-La Mancha region. It was formerly a coal miningCoal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
town but today only one open-cast mine remains. Nowadays the main industries are petrochemicals (REPSOL), fertilisers (Fertiberia), power generation and, most recently, the manufacture of solar panel
Photovoltaic module
A solar panel is a packaged, connected assembly of solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells...
s. The city has received national and EU aid to diversify its economy after the decline of the coal industry.
History
Archaeological investigations have shown that the area was inhabited in prehistoric times (Homo heidelbergensisHomo heidelbergensis
Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species of the genus Homo which may be the direct ancestor of both Homo neanderthalensis in Europe and Homo sapiens. The best evidence found for these hominins date between 600,000 and 400,000 years ago. H...
and Homo antecessor
Homo antecessor
Homo antecessor is an extinct human species dating from 1.2 million to 800,000 years ago, that was discovered by Eudald Carbonell, Juan Luis Arsuaga and J. M. Bermúdez de Castro. H. antecessor is one of the earliest known human varieties in Europe. Various archaeologists and anthropologists have...
). Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
weapons have been found and also a Visigoth
Visigoth
The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. These tribes were among the Germans who spread through the late Roman Empire during the Migration Period...
necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
from the post-Roman
Ancient 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....
period.
Later the region formed part of the depopulated nomansland between Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
(Northern) Spain and the Moorish Caliphate to the south.
With the Spanish victory at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Arab history as the Battle of Al-Uqab , took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the Reconquista and in the medieval history of Spain...
(1212) the region was reconquered
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
. The authorities encouraged people from northern Spain to settle in the newly-conquered empty lands. Puertollano (then Puertoplano) was founded as a hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
shortly after. In 1348 however, the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
devastated the village, killing all but 13 inhabitants.
Puertollano was granted the status of town (Villa) in the sixteenth century. It continued to grow slowly as a small town specializing in textiles and ceramics
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
until, in 1873, the opening of the coal mines led to a sudden growth in the population. By 1920 the population had reached 20,000 and city (Ciudad) status was granted in 1925 by Alfonso XIII.