Viver
Encyclopedia
Viver is a town in the Castellón
Castellón (province)
Castellón or Castelló is a province in the northern part of the Valencian Community, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Valencia to the south, Teruel to the west, Tarragona to the north, and by the Mediterranean Sea to the east. The western side of the province is in the mountainous...

 province of Valencian Community, 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 in the comarca
Comarca
A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada and...

 (region) of Alto Palancia
Alto Palancia
Alto Palancia is a comarca in the province of Castellón, Valencian Community .- Municipalities :*Algimia de Almonacid*Almedíjar*Altura*Azuébar*Barracas*Bejís*Benafer*Castellnovo*Caudiel*Chóvar*Gaibiel*Geldo...

.

Geography

The municipality has an area of 49.9 square kilometres (19.3 sq mi). It is crossed by the river Palancia, and an area in the south is part of the Calderona mountain range. However, no part of the municipality is in the Sierra Calderona National Park.

The town centre is located at a height of 559 metres (1,834 ft), on a rocky promontory
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...

 along the San Roque Mountain. The population has settled in the opposite direction, staggered along the slope of the hill.

Districts and pedanías

In the municipality of Viver, there are four population centres:
  • Viver
  • Masías de Ragudo
  • Masías de Parrela
  • Masías del Cristo
  • Masías del Rio

Bordering localities

Surrounding Viver are: Teresa
Teresa, Castellón
Teresa is a municipality in the comarca of Alto Palancia, Castellón, Valencia, Spain....

, Torás
Torás
Torás is a municipality in the comarca of Alto Palancia, Castellón, Valencia, Spain....

, Barracas
Barracas, Castellón
Barracas is a Spanish town located in Castellón.In 2004 a truck carrying 25 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer exploded half an hour after a traffic accident on March 9, 2004, killing two people and injuring three others. The explosion, which could be heard at a distance of caused a crater five...

, Pina de Montalgrao
Pina de Montalgrao
Pina de Montalgrao, or simply Pina, is a municipality in the comarca of Alto Palancia, Castellón, Valencia, Spain. According to the 2010 census the municipality has a population of 148 inhabitants....

, Benafer
Benafer
Benafer is a municipality in the comarca of Alto Palancia, Castellón, Valencia, Spain....

, Jérica
Jérica
Jérica is a town in the Castellón province of Valencian Community, Spain. It is in the comarca of Alto Palancia.- Geography :The municipality has an area of 78.30 km², is crossed by the river Palancia, and an area in the south is part of the Calderona mountain range...

, all localities in the province of Castellón.

History

There is evidence of human settlements during the paleolithic
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...

 period in the cave of El Sargal.

The first historical data documented for Viver is that the Roman Marco Poncio Catón founded this locality, with the name of Belsino, in 193 BC
193 BC
Year 193 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Merula and Thermus...

. Later, he changed the name to Vivarium, from which the present name was derived.

Around 1237–1239, King Jaime I
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...

 conquered Viver from the Arabs. On 24 April 1244, the King granted to the population the title of "Real Villa" (royal estate), and 12 April 1367 the Puebla Letter is granted to him by Juan Alonso
Juan Alonso
Juan Adelarpe Alonso , sometimes called Juanito Alonso, was a Spanish footballer who played for Real Madrid and was part of their European Cup victories in 1956, 1957 and 1958. He earned 2 caps for the Spain national football team...

, Sire of Jérica
Jérica
Jérica is a town in the Castellón province of Valencian Community, Spain. It is in the comarca of Alto Palancia.- Geography :The municipality has an area of 78.30 km², is crossed by the river Palancia, and an area in the south is part of the Calderona mountain range...

.

Later, this villa was given back to the King and finally sold to the Duke of Calabria
Duke of Calabria
Duke of Calabria was the traditional title of the heir apparent of the Kingdom of Naples after the accession of Robert of Naples. It was also adopted by the heads of certain Houses that had once claimed the Kingdom of Naples in lieu of the royal title....

, Virrey of Valencia, in 1537. The Duke died on 26 October 1550, bequeathing his estate to the monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 of San Miguel of Reyes in Valencia,(which was founded by him), and the monks took possession of Viver.

During the Spanish civil war
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

, Viver underwent serious deterioration. In 1945, the Parochial Church was recovered, and many of the houses were reconstructed.

Administration

The current mayor is Francisco Campos Gaullur of the Socialist Party of Valencian Country, part of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...

. He was elected to office in 2003 and reelected in 2007.

Economy

Traditionally, the viverense economy has been based mainly in the primary sector, the agricultural, stressing the vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...

, but as a result of the scourge of phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...

 in the late nineteenth century, the almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...

 and olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

 had become more important. Destacable is the production of olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

s of high quality. Lately, rural tourism has been growing, through the construction of several farmhouses.

Transport

The simplest access route by road is via the Sagunto to Somport autopista A-23. The town is 69 km (42.9 mi) from Valencia
Valencia (city in Spain)
Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...

, 70 km (43.5 mi) from Castellón de la Plana
Castellón de la Plana
Castellón de la Plana or Castelló de la Plana is the capital city of the province of Castelló, in the Valencian Community, Spain, in the east of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Costa del Azahar by the Mediterranean Sea...

, 40 km (24.9 mi) from Sagunto
Sagunto
Sagunto or Sagunt is an ancient city in Eastern Spain, in the modern fertile comarca of Camp de Morvedre in the province of Valencia. It is located in a hilly site, c. 30 km north of Valencia, close to the Costa del Azahar on the Mediterranean Sea...

, and 70 km from Teruel
Teruel
Teruel is a town in Aragon, eastern Spain, and the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 34,240 in 2006 making it one of the least populated provincial capitals in the country...

.

The town can be accessed by rail with a station (Jérica-Viver) at 2 km (1.2 mi). The town is on the C-5 del núcleo de cercanías de Valencia Valencia-Caudiel that connects Valencia and Castellón de la Plana.

Festivals

  • Ride Reyes. Celebrated January 5. The 'Reyes Magos' come in carriages, and there is a parade by the main place. At the end of the ride, every child attending events is given a gift in the hall of the House of Culture.
  • Saint Anthony. It is held on the Saturday and Sunday following January 17. On Saturday, horse racing is held in the Natural Place de la Floresta, and at night, there is a verbena
    Verbena (fair)
    In Spanish-speaking cultures, a verbena is a country fair, modest amusement park, or a dance party, especially one held at night. An old tradition, they usually take place after dark in the summer...

     (dance party). On Sunday morning, mass is celebrated in honor of Tong Anton, which blesses animals in the main square and distributes a roll of San Anton to participants. In the evening, there are popular games at the Plaza Vieja.
  • Carnival. Celebrated the last week of February. Everyone in disguise conducts a parade through the streets of the town. And then there is a verbena or discomóvil. Everyone wearing disguises gains free admission.
  • Fallas. The following takes place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to 19 March
  • San Francisco de Paula. These festivities are held on Friday and Sunday in the second week of Passover. In that bonfire of burning, the Holy Masses and processions are held in honor of San Francisco, and rice is distributed from the traditional Holy vendecido by Cura del pueblo. This rice has been distributed for years, when the monks of the monastery of San Francisco de Paula celebrated the holiday.
  • Feast of the Olive. It is generally held in June, in the Parque de La Floresta. At this fair, there are more than 50 exhibitors, among these exhibitors are shops of the people and cultural associations of the people. This fair is organized by the Exmo. City Hall and the Olive Cooperativa de Viver, also has a number of sponsors.
  • August Feast takes place over the month of August. The first week is presented for the queen of the festivities and to her court of honor. The night of August 15 is for Saint Roque in which he performs at 00:00, with a verbena
    Verbena (fair)
    In Spanish-speaking cultures, a verbena is a country fair, modest amusement park, or a dance party, especially one held at night. An old tradition, they usually take place after dark in the summer...

     (party), and people often spend the night without sleep; at 7:00 in the church square, reeds are split and handkerchiefs and people rise in romeria until Ermita de San Roque; there is a mass in honor of San Roque, and a blessed roll is distributed at the end. The penultimate week of August is celebrated as a one-week taurine.
  • Festivities are held between September and October, in honor of St. Michael the Archangel and the Virgin de Gracia.
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