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Villarrobledo

Villarrobledo
Municipality
Renaissance portico of City Hall (1599)
Renaissance portico of City Hall (1599)
Flag of Villarrobledo
Coat of arms of Villarrobledo
Villarrobledo is located in Spain
Villarrobledo
Villarrobledo
Location in Spain
Coordinates: 39°16′0″N 2°36′0″W / 39.26667°N 2.60000°W / 39.26667; -2.60000
Country Spain
Autonomous Community Castile-La Mancha
ProvinceAlbacete
ComarcaMancha Alta Albaceteña
Government
 • MayorValentín Bueno Vargas (PP)
Area
 • Total
862 km2 (333 sq mi)
Elevation721 m (2,365 ft)
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total
25,241
 • Density29/km2 (76/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST (GMT +2))
Postal code
02600
Area code+34 (Spain) + 967 (Albacete)
Websitewww.villarrobledo.com

Villarrobledo (Spanish pronunciation: [biʎaroˈβleðo]) is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Albacete, part of the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. It's better known for having the world's largest area covered by vineyards (more than 30,000 has., approximately 48,000,000 of vines) as well as the world's greatest production of La Mancha wine, called in Spanish Denominación de Origen. Also, it is an important center of Manchego cheese production and export and has other important industries like metallurgy and transportation.

The city celebrates a number of events, including the Carnival [es], the ViñaRock Music Festival [es], the Holy Week and the International Chess Open 'Ciudad de Villarrobledo'.

Geography

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Place of La Encantada, Villarrobledo; botanical microreserve.

Villarrobledo is located in the center of La Mancha, a Spanish region with approximately 26.000 km2 of almost perfect plain, on the eastern half of the Submeseta Meridional with elevation between 600 and 800 meters above sea level, and bordered by the Montes de Toledo, Sierra Morena, Sierra de Alcaraz and Serranía de Cuenca.

Land area limits
Direction Limits
North Las Mesas, Las Pedroñeras, El Provencio, San Clemente and Casas de los Pinos -Province of Cuenca-
East Minaya, La Roda and MuneraProvince of Albacete-
South Munera, El Bonillo and Ossa de Montiel -Province of Albacete-
West Alhambra and Socuéllamos -Province of Ciudad Real-.

Climate

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Villarrobledo has a climate that registers extreme temperatures: very low in winter (there have been produced values below −20°) and very high in summer (over 40°). The dominant winds are Solano (from the east) in summer, Cierzo (cold wind from the northwest) in winter and Ábrego (from the southwest) throughout the year. Regardless of these contrasts, the winter cold and the summer heat are dry. Spring and autumn are agreeable.

2005 CLIMATIC DATA (Juanaco place's observatory)[2]
MONTH MAT (date)
Maximum absolute
temperature
mat (date)
Minimal absolute
temperature
MRH %
Minimal relative
humidity average
P mm
Precipitation
WS m/s
Wind speed
average
January 16.9 °C (21/01) -13.5 °C (27/01) 67.50% 1.20 2'10
February 18.1 °C (13/02) -8.8 °C (18/02) 63.37% 7.60 3'11
March 23.9 °C (20/03) -8.7 °C (08/03) 57.90% 12.40 3.25
April 28.8 °C (30/04) -2.6 °C (10/04) 51.94% 7.80 3.54
May 32.5 °C (27/05) 2.9 °C (06/05) 43.40% 16.00 2.72
June 37.3 °C (22/06) 11.9 °C (02/06) 41.18% 9.40 2.61
July 38.8 °C (16/07) 12.7 °C (30/07) 35.48% 1.20 2.90
August 39.3 °C (08/08) 7 °C (22/08) 36.89% 0.00 2.49
September 34.3 °C (03/09) 2.1 °C (19/09) 48.50% 13.00 2.36
October 29.6 °C (01/10) 1.4 °C (04/10) 67.73% 58.00 2.20
November 21.9 °C (03/11) -3.1 °C (30/11) 75.32% 26.60 2.30
December 12.7 °C (07/12) -5.2 °C (15/12) 78.17 % 14.80 2.72

Slight rainful takes place during spring and at the end of autumn. The annual rainfall average is 39.02 mm. In the summer, rains appear as large isolated storms. Snowfall is not exceptionally great and occurs in December and January, and occasionally in the spring.

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1900 10,133—    
1910 12,702+25.4%
1920 14,350+13.0%
1930 17,641+22.9%
1940 20,362+15.4%
1950 21,432+5.3%
1960 21,356−0.4%
1970 19,963−6.5%
1981 19,655−1.5%
1991 20,396+3.8%
1996 22,165+8.7%
2001 22,936+3.5%
2005 24,729+7.8%
2010 26,686+7.9%
Instituto Nacional de Estadistica de España
(Spanish National Institute of Statistics)

At present, there is a notable population increase by the massive immigration of citizens of East Europe. A City Council study in 2006 found the number of immigrants to be 3,324 persons, of whom 2,011 (60.50%) are men, and 1,313 (39.50%) women, arriving from 43 different countries. The ten countries that contribute most to immigration are Romania, Ukraine, Morocco, Moldavia, Colombia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Bulgaria and Peru.

Government

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2003–2007 legislature
1. Pedro Antonio Ruiz Santos (Alcalde- Presidente)
2. José Antonio Cabañero Losa
3. Carmen Martínez Parra
4. Antonio Arribas Castillo
5. María José Parra Jareño
6. Juan Luis Íñiguez Perea
7. María Paz Saez Montejano
8. Juan Ramon Martínez Valero
9. María Rosario Herrera Gómez
10. Marco Antonio Blázquez Herreros
11. María Elvira Calero Nueda
12. Andrés Jiménez Collado
PSOE
1. Bernardo Cabañero González
2. Roman Lacoba Martínez
3. Caridad Martínez Marhuenda
4. Mariano López Ortiz
AIV
1. Maria Belen Alite Landete
2. Antonio Sánchez Moreno
3. Luis Martínez García
PP
1. Rafael Núñez Paez
2. Teresa Lozano Laguía
Not assigned1
^1 Chosen originally under PP

The City Council of Villarrobledo, presided by Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, is made up by the Councillors listed in the right table.

Also, Villarrobledo is head of No. 6 Judicial Party of the province of Albacete, which includes the municipalities of El Bonillo, Munera, Ossa de Montiel and Villarrobledo.

History

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Gothic Portic of San Blas Church (14th century)

The present location of Villarrobledo dates from 1292, according to diverse historical sources. In its history, vestiges of almost all the historical cultures that have existed in the Iberian Peninsula have existed in Villarrobledo, all the way from the Paleolithic to the present.

Archaeological findings

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Paleolithic

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...nos atreveríamos a definir la industria lítica del yacimiento de La Jaraba dentro de ... la fase del Achelense Superior final con micoquiense...

— José Luis Serna López, Avance al estudio del yacimiento achelense de La Jaraba (Villarrobledo, Albacete)

Between La Jaraba and La Paradica, there are found remains of the first human civilizations in the province of Albacete corresponding to Upper Acheulean (Lower Paleolithic) people. In this place there have been found diverse stone tools, manufactured on nuclei or stone chips, which can be seen in the archaeological section of the Albacete Provincial Museum. There are other five archaeological deposits from the Middle Paleolithic.

Bronze Age

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There are many fortified settlements from the Bronze Age, especially in the south zone of the municipal area, related to the Bronze Culture of La Mancha or Motillas Culture

Visigoths

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...Ergávica, insigne capital de valeroso distrito en el extremo de la Celtiberia, y silla episcopal en tiempo de los godos con el nombre de Arcávica. Dilatábase ... su territorio, ... al Sur, en ... Casa de Lipa, cerca de Villarrobledo... Mi estudio..., ha puesto en claro estas reducciones geográficas...

— Aureliano Fernández- Guerra y Orbe, Una Tésera celtíbera. -Datos sobre las ciudades celtibéricas de Ergávica, Munda, Cértima y Contrebia

Historically, it is documented in the Hitación de Wamba the existence of the Church of Lila, (also known as Lipa, Liba or Belida) in las Casas de Lipa (place of La Elipa, less than 10 km to the south of the urban center) assigned to the Bishoprics of Mentesa (Villanueva de la Fuente, Ciudad Real) (3rd to 7th century) and Ergávica (Santaver near Cañaveruelas, Cuenca) (600 to 693).

Villarrobledo Plaza (circa 1955)

Modern era

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The Battle of Villarrobledo was fought here in 1836.

Natives

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References

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  1. ^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  2. ^ Centro Regional de Estudios del Agua CREA- UCLM
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