Ademuz

Ademuz
Ademuz
Municipality
	Ademuz
	Panoramic view
Postal code	46140
Official language(s)	Spanish
Website	Official website

Ademuz is a

Valencian Community, Spain. The name in Valencian

is Ademús, but the local language is Spanish, not Valencian.

History

The many archaeological remains still present from different time periods—Neolithic, Iberian, Roman—reveal an early occupation of the area. Notwithstanding, the first written references are Arabic ones, focusing on its castle, whose advantageous emplacement dominated the Turia river and its natural passage from the lands of Aragon to the city of Valencia.

The Muslim fortress of Al-Dāmūs was conquered by Peter II of Aragon in 1210, with the aid of the hospitalier and templar knights, who were rewarded with the right to collect some taxes from the area. It fell back into Muslim hands shortly thereafter. It was finally incorporated into the kingdom of Valencia by James I of Aragon, who put it under direct control of the crown, together with the other historical village of the comarca, Castielfabib.

As a royal villa, Ademuz periodically sent an elected representative to the

Peter IV of Aragón

and his immediate successors, who gave the villa new rights and privileges.

From the beginnings of the 14th century onwards, Ademuz and its countryside were also an Encomienda of the Order of Montesa, which anyway never ruled over Ademuz, limiting itself to collect some taxes they had rights over.

On June 7, 1656, the villa suffered a massive earthquake which destroyed the primitive church of San Pedro Intramuros, the city council and forty other houses; the ramparts and the towers of the castle, which had been built surrounding the top of the mountain were also destroyed. Notwithstanding, Ademuz's castle will still prove its worth during the many civil wars of the 19th century, with it being occupied and (supposedly) rebuilt several times by

carlist

troops.

The two original municipalities which existed in the Rincón's comarca, Castielfabib and Ademuz, became fragmented over time, affecting specially that of Ademuz, from which several villages seceded as they reached some populational and economical importance: Vallanca (17th century), Puebla de San Miguel (18th century), Casas Altas y Casas Bajas (both during the 19th century).