Antequera
Antequera | ||
---|---|---|
Municipality | ||
Autonomous community Andalusia | | |
Province | Málaga | |
Comarca | Antequera | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Manuel Jesús Barón Ríos (PP) | |
Area | ||
• Total | 749.34 km2 (289.32 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 575 m (1,886 ft) | |
Population (2018)[2] | ||
• Total | 41,154 | |
• Density | 55/km2 (140/sq mi) | |
Demonyms | antequerano, -na | |
Website | www.antequera.es |
Antequera (Spanish pronunciation: [anteˈkeɾa]) is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (el corazón de Andalucía) because of its central location among Málaga, Granada, Córdoba, and Seville. The Antequera Dolmens Site is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
In 2011, Antequera had a population of 41,854. It covers an area of 749.34 km2 with a population density of 55.85 inhabitants/km2, and is situated at an altitude of 575 meters. Antequera is the most populous city in the interior of the province and the largest in area. It is the twenty-second largest in Spain.[3] The city is located 45 km from Málaga and 115 km from Córdoba. The cities are connected by a high-speed train and the A-45 motorway. Antequera is 160 km from Seville and 102 km from Granada, which is connected by motorway A-92 and will be connected by the high-speed Transverse Axis Rail in the near future.[4]
Due to its strategic position in transport and communications, with four airports located approximately one hour away and the railway running from the Port of Algeciras, Antequera is emerging as an important centre of transportation logistics, with several industrial parks, and the new Logistics Centre of Andalusia (Centro Logístico de Andalucía).[5] In addition, the Vega de Antequera, watered by the river Guadalhorce, is a fertile agricultural area that provides cereals, olive oil, and vegetables in abundance.[6]
The nearby natural reserve of
Geography
Overview
Antequera lies 47 km north of the city of
The saltwater
Municipality
Antequera borders with the
History
Prehistory
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Criteria | Cultural: i, iii, iv |
Reference | 1501 |
Inscription | 2016 (40th Session) |
Area | 2,446.3 |
Buffer zone | 10,787.7 |
On the northern outskirts of the city there are two
The larger one, Dólmen de Menga, is twenty-five metres in diameter and four metres high, and was built with thirty-two
The Dólmen del Romeral, which dates from about 1800 BCE, is outside the city. A large number of smaller stones were used in its construction.
Los Silillos, a significant Bronze Age prehistoric village was uncovered several miles north of Antequera.[13]
From the 7th century BC, the region was settled by the
]The dolmen complex of Menga, Viera, and Romeral was inscribed as a
Ancient history
The city was known to the
During the
Middle ages
The
On 16 September 1410, after a nearly 4-month siege, the city capitulated to a Castilian army led by the infante Ferdinand of Trastámara.[16][15][n. 1] The Muslim population was forced to leave their homes, departing to Archidona and Granada.[17] Following a compromise, they surrendered the castle and their Christian slaves in exchange for being provided with beasts of burden to carry their goods out of the city.[18] For two days, they were able to sell their properties.[18] 895 men, 770 women and 863 children left.[19] The settling for new Christian population was tasked to Rodrigo de Narváez.[18] After the conquest and up until 1487, Antequera was attached to Seville from an ecclesial standpoint.[18]
The city became part of the Kingdom of Seville,[20] a realm of the Crown of Castile. On 20 February 1448,[21] despite some earlier reluctance to take such a dangerous measure in a relatively big town, John II granted Antequera the privilege of homicianos,[22] thus easing the conditions for the settling of criminals seeking redemption. However demographic growth in Antequera, a borderland that had been recently endangered by the military campaign undertaken by Muhammad X in the area,[23] did not substantially improve.[24] By 1477 the situation was critical. Nasrids attempted to conquer the city, ravaging the crops and firing housing.[25]
The city served as major military power base during the
Population boomed after the
Early modern history
Throughout the 16th century Antequera, that enjoyed a rich neighbouring vega irrigated by the Guadalhorce, was noted as cereal production centre, and was key in the food provision of Málaga.[28] The economic fabric of the city shifted from a borderland military-focused economy to the strengthening of the agricultural role in the early 16th century.[29]
Antequera became an important commercial town at the crossroads between Málaga to the south, Granada to the east, Córdoba to the north, and Seville to the west. Because of its location, its flourishing agriculture, and the work of its craftsmen, all contributing to the cultural growth of the city, Antequera was called the "Heart of Andalusia" by the early sixteenth century. During this time the townscape also changed. Mosques and houses were torn down, and new churches and houses built in their place. The oldest church in Antequera, the late Gothic Iglesia San Francisco, was built around the year 1500.
In 1504, the humanist university of the Real Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor was founded; it became a meeting place for important writers and scholars of the Spanish Renaissance. A school of poets arose during the sixteenth century that included Pedro Espinosa, Luis Martín de la Plaza, and Cristobalina Fernández de Alarcón. A school of sculpture produced artists who were employed mainly on the many churches built, and who were in demand in Seville, Málaga and Córdoba and the surrounding areas. The newly built churches included San Sebastián in the city centre and the largest and most splendid of the city, Real Colegiata de Santa María, with its richly decorated mannerist façade.
Still more churches and convents were built into the eighteenth century (today there are 32 in the city altogether), as were palaces for the members of the aristocracy and the wealthier citizens, in the Spanish Baroque style.
Antequera's prosperity slowly came to a close at the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth. Spain had to accept the loss of its American colonies and lost a number of crucial military conflicts in Europe. That led to a deep economic crisis, which in some parts of the country, led people to turn to bartering. Church, aristocracy, and the upper middle class — the great landowners — who had been the clients and sponsors of the creative arts, lost most of their fortunes and could not afford to build more churches or palaces.
Late modern history
Starting from the mid-eighteenth century, Spain underwent a series of reforms, in particular a land reform and the reduction of the power of the Church (the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767) that produced a slow economic recovery. In Antequera, textile production became the main industry.[
In the 1960s, the nearby Costa del Sol developed into an international tourist hotspot and Antequera experienced another economic upswing. Today the city is an important tourist and cultural center, nationally, as well as regionally.
Main sights
Religious architecture
- Church Real Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor (1514–1550), a national monument built in a transition style between the late Gothic and the Renaissasance ones - the façade construction used stones from the abandoned Roman town of Singilia Barba, located north of Antequera
- Church Real Colegiata de San Sebastián, built from 1548—originally in Renaissance style, it has a Baroque bell tower and a Neoclassicist interior
- Convent of Madre de Dios de Monteagudo (1747–1761) - it has a notable Baroque bell tower
- Convento de la Encarnación (1580) - in Mannerist-Mudéjar style
- Convent of Belén (early sixteenth century)
- Church of San Pedro (sixteenth century), with traces of a previous Gothic edifice
- Royal Monastery of San Zoilo , founded in 1500—in Gothic style, it has been declared national monument
- Church of St. John the Baptist (finished in 1584) - it has an austere façade, with a notable Baroque interior
- Church of Santiago (1522)
- Church of the Carmen (1583–1633), in Mannerist-Baroque style - it has a tre retablos in the main chapel, dating to the eighteenth century
- Chapel of the Virgen del Socorro, an isolated small church in the port area - it was built in 1715
Other buildings
- Alcazaba, a Moorish fortress erected over Roman ruins in the 14th century
- the eighteenth century Palace of Nájera, now home to the Municipal Museum[30]
- The bullring, dating from 1848, was rebuilt beginning in 1984, in a style that reflects the city's diverse architectural influences
- Arco de los Gigantes ("Giants' Arch"), erected in 1595 in honour of King Philip II of Spain, and partly constructed of inscribed Roman masonry
- The excavated Roman bathsmay be seen in the southeast part of the city
- Roman villa of Estación: (1st century BC-4th century AD)
The city's museums house about 80% of all the art treasures in the province of Málaga, which makes it one of the cultural centres of Andalusia.
In the eastern suburbs there is one of the largest burial mounds in Spain, dating from the
Economy
Historically, the region's economy was based on the production and processing of agricultural products (
Today, tourism is the main industry and there are an increasing number of international visitors.
Transport
Antequera has two railway stations: Antequera-Ciudad which is a stop for Media Distancia trains between Seville and Almería; and Antequera-Santa Ana which receives services on the Antequera–Granada high-speed rail line and the Madrid–Málaga high-speed rail line.
Notable people
- Juan de Pareja (ca.1606–1670), Spanish Baroque painter, pupil of Diego Velázquez
- Geronimo de Bobadilla (1630–1709), Spanish Baroque painter
- José Guerrero de Torres (1641–1720), a Roman Catholic prelate and Bishop of Gaeta
- Kiti Mánver (born 1953), a Spanish actress.
Sport
- Antonio González Álvarez, (born 1940), a Spanish retired footballer known as Chuzo, played 233 games
- Kiko Olivas(born 1988), footballer, played over 450 games
- Sergio Calatayud Lebrón (born 1990), known as Cala, is a Spanish footballer, played over 300 games
Sister cities
Town | State/Region | Country |
---|---|---|
Agde | Hérault | France[32] |
Oaxaca | Oaxaca | Mexico[33] |
See also
Notes
- ^ Ferdinand thereafter added the style "lord of Antequera" (Don Fernando de Antequera) to his titles. The city's main street still carries his name: Calle Infante Don Fernando.
References
Citations
- Junta de Andalucía. Archivedfrom the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
- ^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
- Ministerio de Fomento. Archived from the originalon 6 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ^ "La Agencia". Agencia de Obra Pública de la Junta de Andalucía (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ^ EFE (30 August 2003). "Antequera pone en marcha el Centro Logístico de Andalucía". Diario Córdoba (in Spanish). Grupo Zeta. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ^ Sánchez, Lola (5 November 2008). "Antequera, la gran despensa de patata de la provincia". La Opinión de Málaga (in Spanish). Editorial Prensa Ibérica. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ^ EFE (28 October 2009). "El Torcal, paisaje kárstico más importante de Europa". La Opinión de Málaga (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Junta de Andalucía. 29 January 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- Europa Press (in Spanish). 12 December 2008. Archivedfrom the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ^ "La Cámara andaluza volverá a Antequera a los 30 años del pacto autonómico". La Opinión de Málaga (in Spanish). Editorial Prensa Ibérica. 2 December 2008. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ^ 346011 Antequera on OpenStreetMap
- ^ "ANTEQUERA "CROSSROADS OF ANDALUCIA"". Andalucia.com. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ Hogan, C. Michael. Burnham, Andy (ed.). "Los Silillos". The Megaltihic Portal. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ "Antequera dolmens continue World Heritage status bid". Spanish News Today. September 21, 2015. Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- ^ a b c Encyclopædia Britannica (1878).
- ISSN 1695-1956.
- ^ García Fernández 2011, p. 40.
- ^ a b c d García Fernández 2011, p. 45.
- ^ Flores Varela 2001, p. 79.
- ^ Flores Varela, Carlos (2001). Estudio demográfico de la Andalucía cristiana, 1400-1535 (PDF). Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid. p. 46.
- ISSN 0212-5099.
- ^ Flores Varela 2001, pp. 77–78.
- ^ Alijo Hidalgo 1978, pp. 280–281.
- ^ Flores Varela 2001, p. 78.
- ^ Alijo Hidalgo 1978, pp. 282–283.
- hdl:10481/58713.
- ^ Flores Varela 2001, p. 80.
- ^ Escribano Páez 2018, pp. 253–254.
- ^ Escribano Páez 2018, p. 254.
- ^ Guide to Antequera
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica (1911).
- ^ "Spanish local corporations twinned with Europe". Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
- ^ "Bustamante Vasconcelos Alberto". Casa de la Cultura Oaxaqueña. Archived from the original on March 6, 2010. Retrieved October 30, 2009.
Bibliography
- Baynes, T. S., ed. (1878). "Antequera". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. II (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 102.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Antequera". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 93.
External links
- Official website
- Antequera Dolmens Site UNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture