Armentia | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 42°50′N2°42′W / 42.833°N 2.700°W | |
Country | Spain |
Autonomous Community | Basque Country |
Province | Álava |
Comarca | Cuadrilla de Vitoria |
Government | |
• Alcalde | Gorka Urtaran (Basque Nationalist Party) |
Elevation (AMSL) | 550 m (1,800 ft) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 215 [1] |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 01007 |
Area code | +34 (Spain) + 945 (Álava) |
Official language(s) | Spanish, Basque |
Armentia is one of the villages associated with Vitoria-Gasteiz. Its name comes from the Latin word armentum, which translated into English means "intensive farming". The village is well known for its 161 hectare park created in 1998. The northern boundary of the village is formed by the Ariznavarra neighborhood.
Armentia was a Spanish village in Álava, Basque Country and is at present one quarter of Vitoria-Gasteiz as a result of the city's expansion.
The village of Armentia was the most important religious centre in Álava in the late Middle Ages [2] and as it was the see of the bishop, its church was the first cathedral in the Basque Country until the end of the 11th century, a time when the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula was dominated by Muslim forces. Later, the bishop's see was moved to Calahorra. Now it is a titular see. [3] Armentia was a strategic point on the communications networks in Roman and late medieval times and stood on the crossroads of two important routes: the Way of Saint James towards Gometxa, and the Roman road, which, after passing by the Mariturri Spring, headed towards Zuazo, and from there to Lermanda, Margarita and Iruña.
Armentia has one of the most important Romanesque churches dating from the 12th century in the province, which is the Basilica of San Prudencio de Armentia. References during the late Middle Ages describe it as the most important spiritual centre in Álava. [4] The current building is twelfth century Romanesque and has a Latin cross plan, a transept and a semicircular apse.
2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
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215 | 221 | 222 | 217 | 225 | 222 | 213 | 227 |
Armentia park consists of a large natural gall-oak wood, located between the city and the Mountains of Vitoria, the main mountain system and one of the most valuable natural spaces in the municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz. It is precisely its location that converts the forest of Armentia into a real biological corridor between forested areas, the green periurban areas and the urban ecosystem, and this constitutes the main value of Armentia park. [5]
A major feature of the Armentia park is its extensive covering of natural woodland (104 ha), representing more than 70% of its surface area. The dominating species of the forest of Armentia is the gall oak. The park has grown over the last 25 years with the plantation of a wide variety of tree species, distributed over 40 ha of land formerly used for farming.
The forest of Armentia contains a number of different environments. There are areas of thick vegetation in which, in addition to gall oaks, there are maples, hawthorns, blackthorns and blackberry bushes, followed by areas of more scattered woodland with large clearings in some places, in which heather, badassi and juniper grow.
The Artetxo sitting area contains a number of outstanding examples of mature gall oaks with a curious candelabra-like shape, a consequence of pruning done over a number of years for firewood. On the ridges you can find beech, holly and rowan and along the edges of the small streams that flow through the park, maple, hazel and ash are very common.
The different environments that exist in the park are home to a rich and varied fauna including wild boars, squirrels, birds of prey and even about 30 species of small birds such as goldfinches, chaffinches, robins and great tits.
The environmental value of Armentia park consists of the fact that it is an ecological corridor between the green urban areas and the Mountains of Vitoria.
The fires and excessive exploitation of the last two decades placed the forest of Armentia in a very precarious state of conservation. In 1974, the Provincial Council of Álava, the owner of this land, began work to improve the gall oak wood and thus initiated the creation of a botanical park in the deforested areas, including native species together with other, more exotic plants and trees. The maples, rowan trees, cypresses and many other species date from that period.
In the mid-90s, the wood showed clear signs of degradation such as the accumulation of rubbish, remains of bonfires, and excessive number of pathways and tracks and numerous eroded and flooded areas. The disorderly influx of visitors and especially vehicles were the main threat for the conservation of this park. The natural gall oak wood contained a large number of small, bushy trees with badly formed bases, and there were few well-developed mature trees.
After being included in the Green Belt, the first work consisted of restructuring the network of paths, improving the main tracks and closing the smaller ones, and the creation of a network of pathways for pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders. The degraded areas were restored, such as rubbish dumps, eroded areas and riverbanks. Additionally, car parks were prepared at the main entrances to the park and two sitting areas were created.
Work to maintain the wood has been and continues to be a key contributing factor to the healthy state of conservation that is apparent today in Armentia park.
Álava or Araba, officially Araba/Álava, is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Álava, former medieval Catholic bishopric and now Latin titular see.
Vitoria-Gasteiz is the seat of government and the capital city of the Basque Country and of the province of Álava in northern Spain. It holds the autonomous community's House of Parliament, the headquarters of the Government, and the Lehendakari's official residency. The municipality—which comprises not only the city but also the mainly agricultural lands of 63 villages around—is the largest in the Basque Country, with a total area of 276.81 square kilometres (106.88 sq mi), and it has a population of 253,093. The dwellers of Vitoria-Gasteiz are called vitorianos or gasteiztarrak, while traditionally they are dubbed babazorros.
Artziniega is a town and municipality in the province of Álava, in the Basque Country, northern Spain. Located in the northwest of Araba, on the border with Burgos, Castile and León and Biscay, it was at the junction between the old Kingdom of Castile and the ports of the Bay of Biscay.
The Basque Mountains are a mountain range situated in the northern Iberian Peninsula. Geographically the range is considered as the eastern section of the larger Cantabrian Range. The range runs through the Basque Autonomous Community and western Navarre.
The park of Armentia, commonly known as "El bosque de Armentia", is a gall-oak forest located between Vitoria-Gasteiz and the Mountains of Vitoria, in the province of Álava and of the autonomous community of the Basque Country in northern Spain. It has a surface area of 165 has and it is one of the main biological areas in the surroundings because it has a variety of flora and fauna.
La Florida is a park in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Spain. It was built between 1820 and 1855 in neoclassical style by the architects Angel Chavez, Juan De Velasco, Ramón Ortés De Velasco and Manuel Arana. The birth of Florida is dated 1820 when they built the existing ring that surrounds the music kiosk. For the actual 32,454 square meters land used the former convent of Santa Clara, and as much as planners have insisted later, there is nothing similar in the new green spaces in Vitoria.
The Green Belt of Vitoria-Gasteiz is a set of urban parks with high ecological value, strategically linked by eco-recreational corridors. It is the result of an ambitious plan of restoration and reclamation on the outskirts of the city that seeks to recover the ecological and social value of this space through the creation of a nature tour around the city articulated by various enclaves of high ecological value and landscape. It is the result of a project which began in the early 1990s and was selected by the UN among the 100 best global performances of the III International Competition "Best Practices for improving the living conditions of the cities", held in Dubai in the year 2000. Currently, it has five established parks: Armentia, Olarizu, Salburua, Zabalgana and Zadorra.
The Gardelegi dump is the municipal dump of Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Spanish province of Álava. It is located 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of the capital. It is as large as 52 football pitches, and it stores the non-degradable materials of the area. It is named for the nearby village of Gardelegi.
Salburua is a wetland habitat on the eastern outskirts of the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque Country in Spain. The area, which is part of the city green belt, contains lakes, meadows and oak groves. It was drained in the 19th century to transform the area into farmland. Restoration work started in 1994 and has reversed this situation and now Salburua is a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. The Salburua marshes are considered to be "the Basque country's most valuable area of wetland", according to a Fedenatur report for the European Commission in 2004.
Abetxuko is a neighborhood and concejo in the municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz in Álava, Basque Country, Spain. It is located north of the Zadorra river, which separates it from the rest of the city.
Aretxabaleta is a village in Álava, Basque Country, Spain. It is part of the municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz, in recent decades it has been integrated into the urban area of the city.
Arriaga is a depopulated concejo in the municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz, province of Álava, Basque Country, Spain. It has been absorbed into the city and is now part of the neighborhood of Lakua-Arriaga.
Lubiano is a hamlet and concejo in the municipality of Vitoria-Gasteiz, in Álava province, Basque Country, Spain.
The Basilica of San Prudencio de Armentia is a basilica located in Armentia, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain. It was built in the 12th-century in Romanesque style. The basilica lies on the Camino de Santiago.
Tourism in the Basque Autonomous Community has increased considerably in recent years, and is a popular destination for tourists from Spain and France. According to data from the Eustat the number of tourists entering the region in the year 2009 was 1,991,790, with the final result still pending. 71% of the yearly visitors come from the rest of Spain; the greatest number from Madrid Autonomous Community (14.2%), and Catalonia (11.1%). International visitors make up the remaining 29% - the largest percent come from France (7.2%). 62% of the people who come to the Basque Autonomous Community visit one of the three capitals, 27% visit inland and 11% visit the coast. The average stay of the visitors is 2 days.
The Izki Natural Park is in Álava, Basque Country, Spain. The park encompasses the valley of the Izki river, which is mostly covered by Quercus pyrenaica forests. Korres is the only settlement within the park.
Zaldiaran is a mountain in the Montes de Vitoria range, in the province of Álava, Basque Country, Spain. Even if part of the south face of the mountain is on the Treviño exclave, Burgos; the summit itself lies in Álava. At the top of the mountain, apart from a tall metallic cross that was placed in 1950 by the Manuel Iradier hiking club, there are a few big aerials that transmit television and radio signal to Vitoria-Gasteiz.
San Prudencio was a Spanish anchorite and cleric who was bishop over Tarazona. He has been the patron saint of Nájera and Álava since the mid-17th century. His festival is on 28 April.
The festival of San Prudencio, in the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Spain, is held around the saint's feast day. Due to its popularity, the city organizes a number of activities. The festival begins on 27 April in Plaza de la Diputación, where a stage is prepared for the traditional Basque dance groups.
Beatriz Artolazabal is a Spanish politician affiliated with the Basque National Party. From 28 November 2016 to 8 September 2020, she served as Minister for Employment and Social Policies in the Second Urkullu Government. From 8 September 2020 to 14 February 2023, she served as Minister of Equality, Justice and Social Policies in the Third Urkullu Government led by Iñigo Urkullu.