Daroca | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 41°6′55″N1°24′50″W / 41.11528°N 1.41389°W | |
Country | Spain |
Autonomous community | Aragon |
Province | Zaragoza |
Comarca | Campo de Daroca |
Government | |
• Mayor | Miguel García Cortés (2011-?) |
Area | |
• Total | 52.05 km2 (20.10 sq mi) |
Elevation | 782 m (2,566 ft) |
Population (2018) [1] | |
• Total | 1,996 |
• Density | 38/km2 (99/sq mi) |
Demonym | Darocenses |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 50360 |
Website | Official website |
Daroca is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, situated to the south of the city of Zaragoza. It is the center of a judicial district.
It is located in the basin of Calatayud, in the valley of the Jiloca river. N-234 highway passes through Daroca.
According to certain writers, the primitive Celtiberian village in this location was named Darek. The Romans named it Agiria, building a strong castle to defend the Laminium road, which passed through the village and connected Zaragoza with Valencia.
The Arabs gave it the name Calat-Darawca (862), and possessed it for 400 years, until Alfonso the Battler conquered it in 1120, and in 1141 issued a primitive legal code, which is unknown today. In the 12th century, Ramon Berenguer IV gave it the laws and privileges which made it the capital of the Community of Daroca, which had a great social and military influence in the Middle Ages. It had a vote in courts and was the site of several famous assemblies: 1196 (Peter II), 1222-1243 (James I), 1311 (James II), and 1338 (Peter IV), in which peace was arranged with Castile. In a war against Peter of Castile, Daroca resisted a siege, which led to the awarding of the status of city on April 26, 1366.
City life was ruled by the council, whose principal members were the justice, judge, jurors, almutazaf, scribes, major-domos, and other minor officials. The terms for municipal offices lasted one year, and they were elected by the council. The justice was appointed by the king from a set of three candidates chosen by the council, and the judge and jurors were chosen by the king directly. All of this occurred on January 1. Economically, agriculture and livestock were the principal occupations of the inhabitants. There were three social groups, Christians, Jews, and Muslims, which enjoyed the same laws and privileges, although they were organized separately.
The city served as a frequent stop for journeys to places in the area, and was visited by the Catholic Monarchs, Charles I, Philip II, and Philip III, on his route from Madrid to Zaragoza and Catalonia. Philip V also was in Daroca and so was his rival to the throne, Charles II. After the death of Charles II, Daroca embraced the cause of the Austrian pretender to the throne, Charles III, instead of the French-backed candidate Philip, duke of Anjou, which led to the occupation and sacking of the city in the War of Spanish Succession.
This ended almost six centuries of municipal autonomy: the office of the justice disappeared, and was substituted for a royal magistrate; the council was reorganized to remove the jurors and add eight regents, a secretary, and two joint deputies. During the Peninsular War, Napoleon's troops entered Daroca in June 1808, destroying a good part of the Dominican convent, and returned periodically to control the city and attack the resistance; later the French left a permanent garrison. Daroca was liberated in August 1813. France had taken Ferdinand VII of Spain prisoner, and when he returned in 1814, he stayed in Daroca, and communicated a new constitution.
During the Carlist Wars of the 19th century, it was occupied by the Carlist forces in 1834, 1837, and 1872, but all of these were sporadic because Daroca remained loyal to the monarchy of Isabel II. The occupations were due to the geographical proximity of the Carlist redoubt of Maestrazgo.
From the middle of the nineteenth century, the economic situation improved due to successful agriculture, which spurred the development of commerce and small industry. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Teruel-Calatayud railway was built, which strengthened the commercial position of Daroca. In these years, embankments were built in the Jiloca gorge and there was reforestation in an attempt to avoid the disasters caused by periodic flooding. Afterwards the city began to decline, although it kept its position thanks to the industrialization and the mechanization of the field. However, it was not able to adapt to the new times and the markets began to disappear. Today there is an attempt to revitalize commerce and potentially tourism, but agriculture is suffering a difficult reversal, because there are no young people in the area to carry on the traditional viticulture and horticulture, and the fields are filling with forest plants.
The climate in Daroca is cold semi-arid (BSk) [3] under the Köppen classification and oceanic with hot summer and cool winter (Doak) [4] under the Trewartha classification. This type of climate is common in Spain's interior, with low annual rainfall and high summer sunshine. Summers are hot, but tempered by elevation. Winters are warm for the elevation and latitude, although cool by Spanish standards.
Climate data for Daroca, 779 metres (2,556 ft) above sea level (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 21.3 (70.3) | 27.0 (80.6) | 32.2 (90.0) | 31.7 (89.1) | 35.8 (96.4) | 39.0 (102.2) | 39.7 (103.5) | 41.0 (105.8) | 38.6 (101.5) | 32.9 (91.2) | 25.3 (77.5) | 20.0 (68.0) | 41.0 (105.8) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.6 (49.3) | 11.7 (53.1) | 15.4 (59.7) | 17.0 (62.6) | 21.4 (70.5) | 27.0 (80.6) | 30.8 (87.4) | 30.3 (86.5) | 25.7 (78.3) | 19.8 (67.6) | 13.5 (56.3) | 10.0 (50.0) | 19.4 (66.9) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 4.5 (40.1) | 5.9 (42.6) | 8.8 (47.8) | 10.7 (51.3) | 15.0 (59.0) | 19.7 (67.5) | 23.0 (73.4) | 22.8 (73.0) | 18.6 (65.5) | 13.7 (56.7) | 8.3 (46.9) | 5.3 (41.5) | 13.0 (55.4) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −0.6 (30.9) | 0.0 (32.0) | 2.2 (36.0) | 4.4 (39.9) | 8.5 (47.3) | 12.5 (54.5) | 15.2 (59.4) | 15.2 (59.4) | 11.5 (52.7) | 7.6 (45.7) | 3.0 (37.4) | 0.5 (32.9) | 6.7 (44.1) |
Record low °C (°F) | −21.2 (−6.2) | −18.6 (−1.5) | −12.7 (9.1) | −5.5 (22.1) | −2.3 (27.9) | 1.8 (35.2) | 5.2 (41.4) | 3.8 (38.8) | −2.3 (27.9) | −3.7 (25.3) | −11.4 (11.5) | −22.4 (−8.3) | −22.4 (−8.3) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 21 (0.8) | 22 (0.9) | 22 (0.9) | 44 (1.7) | 58 (2.3) | 45 (1.8) | 22 (0.9) | 24 (0.9) | 37 (1.5) | 38 (1.5) | 34 (1.3) | 26 (1.0) | 393 (15.5) |
Average rainy days | 5 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 64 |
Average snowy days | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 126 | 154 | 205 | 211 | 247 | 293 | 342 | 313 | 242 | 184 | 134 | 112 | 2,565 |
Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología [5] |
Alfonso I, called the Battler or the Warrior, was King of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Peter I. With his marriage to Urraca, queen regnant of Castile, León and Galicia, in 1109, he began to use, with some justification, the grandiose title Emperor of Spain, formerly employed by his father-in-law, Alfonso VI. Alfonso the Battler earned his sobriquet in the Reconquista. He won his greatest military successes in the middle Ebro, where he conquered Zaragoza in 1118 and took Ejea, Tudela, Calatayud, Borja, Tarazona, Daroca, and Monreal del Campo. He died in September 1134 after an unsuccessful battle with the Muslims at the Battle of Fraga.
Aragon is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza. The current Statute of Autonomy declares Aragon a historic nationality of Spain.
Pamplona, historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain.
The Crown of Aragon was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona and ended as a consequence of the War of the Spanish Succession. At the height of its power in the 14th and 15th centuries, the Crown of Aragon was a thalassocracy controlling a large portion of present-day eastern Spain, parts of what is now southern France, and a Mediterranean empire which included the Balearic Islands, Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Malta, Southern Italy, and parts of Greece.
Ponferrada is a city of Spain, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Ponferrada, the second most populated municipality of the Province of León, is also the capital city of El Bierzo, the only comarca recognized as an administrative entity by law in the region.
Calatayud is a municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest town in the province after the capital, Zaragoza, and the largest town in Aragón other than the three provincial capitals. It is the seat of the comarca of Calatayud. Its population has been declining during the last decade due to migration.
The Banu Tujib, the Tujibids or Banu al-Muhajir, were an Arab dynasty on the Upper March of Al-Andalus active from the ninth to the eleventh centuries. They were given control of Zaragoza and Calatayud by the Umayyads as a counterweight to the independence-minded Muwallad nobility of the region. In Zaragoza, they developed a degree of autonomy that served as the precursor to their establishment of an independent Taifa of Zaragoza after the collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba. They ruled this taifa from 1018 until they were expelled by another Arab dynasty, the Banu Hud, in 1039. An exiled junior line of the family, known as the Banu Sumadih, established themselves as rulers of the Taifa of Almería, which they held for three generations, until 1090.
The Diocese of Tarazona is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in north-eastern Spain, in the provinces of Zaragoza, Soria, Navarre and La Rioja, forming part of the autonomous communities of Aragón, Castile-Leon, Navarre and La Rioja. The diocese forms part of the ecclesiastical province of Zaragoza, and is thus suffragan to the Archdiocese of Zaragoza.
Peracense is a town in the province of Teruel, Aragon, on the north-east of Spain. It is located 51 kilometres from Teruel, the capital province.
Ademuz is a municipality in the comarca of Rincón de Ademuz in the Valencian Community, Spain. The name in Valencian is Ademús, but the local language is Spanish, not Valencian.
Torrijo del Campo is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2018 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 447 inhabitants.
Manchones is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the Spanish Statistical Institute (INE), the municipality had a population of 123 inhabitants in 2010. The pueblo is in the comarca of Campo de Daroca, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) northwest of Daroca and just southeast of Murero in the Calatayud-Daroca depression. The Jiloca River passes to the west.
Villadoz is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2020 census, the municipality has a population of 95 inhabitants.
Alustante is a municipality located in the judicial region of Molina de Aragón, in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2008 census (INE), the village has a population of 236 inhabitants. It is situated in the south-east of Guadalajara (province), 190 km from the capital city Guadalajara, 64 km from Teruel, 114 km from Cuenca, 195 km from Zaragoza and 210 km from Valencia.
The Comunidad de Calatayud is one of the comarcas of Aragon, Spain. It is one of twelve comarcas within the province of Zaragoza in Aragón. The administrative headquarters are in the city of Calatayud. Local wine achieved Denominación de Origen status in 1990 and it is the second largest wine-producing area in Aragón after Cariñena (DO). Fruit and wheat are major agricultural products, there is also light industry and tourism. The area is noted for balnearios at Alhama de Aragón, Jaraba, and Paracuellos, also for its mudéjar architecture.
The river Jalón is located in the northeast of Spain, and is one of the principal tributaries of the Ebro. It has a length of 224 kilometres (139 mi) and drains a basin of 9,338 square kilometres (3,605 sq mi). The flow rate in Calatayud is 20.8 cubic metres per second (730 cu ft/s), but is highly irregular due to the great range of Mediterranean rainfall patterns.
The Jiloca is a river in Aragón, Spain, a tributary of the river Jalón, and part of the watershed of the Ebro basin. The course of the river runs through the provinces of Teruel and Zaragoza. It has a length of 126 kilometres (78 mi) and an average flow rate of 2.1 cubic metres per second (74 cu ft/s), although this varies between the seasons. The river flows in a generally north easterly direction from its source near Monreal del Campo.
The Province of Calatayud was a province of Spain created in the 1822 territorial division of Spain, during the Trienio Liberal of 1820–1823. It included the Aragonese comarcas of Comunidad de Calatayud, Campo de Daroca, Aranda, the southern part of Valdejalón, the northern part of the Comarca del Jiloca, as well as some municipalities that now fall in the provinces of Soria and Guadalajara. It had a population of 105,947, which constituted 0.9 percent of the Spanish population at the time. Its capital was Calatayud.
The Battle of Épila was fought on July 21, 1348, near Zaragoza, in what is now Spain, between the supporters of the Union of Aragon and King Peter IV, led by Don Lope de Luna. This battle was the culmination of a long confrontation between a large segment of the nobility and the people of Aragon against the king, ending with the decisive defeat of the Union.
The Wall of Daroca is a fortification located in Daroca in the Spanish Province of Zaragoza. First built as a Muslim fortification in the 11th or 12th centuries, the wall expanded with Daroca under Christian rule as the city itself expanded. The original wall had segments broken up by the Castillo Mayor. It has around 4 kilometers of walls with several gates and major tower and 114 towers.