Jaca

Last updated
Jaca
Chaca (Aragonese)
Xaca (Aragonese)
Jaca a los pies de la pena Oroel.JPG
Jaca as viewed from the Rapitan fort.
Bandera de Chaca.svg
Flag
Blason de Chaca.svg
Coat of arms
Jaca
Location of Jaca
Spain Aragon location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Jaca
Spain location map with provinces.svg
Red pog.svg
Jaca
Coordinates: 42°33′N0°33′W / 42.550°N 0.550°W / 42.550; -0.550
Country Spain
Autonomous community Aragon
Province Huesca
Comarca La Jacetania
Government
 •  Mayor Juan Manuel Ramón Ipas
Area
 • Total406.34 km2 (156.89 sq mi)
Elevation
820 m (2,690 ft)
Population
 (2018) [1]
 • Total12,813
 • Density32/km2 (82/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CET)
Website www.jaca.es

Jaca (Spanish pronunciation: ['xaka] ; in Aragonese: Chaca or Xaca [2] ) is a city of northeastern Spain in the province of Huesca, located near the Pyrenees and the border with France. Jaca is an ancient fort on the Aragón River, situated at the crossing of two great early medieval routes, one from Toulouse to Santiago de Compostela and Pau to Zaragoza. Jaca was the city out of which the County and Kingdom of Aragon developed. It was the first capital of the Kingdom of Aragon until 1096 and also the capital of Jacetania.

Contents

Villages

Besides Jaca town, there are a number of outlying villages in the municipality of Jaca, including the ski resort of Astún.

History

The origins of the city are obscure, but its name is apparently of Iacetani origin, mentioned by Strabo as one of the most celebrated of the numerous small tribes inhabiting the Ebro basin. Strabo adds that their territory lay on the site of the wars in the 1st century BC between Sertorius and Pompey. According to the atlas of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, Jaca was a town where minted coins were made [3] from the second half of the 2nd century BC, a small number of which are now in the British Museum. [4] The coins show an unidentified bearded head to the right with an inscription to the left and also have an image of a dolphin. The reverse depicts a horseman carrying a spear to the right, with an inscription below in Iberian reading iaka. [4] In the year 195 BC, the Roman consul Cato the Elder began the conquest of the city, ending in the spring of 194 BC. [5]

After Roman rule, the Visigothic nobility took over most of Iberia. However, in 720, Huesca is conquered by the Muslims reaching out as far as Sobrarbe. Muslim advances in Europe had a turn of events after the Battle of Poitiers (732). By that time, the region of Jacetania would remain as a buffer zone between Vasconians, the Carolingian Empire and Muslim dominions. [6] By 799 Aureolo stabilised an independent county which gradually evolved until Ramiro I of Aragon (1035–1063) granted it the title of City and capital of the Kingdom of Aragon. In 1063 it was the site of the Synod of Jaca. [7] As the Aragonese domains expanded to the south, conquering land from Al Andalus, the capital city was moved from Jaca to Huesca in 1096. The loss of capital status did not mean that Jaca lost other urban functions related to its geographical location. Thus, it continued to play its role as a market city and services for its region. [8]

The plagues and fires of the late Middle Ages plunged Jaca into a deep crisis from which it would not emerge until the intervention of Ferdinand the Catholic to form a local government. The bourgeoisie was favored by this situation and many became patrons of artists whose results can be seen especially in the cathedral. The city was consolidated as a military post from which to defend the peninsular kingdoms from a hypothetical French invasion. In this regard, Philip II ordered the construction of several fortresses throughout the Pyrenees, including in 1592 the pentagonal Jaca citadel, designed by the Italian engineer Tibúrcio Spannocchi in the fields that had formed the Burgo Nuevo, the neighborhood built outside the city walls. [9]

On December 12–13 1930 the Jaca uprising, a mutiny whose leaders demanded abolition of the monarchy, was suppressed with some difficulty. It was an early event that preceded the Spanish Civil War.

Climate

Jaca has an submediterranean climate (Köppen: Cfb) bordering a submediterranean climate (Köppen: Cfa) with strong continental influences caused by the city's high altitude of 820 metres (2,690 ft). Winters are cool and summers are warm, with hot daytime temperatures but relatively cool nights. There isn't any real dry season, but the rainiest seasons are autumn and spring. The average precipitation is 768 millimetres (30.2 in) per year. Frost is common and so is snowfall, snow being common from late November to early March. Heavy snowfalls are sporadic and usually occur during cold spells. Jaca's average annual temperature is 12.2 °C (54.0 °F).

Citadel of Jaca. Acceso a la fortaleza de Jaca.jpg
Citadel of Jaca.
Detail of the interior of Jaca Cathedral. Detalle del Capitel del rey David con musicos.jpg
Detail of the interior of Jaca Cathedral.
Climate data for Jaca, 1981–2010
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)9.5
(49.1)		11.0
(51.8)		14.7
(58.5)		16.2
(61.2)		20.5
(68.9)		25.7
(78.3)		29.4
(84.9)		29.0
(84.2)		24.4
(75.9)		19.0
(66.2)		13.2
(55.8)		9.8
(49.6)		18.5
(65.4)
Daily mean °C (°F)4.4
(39.9)		5.3
(41.5)		8.3
(46.9)		10.0
(50.0)		14.0
(57.2)		18.4
(65.1)		21.6
(70.9)		21.3
(70.3)		17.5
(63.5)		13.2
(55.8)		7.9
(46.2)		4.9
(40.8)		12.2
(54.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)−0.8
(30.6)		−0.4
(31.3)		1.8
(35.2)		3.7
(38.7)		7.5
(45.5)		11.1
(52.0)		13.7
(56.7)		13.6
(56.5)		10.6
(51.1)		7.3
(45.1)		2.6
(36.7)		0.0
(32.0)		5.9
(42.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches)57.9
(2.28)		48.9
(1.93)		47.8
(1.88)		82.2
(3.24)		76.4
(3.01)		48.6
(1.91)		37.4
(1.47)		43.2
(1.70)		68.2
(2.69)		89.6
(3.53)		89.0
(3.50)		79.3
(3.12)		768.5
(30.26)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm)10.08.78.611.812.57.16.16.47.510.911.311.0111.9
Source: World Meteorological Organization (WMO) [10]

Main sights

Jaca boasts several medieval walls and towers surrounding the 11th-century Romanesque Jaca Cathedral.

The Jaca citadel, a fortification dating to the late 16th century, is home to a colony of rock sparrows.

The Diocesan Museum of Jaca (Museum of Medieval Sacred Art) protects Romanesque and Gothic frescos, some of which were found in the most remote locations in the Jaca district.

Tourism and sports

Jaca is a tourist destination in the region for summer holidays and winter sports.

Starting in the early 1970s, the city was transformed from being a small provincial and garrison town to become the gateway to a mid-tier mountain sports area with two major winter resorts (Valle de Astun and Candanchu) within a 30 km (19 mi) drive of the city.

The accompanying urban and infrastructure development in the 1970s and 1980s was controversial, with many claiming that the town lost a lot of its original charm and authenticity to the interests of developers.

The development experienced by the city, with the construction of a nationally known ice-skating rink (the Pista de Hielo del Pirineo), a small convention centre (the Palacio de Congresos) and countless second homes, had a profound impact on the economy of the Valley (Valle del Aragon), where many of its inhabitants evolved from small-scale subsistence farmera in Jaca and the surrounding villages to become part of a tertiary economy.

Jaca was the host city of the 1981 and 1995 Winter Universiades. The city also hosted the 2007 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival. Its popularity for winter sports was a motivating factor in the city's failed bids for the 1998 Winter Olympics, 2002 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Olympics, which were awarded to Nagano, Salt Lake City and Vancouver. It was again the applicant city of Spain for the 2014 Winter Olympics, but the bid failed again when it was not selected as a candidate city and the games were ultimately awarded to Sochi.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aragonese language</span> Romance language of northern Aragon, Spain

Aragonese is a Romance language spoken in several dialects by about 12,000 people as of 2011, in the Pyrenees valleys of Aragon, Spain, primarily in the comarcas of Somontano de Barbastro, Jacetania, Alto Gállego, Sobrarbe, and Ribagorza/Ribagorça. It is the only modern language which survived from medieval Navarro-Aragonese in a form distinct from Spanish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aragon</span> Autonomous community of Spain

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huesca</span> Municipality in Aragon, Spain

Huesca is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and of the comarca of Hoya de Huesca. In 2009, it had a population of 52,059, almost a quarter of the total population of the province. The city is one of the smallest provincial capitals in Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramiro I of Aragon</span> King of Aragon from 1035 to 1063

Ramiro I was the first King of Aragon from 1035 until his death, although he is sometimes described as a petty king. He would expand the nascent Kingdom of Aragon through his acquisition of territories, such as Sobrarbe and Ribagorza, and the city of Sangüesa. Sancho Ramírez, his son and successor, was King of Aragon, but also became King of Pamplona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Huesca</span> Province of Spain

Huesca, officially Huesca/Uesca, is a province of northeastern Spain, in northern Aragon. The capital is Huesca.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingdom of Aragon</span> Medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula

The Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It should not be confused with the larger Crown of Aragon, which also included other territories—the Principality of Catalonia, the Kingdom of Valencia, the Kingdom of Majorca, and other possessions that are now part of France, Italy, and Greece—that were also under the rule of the King of Aragon, but were administered separately from the Kingdom of Aragon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villanúa</span> Place in Aragon, Spain Spain

Villanúa is a Pyrenean municipality in Spain in the north of Huesca province, in la Jacetania, set where the Aragon valley gets wider. Its name refers to the "new village" repopulated in the late 10th century. Villanúa's altitude is 953 m and it covers 58.2 km2. The village is at the bottom of mount Collarada and in 2018 had 447 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biescas</span> Place in Aragon, Spain

Biescas is a municipality of northeastern Spain close to the border with France, in the midst of the Pyrenees in the province of Huesca. The name seems to provide from the term bizka, which means "hill" in a Proto-Indo-European language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaca</span> Roman Catholic diocese in Spain

The Diocese of Jaca is a Latin ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern Spanish province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragón. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Pamplona y Tudela.

Candanchú is a ski resort situated near the town of Canfranc in the High Aragon of the western Pyrenees. The name of the area is an adaptation of French "Camp d'Anjou" as this was originally the site of a military camp of the French Angevin dynasty. This is also located near the road on the historical Camino de Santiago. The ski resort of Candanchú is located in the Aragonese Pyrenees. It is 1 km from Puerto del Somport the border with France. Neighbor Astún ski resort, is located 27 km north of the city of Jaca. On the right bank of the river Arago, near the bridge of Santa Cristina, are the ruins of the Hospital of Santa Cristina of Somport, a hospice for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County of Aragon</span> Frankish marcher county (802–1035)

The County of Aragon or County of Jaca was a small Frankish marcher county in the central Pyrenean valley of the Aragon river, comprising Ansó, Echo, and Canfranc and centered on the small town of Jaca, an area now part of Spain. It was created by the Carolingians late in the 8th or early in the 9th century, but soon fell into the orbit of the Kingdom of Navarre, into which it was absorbed in 922. It would later form the core of the 11th century Kingdom of Aragon.

Castiello de Jaca is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 198 inhabitants. It is serviced by the Jaca-Astun bus. There are 2 restaurants/bars. Recent developments have seen the size of the town increase greatly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puente la Reina de Jaca</span> Municipality in Aragon, Spain

Puente la Reina de Jaca is a municipality located in Jacetania, province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2009 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 218 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabiñánigo</span> Place in Aragon, Spain

Sabiñánigo is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragón, Spain, capital of the comarca of Alto Gállego. Formerly, the region was called Serrablo, hence the demonym "serrablese". Sabiñánigo is at an altitude of 780 m and lies 52 km from Huesca.

Santa Cilia is a municipality located in Jacetania, province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. It is 14 km from the town of Jaca between the River Aragon and the national highway N-240.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Jacetania</span> Comarca in Aragon, Spain

La Jacetania is a comarca in northern Aragon, Spain. It is located in the northwestern corner of the Huesca and Zaragoza provinces. The administrative capital is Jaca, with 13,374 inhabitants the largest town of the comarca. The area is famous for its ski resorts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iacetani</span>

The Iacetani or Jacetani were a pre-Roman people who populated the area north of Aragon (Spain). They settled the Ebro valley, specifically in the area along the Pyrenees. Its capital was Iaca. According to Strabo, their land stretched from the Pyrenees to Lleida and Huesca. It is believed that they could be related to the Aquitanes. They were known to stamp coins. They also appear in the texts of Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy.

Pascual Rabal Petriz was a Spanish politician who served as a Senator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villanovilla</span> Settlement in Huesca Province, Aragon, Spain

Villanovilla is a Spanish settlement belonging to the municipality of Jaca, in the Jacetania, province of Huesca, Aragon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acín</span> Abandoned village in Huesca Province, Aragon, Spain

Acín is an unpopulated village in Spain, within the municipality of Jaca, in the province of Huesca. It is located in the valley of the Garcipollera, in the Aragonese region of the Jacetania.

References

  1. ↑ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
  2. ↑ "Toponyms: towns with local name in Aragonese in Great Aragonese Encyclopedia". Archived from the original on 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2016-08-06.
  3. ↑ Talbert, R., (2000). (ed.) Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. Map 25, E3. Also CDROM disc entry Map 25.
  4. 1 2 Bagwell-Purefoy, P., and Meadows, A., (2002). Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum (SNG). Volume IX. The British Museum 2. Spain. SNG No's 775-776
  5. ↑ Livy, History of Rome, book xxxiv.
  6. ↑ Joseph F. O’Callaghan A History of Medieval Spain. Cornell University Press 1975, p. 163.
  7. ↑ Joseph F. O’Callaghan A History of Medieval Spain. Cornell University Press 1975, p. 208.
  8. ↑ Joseph F. O’Callaghan A History of Medieval Spain. Cornell University Press 1975, pp. 219, 485.
  9. ↑ History of Jaca (Jaca.com)
  10. ↑ "World Weather Information Service. Jaca". World Meteorological Organization . Retrieved 14 January 2021.
Preceded by The Aragonese Way of the Way of St. James Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.