Villafranca de los Caballeros

Villafranca de los Caballeros
Municipality
Coordinates: 39°25′34″N 3°21′27″W / 39.42611°N 3.35750°W / 39.42611; -3.35750Coordinates: 39°25′34″N 3°21′27″W / 39.42611°N 3.35750°W / 39.42611; -3.35750
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Castile-La Mancha
Province	Toledo
Municipality	Villafranca de los Caballeros
Area
• Total	107 km² (41 sq mi)
Elevation	643 m (2,110 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	5,327
• Density	49.8/km² (129/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Website	eltiocazuela

Villafranca de los Caballeros is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 5327 inhabitants.

Toponymy

In 1557 king Philip II granted it the charter of town (in Spanish villa). At the beginning of being populated, it was allowed to be free of taxes (frank) for six years. The wording "de los Caballeros" would be added to the name of "Villafranca" because of some customary events from the time of Middle Ages. "It happened every year, the day of St. Martin, that the repressentatives of all villages and towns belonging to the Order of the Kinghts of St. John gathered at the place, to deal with the use of community pastures. In the gathering, repressentatives would answer when asked: ... may speak now the gentleman from <given town>...". And for holding, even if it was only for a day, attending people who was considered to be gentlemen (caballeros in Spanish), the town received that surname. So the place became known as "Villafranca de los Caballeros". There is a handful of other towns that are also called Villafranca (frank town), but hey, there's only one Villafranca de los Caballeros in all Spain.

This information has been extracted from the old file Descriptions of Cardinal Lorenzana, 1784. I'm not sure of how to write the reference.

History

According to the few excavations carried out, the first settlers in Villafranca were the Iberians. If you can read Spanish, that's what most of people say about the town. Actually the studies carried out have been very limited and there are certain traces of settlers from Stone Age. So, that the only studied archaeological sites may have been so far of Iberians from centuries VII and VI B.C. doesn't mean they were the very first to settle in the area. Also, the sites are much far from the current town's historical center. Speaking about this zone, the first mention of this place dates back to Muslim invasion, where Muslims and Christians did coexist in the area called today Cruz de Lozano. Then, by 1085, Toledo was conquered by the Christian king Alfonso VI. At the same time, Consuegra was also recovered by the Christians, and Villafranca gets to depend of it. Consuegra is handed over to the Order of the Knights of St. John. Villafranca as well as other towns becomes a property of the order. Since then, the town would depend in one way or another from the Order until the ecclesiastical confiscations of XIX century in Spain, when the Order properties in Spain were seized and the Grand Priory was ended.

Heritage

Parish Church of Our Lady of the Assumption

This is the most important monument in the town. Its construction began back in the XIII century as a romanic church, but was later modified and enlarged in the centuries XVI and XVIII with the addition of some gothic elements, like a central rib vault.

Chapel of the Saint Christ of St. Anna

Current building is the result of the enlargement, at the beginning of XVIII century (or perhaps at the end of XVII), of an old chapel, which was devoted to St. Anna, the mother of the Virgin Mary. The original carving of the Christ was found in the basement of that primitive chapel (perhaps buried there during the Muslim invasions to protect it). By then it was known as St. Christ of the True Cross. But because it was found in the chapel of St. Anna, people started to call it by that name as well. Today, the ancient name can only be found in old writings, and everybody in the town call it St. Christ of St. Anna. Few is known exactly about the date the original chapel was built. We have some references it already existed in 1691. Studies are being made by historians in old archives to find out the truth, but so far all we know is from its legend more than history. Today's building was designed like a salon in the baroque style. The interior was covered with paintings, but in 1993 the paintings from the walls were removed because a severe problem of humidity. Paintings still can be seen in the vaults of the ceilings.

Municipalities in the province of Toledo

Ajofrín Alameda de la Sagra Albarreal de Tajo Alcabón Alcaudete de la Jara Alcañizo Alcolea de Tajo Aldea en Cabo Aldeanueva de Barbarroya Aldeanueva de San Bartolomé Almendral de la Cañada Almonacid de Toledo Almorox Arcicóllar Argés Azután Añover de Tajo Barcience Bargas Belvís de la Jara Borox Buenaventura Burguillos de Toledo Burujón Cabañas de Yepes Cabañas de la Sagra Cabezamesada Calera y Chozas Caleruela Calzada de Oropesa Camarena Camarenilla Camuñas Cardiel de los Montes Carmena Carranque Carriches Casarrubios del Monte Casasbuenas Castillo de Bayuela Cazalegas Cebolla Cedillo del Condado Cervera de los Montes Chozas de Canales Chueca Ciruelos Cobeja Cobisa Consuegra Corral de Almaguer Cuerva Domingo Pérez Dosbarrios El Campillo de la Jara El Carpio de Tajo El Casar de Escalona El Puente del Arzobispo El Real de San Vicente El Romeral El Toboso El Viso de San Juan Erustes Escalona Escalonilla Espinoso del Rey Esquivias Fuensalida Garciotum Gerindote Guadamur Gálvez Herreruela de Oropesa Hinojosa de San Vicente Hontanar Hormigos Huecas Huerta de Valdecarábanos Illescas Illán de Vacas La Estrella La Guardia La Iglesuela La Mata La Nava de Ricomalillo La Puebla de Almoradiel La Puebla de Montalbán La Pueblanueva La Torre de Esteban Hambrán La Villa de Don Fadrique Lagartera Las Herencias Las Ventas con Peña Aguilera Las Ventas de Retamosa Las Ventas de San Julián Layos Lillo Lominchar Los Cerralbos Los Navalmorales Los Navalucillos Los Yébenes Lucillos Madridejos Magán Malpica de Tajo Manzaneque Maqueda Marjaliza Marrupe Mascaraque Mazarambroz Mejorada Menasalbas Mesegar de Tajo Miguel Esteban Mocejón Mohedas de la Jara Montearagón Montesclaros Mora Méntrida Nambroca Navahermosa Navalcán Navalmoralejo Navamorcuende Noblejas Noez Nombela Novés Numancia de la Sagra Nuño Gómez Ocaña Olías del Rey Ontígola Orgaz Oropesa Otero Palomeque Pantoja Paredes de Escalona Parrillas Pelahustán Pepino Polán Portillo de Toledo Puerto de San Vicente Pulgar Quero Quintanar de la Orden Quismondo Recas Retamoso Rielves Robledo del Mazo San Bartolomé de las Abiertas San Martín de Montalbán San Martín de Pusa San Pablo de los Montes San Román de los Montes Santa Ana de Pusa Santa Cruz de la Zarza Santa Cruz del Retamar Santa Olalla Santo Domingo-Caudilla Sartajada Segurilla Seseña Sevilleja de la Jara Sonseca Sotillo de las Palomas Talavera de la Reina Tembleque Toledo Torralba de Oropesa Torrecilla de la Jara Torrico Torrijos Totanés Turleque Ugena Urda Valdeverdeja Valmojado Velada Villacañas Villafranca de los Caballeros Villaluenga de la Sagra Villamiel de Toledo Villaminaya Villamuelas Villanueva de Alcardete Villanueva de Bogas Villarejo de Montalbán Villarrubia de Santiago Villaseca de la Sagra Villasequilla Villatobas Yeles Yepes Yuncler Yunclillos Yuncos

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.