Azuaga

Azuaga is a Spanish municipality and town in the province of Badajoz, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. In 2020 the municipality had 8,643 inhabitants according to official figures from the INE.

It is located on the edge of Sierra Morena and falls within the Campiña Sur region, on the border with the Andalusian provinces of Seville and Córdoba, next to the N-432, being the fourth largest municipality in the province from Badajoz. It includes the town of Azuaga and the village of La Cardenchosa.

History

Prehistory and antiquity

Azuaga is a place of rich history. In its term and in the surroundings of its urban area, there are remains of megalithic human settlement (more than 30 cataloged dolmens), from the Chalcolithic, Bronze Age and also from the Orientalizing Period. There are several prehistoric towns distributed throughout its municipal area, highlighting the one on the hill of the castle, the origin of the current population.

At the time of Roman domination, Azuaga became a municipality within the Baetica province. Its place name at this time is still not clear; As can be seen from the very interesting inscriptions that are kept in the town hall, it would be the [M] Municipium [F] Flavio [V] and this is where the problem of identification comes in; According to the prestigious researcher A. U. Stylow, it could be Victorian, (municipium flavio victoriense), that is, Azuaga would be the city "Victoria" of the Romans, perhaps to commemorate an important military victory. It must be remembered that Azuaga was a border and strategic place. Its inhabitants were from the Galeria tribe. Remains from this period are four cipos with inscriptions, which are kept in the town hall and which originally belonged to a monumental complex made up of eight. The current Atenor fountain comes from this time. There are also important traces of mines in different parts of the municipal area, some of them very interesting in the town itself, specifically some drains of more than 1 m and 60 cm high, watchtowers, as well as numerous remains of villas. Romans distributed mainly in the area of the countryside.

Visigothic times

As far as we know for the moment, a marble column remains from this stage in the courtyard of the Parroquia del Cristo del Humilladero, as well as a capital in a private home. According to some authors, the missing church of San Bartolomé, on the road to Fuente Ovejuna, may have its roots in the Visigothic period. Unfortunately, this historical period has been little studied.

Al-Andalus

With the fall of Hispania into Muslim hands, a flourishing period began for Azuaga. Among the historical evidence of the Muslim Azuaga, we find that of the Arab geographer and traveler Al-Idrisi, who mentioned the town in the 12th century, alluding to it as a fort located on an eminence. This is the first writing that includes the existence of Azuaga with this name. Everything seems to indicate that the population that settles in Azuaga is from the Berber tribe of Al-Zuwaga. The most important rest of this period is the Castle. The base of the Arab citadel seems to be from the 11th century. Other structures such as bridges, defensive towers, ditches...

Reconquest

Ntra Parish Church. Mrs. Consolation.

Traditionally, the reconquest of Azuaga for the Kingdom of Castile is set in 1236, under the reign of Fernando III el Santo, by the Order of Santiago directed by the master Pelayo Pérez Correa. Azuaga was a strategic place, with its reconquest it was intended to control the roads that linked Córdoba with Badajoz and Mérida. Point out that there are still many unknowns regarding how its reconquest was and the years following it. In the first years after its reconquest it belonged to the Council of Seville, due to the fact that the repopulation was not effective, it became dependent on the Order of Santiago. Since then, it has been a notable and rich commendation of said Order. The Christians also welcomed the Castle, but they built several towers; one of them, the Tribute, as a sign of the new Christian era. Two of the said towers are those that are preserved today.

In the year 1477, the town of Azuaga was the site of an important event: in the Hermitage of San Sebastián (which would later become the Convent of La Merced and later the Hermitage of La Merced), the General Chapter of the Order of Santiago, which appointed Mr. Alonso de Cárdenas Master of the Order.

One of the commanders that Azuaga had was Luis de Portocarrero, viceroy of Peru and a very influential man of his time. He was the one who ordered the construction of the extraordinary and majestic Gothic Church of Consolation.

Modern Age

Parish Church of the Christ of the Humble.

In 1594 it was part of the León province of the Order of Santiago and had 1,208 pecheros residents. The growth of the town is unstoppable, and in the first census of the population of Extremadura in 1551, Azuaga appears as the largest population center in Extremadura. This was also the case in 18th century censuses, where it appears as one of the main towns in the region. As for the labor sector, artisanal and manufacturing activities predominate throughout the area. In Azuaga, textile work stands out above the rest, more specifically the dye industry.

During these centuries, several illustrious Azuagueños stood out in various activities. In the artistic field, Agustín del Castillo (1590-1626) stands out, who worked in Córdoba both in oil and fresco and was the father of the better-known Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra. In the ecclesiastical field, two figures from the 16th century stand out who curiously adopted the same name, Fray Pedro de Azuaga. The first of these was an important Franciscan theorist; his lucidity led him to become a permanent adviser to Felipe II. The second centers his activity in the last third of the 16th century; he rose through the ranks of the religious establishment, until he became Bishop of Chile in 1596.

Azuaga also played a prominent role in the colonization of America, being the seventh city in Extremadura that brought the most emigrants; This fact is even more significant if we take into account that Extremadura contributed some of the largest contingents in the conquest of America. Among those emigrants we have explorers, founders, soldiers, clergy..., even a participant in Columbus's second voyage, "Juan Franco". This emigration to the new world reverted to the creation of works of art and monuments of the town. Chaplaincies ordered by Indians or their heirs were common. We have a clear trace of the repercussion of the discovery in the faces of American Indians that appear in different points of the Consolation Parish.

Contemporary Age

During the 19th century, Azuaga began to intensively exploit its lead mines, it became the town in Extremadura with the highest population growth and by the end of this century it was the fourth largest town in the region, after Badajoz, Cáceres and Don Benedict. One of the greatest assets of the municipality comes from this period, its urban layout, one of the best examples in southern Spain, wide streets and rectilinear blocks. The surroundings of the streets Lepanto, Prieto Molina, Estalajes... were built at the time and many others were planned then. There was a forecast for the future, conceiving a large and modern municipality.

Azuaga Town Hall.

After the fall of the Old Regime, the town became a constitutional municipality in the region of Extremadura. Since 1834 it was integrated into the judicial district of Llerena. In the 1842 census it had 1,146 households and 4,500 residents.

The labor movement of Extremadura was born in Azuaga, the large concentration of workers in the fields and especially in the mining industry, made this municipality an important focus for the organization and mobilization of workers. At this time, publications of different ideologies proliferated, such as "El Amigo del Pueblo", linked to the labor movement of libertarian characteristics.

In the 20th century, Azuaga experienced years of extreme turmoil. Azuaga lives a period of splendor in the second third of the 20th century, due to the intense mining activity, it became the first lead producer in the world, its production influenced the world price of this mineral. The rich deposits of lead (and, to a lesser extent, silver), led to a strong economic resurgence in the entire area. During the Spanish Civil War, the rebel troops, under the command of Colonel Delgado Serrano, occupied the town in August 1936 and perpetrated a massacre in which they executed 300 inhabitants.

During the years between 1920 and 1960, Azuaga reached its maximum population levels, oscillating between 16,000 and 18,000 inhabitants. In later decades, due to the phenomenon of labor emigration, the population drops sharply. With all this, at the end of the century, Azuaga barely reached 10,000 inhabitants. The colony of Azuagueños who emigrated to San Baudilio de Llobregat (Barcelona province) is important. It is estimated that approximately half of those born in Azuaga do not live there.

It also has a new soccer field remodeled with artificial grass where CD Azuaga plays, promoted to the third division last season. It is the second time in history that it has reached this category.

Campaña Sur Commonwealth

Azuaga region

The area of action of Azuaga includes a radius of about 50 km from north to south, where the closest towns are concentrated, although distant from each other. These populations are supplied with important services of an agrarian, health, educational and social nature.

The population centers that make up this commonwealth are:

• Azuaga
• Berlanga
• Campillo de Llerena
• Torrehermosa Farm
• Cardenchosa (lower local entity)
• Maguilla
• Malccinated
• Peraleda del Zaucejo
• Valverde de Llerena

Demographics

The following graph shows the evolution of the population of Azuaga from 1842 to 2010:

Source: INE

Demography (1501-1994)

Heritage

Museum Contemporary Art of Azuaga.

• Catholic parish churches of the Holy Christ of the Humble and of Our Lady of Consolation, in the Archdiocese of Merida-Badajoz.

• Church of Merced, the oldest temple that is preserved, declared historical-artistic monument, Hermitage of Santiago, Hermitage of the street trace (which preserves mural paintings by the painter Juan del Castillo, who was the master of Murillo and of whom several canvases are preserved in the museum of beautiful arts of Servilla), Hermitage of San Blas (constructed on the remains of the first parish of Azuaga, a bow is still preserved).

• Christ of the Humilladero de Francisco de Ocampo y Felguera considered one of the best sculptural works of the country, very similar to El Calvario de Sevilla, work of the same author.

• Mudejar district and numerous examples of Mudejar art in civil architecture.

• Atenor fountain and holy well (Roman and Arabic fountain respectively).

• Solar civil architecture of the centuryXIX and early centuriesXX. (examples house of culture, current headquarters of the Music School and different buildings of the streets Llana, Mesones and Juan Ortiz, among others.

• Teatro Central Cinema and Teatro Cine Capitol, two of the best examples of civil architecture of all Extremadura.

• Rests of the Castle and Cazaba. Alongside the Arab and Christian remains of the fortress, you see a fairly well preserved Roman aljibe and archaeological excavations, which are currently abandoned.

• Old French-style railway station.

• Bullring, built in the late nineteenth century, is within the catalogue of Spanish Historical Bullring. It has capacity for about 3000 spectators and curiously is not round but oval.

• In the municipality of Azuaga there are thirty prehistoric dolmen that have not yet been valued. The Arab road of Cordoba, with bridges and defensive towers in its vicinity, is also preserved in quite a good condition.

• Ethnographic Museum located in the basement of Central Cinema, a modernist romantic building early in the centuryXX.. The basement is part of recent construction and part extends through an old winery in the middle of the centuryXIX. It is located in the historic centre of Azuaga. This museum belongs to the Extremadura Identity Museum Network.

Culture

Cultural entities

• Azuaga Music Band

• Orquesta de Pulso y Púa de Azuaga
• Banda de Cornetas y Tambores Cristo del Humilladero de Azuaga

Cultural events

• Viriatorock

Sports

• Club Deportivo Azuaga
• Club Deportivo Peña Ciclista Azuaga. In this town there is a great hobby to cycling, every weekend it leaves in group from the square and Juan XXIII best known as Barriada. A cycle tour route called Sierra de Azuaga is held annually.

Media

Radius

• Municipal radio Radio Azuagain the frequency of FM 107.7 MHz.

Twinned locations

• Saint-Affrique, Aveyron, France