Groves

Arboleas is a Spanish town and municipality located in the eastern part of the Valle del Almanzora region, in the province of Almería, autonomous community of Andalusia. It limits with the municipalities of Albox, Cantoria, Albanchez, Lubrín, Zurgena and Taberno. The Almanzora river runs through its term.

The municipality of Arbolea includes the population centers of Alboleas —municipal capital—, Los Carrascos, Casablanca, El Chopo, La Cinta, Los Cojos, Los Colorados, La Cueva, Los Garcías, El Germán, Los Gilabertes, Los Higuerales, La Hoya, Los Huevanillas, La Judea, Los Lázaros, Limaria, Los Llanos de Arboleas, Los Menchones, La Perla, El Prado, Los Requenas, El Rincón, El Rulador, San Roque, Las Tahullas, Los Torres and Venta Mateo.

Toponymy

According to Diego Cerdán, in the XVI century the name of the town was spelled "Alboreas" (from Arabic "al-Burayax") - meaning "the turret".

It is also possible that the origin of the name "Arboleas" is due to Abu Ben Abdalacis al-Arbuli,^{[citation needed]} a scientist from Granada of the century XIV. Al-Arbulí was a resident of the municipality and among his works it is worth highlighting the Food Treaty .

Physical geography

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Interactive map — Trees and their municipality

Location

Arboleas is located on the banks of the Almanzora River, in the foothills of the Sierra de los Filabres. It is surrounded by the towns of Albox, Zurgena, Lubrín, Albanchez, Cantoria and Taberno.

Northwest: Albox	North: Albox	Northeast: Taberno
West: Albox Cantoria		This: Zurgena
Southwest Cantoria	South: Lubrín	Sureste: Lubrín

Hydrography

The municipality is crossed by the Almanzora River, which is the main channel, as well as a series of boulevards and streams that flow into the river. Among the main boulevards and streams, the following stand out: Arroyo Aceituno, Rambla de la Cinta, Rambla de los Higuerales and Rambla de Canales.

History

After the Nasrid period, the town of Arboleas passed into the hands of the Christians, along with other towns in Almanzora, in the year 1488, when they all surrendered jointly to the Catholic Monarchs in Real de Vera.

Its primitive church was erected in the year 1492 by the Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo, Don Pedro González de Mendoza, and later, by Fray Diego de Deza, in 1505, by his bull given in Segovia on April 26 of the same year. It was located to the west of the town, on a cliff that was very difficult to access from the river, it was a masonry and brick building, as described by Pascual Madoz in his Dictionary, 21 varas long, 8 wide and 21 high.

Among the historical facts related to this town, it is worth mentioning the so-called battle of Corral de Arboleas sustained by the people of Lorca against the Moors of Almanzora and that Mármol y Carvajal recounts in chapter XXV of his cited work. Having escaped the Marquis de los Vélez from an ambush by the revolting Moors in the place called Bocas de Oria, the daughters of the Marquis asked the city of Lorca for help because they feared that the Moors would revolt there, once their father was absent with the troops. that they were going to quell the uprising on the river. The aid received and the threat of rebellion put down, the men from Lorca marched towards Oria and, once they had left the defended square, they descended on the town of Cantoria with the intention of conquering it because they learned that the Moors had a gunpowder factory there. They left Oria at midnight to go to Cantoria at dawn, but the attack could not take place by surprise because the Moors were already aware of their coming. The battle lasted from seven in the morning until two in the afternoon. Lorca's men succeeded in unhinging the first gates of the rebellion, which was the place where the Moors had kept the cattle, and, entering the ammunition house, which was between the two walls, they disrupted the mill for refining the saltpeter and manufacturing the gunpowder and burned everything. Not being able to enter the fortress because they did not carry artillery or ladders, they took out 2,300 head of small cattle and 900 cows and withdrew.

Martín de Molina marched at the head with 30 horses and 300 peons, to advance the road and reach the place of Huércal, because they supposed that many Moors would come, according to the large smoked smokes that the people of Cantoria made. Near the place of Arboleas, they discovered enemies who had come to the aid of Cantoria, and, seeing that the Christians had withdrawn, they launched themselves in pursuit. These knights sent some knights to reconnoitre the people who were chasing them and they saw four flags of Moors walking to enter the orchards of Arboleas, where there was a dangerous passage due to the great thickness of the poplars and the ditches that crossed from one side to the other. without bridges, and because they feared that if the Moors took that pass they might do them great harm, they halted to fight at the entrance to the orchard. But the Moors, seeing them make a stop, suspected that they must have prepared an ambush for them, left the path they were taking, rushed up above an inn called Bena Romana, and from there began to shoot Lorca's men with harquebuses. The Christians wanted to attack them, but the Mayor did not consent, telling them to go ahead, that he would give them the order to do so in a place where the horses could stir. After passing the inn and a large quagmire that formed next to it, they advanced about half a league further on and, near the place, which they say is the Corral, the battle began.

After using the arquebuses, they attacked each other with such impetus that they came to blows and, fighting vigorously with knights and pawns, they killed some of the Turks who came in the vanguard, putting the others to flight and taking the five banners, which They were from Cóbdar, Líjar, Albanchez, Serón, Purchena, Tabernas and Benitagla.

Luis de Mármol y Carvajal, who transcribes the account of this battle, also says: a Moor fought that day, carrying one of these flags, admirably, who, being past two lances, and having him pierced with the lance The lieutenant of the cavalry, with one hand grasping the lieutenant's lance and the other holding the flag, fought for a long time, until the Alcalde Mayor ordered a squire to run over him with the horse, and, already fallen, in the ground, the flag could not be removed while he had a breath of life left.

Cánovas Cobeño recounts, in his Historia de Lorca, that the city council, to commemorate this victory, which took place on November 2, the feast of San Millán, agreed to celebrate this day every year solemn parties with dances and farces and a procession with the flags won from the Moors on that occasion. Likewise, he agreed to write a book titled "Book of Battles"; and consists of one hundred pages, most of them blank, since it was only used to tell the story of the battle of Corral de Arboleas.

On November 16, 2009, the town hall was intervened by court order due to an alleged irregularity in the granting of urban contracts.

Human Geography

Territorial organization

The municipality is divided into the following population entities, according to the population gazetteer published by the INE (National Statistics Institute). Population data refer to 2014.

Demographics

The municipality has experienced a marked rise in the number of its inhabitants in the last decade. Said growth rate has been close to 120%, an unusual figure and, like Huércal de Almería, the highest in the province in this period.

Graphic of demographic evolution of Arboleas between 1996 and 2021

Data according to the nomenclator published by the INE.

The data for the 2019 population pyramid can be summarized as follows:

• The population under 20 years of age is 9.73 % of the total.
• The figure between 20-40 years is 10.68 %.
• The figure between 40-60 years is 26.39 %.
• Over 60 years is 53.2%.

Migration

The town has a very high immigration rate, assuming a higher number of immigrants than the native population. In the year 2020, 66'9% were immigrants, assuming the British are 85% of the number of immigrants. In total there were 45 different nationalities in the municipality. British immigrants are retirees who have settled in the municipality to enjoy the tranquility and good weather.

Economy

Traditionally, agriculture and sheep farming and, fundamentally, goat farming have been the main economic activities, maintaining considerable importance today.

In recent years, the construction sector has grown extraordinary being the base of the local economy. The influence of this sector on the town's economy has also been important indirectly, since a large number of businesses have been generated around this sector: carpentry, workshops, construction materials stores, plumbing, gardening, gas station. Most of these businesses have settled in the industrial estate, adding to the existing businesses related to agriculture: mills and agricultural warehouses.

The service sector has gained great importance in recent years thanks to the demographic increase of the town caused by the arrival of citizens from other countries, mainly the United Kingdom.

Evolution of outstanding municipal debt

Graphic of evolution of living debt of the Town Hall of Trees between 2008 and 2019

Living debt of the Town Hall of Trees in thousands of Euros according to data from the Ministry of Finance and Ad. Public.

Nature

Fauna and flora

Arboleas is located within the surroundings of Cabezo de la Jara, the Rambla de Nogalte and the Sierra del Alto de Almagro, hence the richness in terms of fauna and flora.

Wildlife

In the surroundings of Arboleas you can find hoopoes, Bonelli's eagles, peregrine falcons, royal pythons and horseshoe snakes among others.

Flora

Agricultural flora and artificial meadows abound as well as scrub, Aleppo pine forests (forest and plantation) and scattered coniferous and broad-leaved trees.

Vegetation of the Yesos area of Limaria

The flora of Arboleas is typical of the Mediterranean, but in some areas of the municipality, especially in the Limaria area, due to the large amount of gypsum that exists, exclusive habitats for this type of soil can be found. This spot has a flora made up especially of some very exclusive plants called soap or gypsum plants, a term coined by the Swedish naturalist Carlos Linnaeus which means "plaster lovers".

Unlike most species, these plants grow in inhospitable and dry environments such as the one found in the Limaria area, characterized by gypsum soils where there is an excess of nutrients such as calcium or sulfur, and essential elements are scarce such as nitrogen and phosphorus, in addition to water.

Gypsophiles develop mainly in communities of shrubs no more than one meter tall. They usually make their way on small islands that arise between the gypsum outcrops. In the context of Limaria, its main threats are clearing for crops, the extraction of gypsum and the opening of new tracks and infrastructure.

Geology

Archaeological Site of Pedregals

In the area called Casa Blanca, near the Almanzora river, is the archaeological site of Los Pedregales, a large historical complex that should perhaps be related to the tombs, still unlocated, of Loma de los Planes and the Ruriales, published decades ago by the Leisner archaeologists. The site has not been extensively excavated, so there are various theories about its origin and functionality, although it is related to the Argaric culture that flourished between the end of the 3rd millennium BC. C. and the middle of II a. C. in the southeast of the peninsula. On the surface, some structures are visible, such as two very deteriorated silos, or a quadrangular space interpreted as a tomb, by some, or as a habitation space, by the archaeologist Luis Siret. Heavily eroded pottery fragments from the Chalcolithic period have also been documented, as well as arrowheads, polished axes and carved bones.

Administration and politics

Consistorial House

Public services

Education

CEIP Our Lady of Assumption

The municipality has two early childhood education centers and a primary education center, CEIP Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. In 2021, this center, together with 23 other centers in the province, joined the "STEAM Project: Aerospace Research applied to the classroom", whose objective is to detect scientific and technological talent in students.

Health

The municipality has a medical office, which provides consultations on weekdays in the morning. It belongs to the Northern Almería Health Management area and its reference hospital is La Inmaculada.

Culture

Heritage

View of the Tree Tower.

The Limaria mines are a mining reserve of Roman origin, where there are various cavities from which the mineral Lapis specularis was extracted. Associated with the deposit are dumps and dirt, product of mineral extraction, as well as remains of Terra sigillata ceramics. There are also cut and serrated glasses in the surrounding area. Inside the mines, there are skylights, objects dedicated to extraction, chamber, pilae and gallery exploitation systems. It is protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest. The Arboleas town hall began work on its recovery and enhancement in 2017 to accommodate tourist visits.

Religious

The Church of Santiago Apóstol is a building with a Latin cross plan with three naves separated by arches supported by Corinthian columns paired with iron. It has a barrel vault with transverse arches and lunettes. In its outer part, the central body is higher than the sides. The access door is under a pointed arch highlighted by moldings and separates it with a cornice from the oculus and the bell tower. The material used is brick and masonry for the corners, the oculus and the cornice.

Military

The Arboleas tower is a watchtower that belonged to the defensive system along the Almanzora river. It is an octagonal tower with a diagonal distance of three meters. It is made of mud and on a masonry plinth, so it could have been rebuilt in the Andalusian period. Its access is through the ground floor and a body was built on top.

Cultural Entities

Tree of life. Sculpture by Pedro Gilabert located at the Museum.

Museums

In the municipality is the Pedro Gilabert Museum, which opened in 2003 and houses 142 sculptures on permanent display in olive wood made by the artist.

Cultural Events

Since the year 2000, the "Al-Arbuli" Gastronomic Days have been held in the municipality, consisting of a series of activities around gastronomy and culture. The activities included are conferences about the history of the cormarca and the province of Almería, dance performances and traditional dances, craft markets, live cooking workshops, tasting menus by local restaurateurs or the tasting of local gastronomy prepared by the vicinity of the municipality, incorporating British gastronomy dishes.

Famous Treemen