Noja

Noja is a municipality and town in the autonomous community of Cantabria (Spain), located in the Trasmiera region. It limits to the north with the Cantabrian Sea, to the west and south with Arnuero, to the south with Argoños and to the east with Santoña. It is located 43 kilometers from Santander, the regional capital. The municipality is not organized into localities but into several neighborhoods, with the Palacio neighborhood being the seat of the town hall. Its population is 2,664 inhabitants in 2022.

Toponymy

The toponym Noja comes from a form Noega, of Indo-European or even earlier origin, which is also found, for example, in the name of the Galician municipality of Noya. The meaning is obscure, but it could be related to the Celtic *nouika, 'new', so the toponym would allude to a recent foundation, in a similar way to the many towns called «Villanueva». In the 12th century it was called Nolia.

History

Noja belonged from the IX century until 1834 to the Junta de Siete Villas, one of the five boards that made up the Merindad de Trasmiera.

On March 9, 1644, Philip IV granted it the Privilege of Vara by which it was granted the title of town, becoming independent of said Board and allowing it to appoint its own mayors, with Domingo de García y Cilla being the first to hold said position. As a result of his new status, he had to build a building that would serve as a town hall and prison.

Environment

In terms of natural resources, the Santoña, Victoria and Joyel Marshes, each located at one end of the municipality, are a great attraction as a natural reserve and of course for birds, which also stop at these marshes on their migrations..

Heritage

There are four assets of cultural interest in this municipality, all with monument status:

• Torre de los Velasco.
• House for Obdulia Bonifaz (Palacio del Marquis de Albaicín).
• Zilla Palace House.
• Molino de Victoria, in the marsh of Victoria, which served to generate energy with the waters of the marshes.

In addition, the following are inventoried assets:

• Assas case.
• Villa for Don Manuel Morales.
• Casa-palacio de Venero, where Francisco de Venero Cabanzo lived, built in the centuryXVII.
• Hermitage of San Juan.
• Chapel of St. Nicholas.
• Hermitage of Saint Peter.

Others:

• Torre del Carmen Palace.

  

Neighborhoods

The municipality of Noja is made up of a single town of the same name, which in turn is divided into various neighborhoods, which are the following:

• The Arch.
• Helgueras.
• The Witch.
• Cabanzo.
• Ris.
• Trengandin.
• Castrejón.
• Fonegra.
• La Rota.
• Palace.
• Pedroso.

Economy

3.3% of the municipality's population is dedicated to the primary sector, 33% to construction, 11.5% to industry and 52.2% to the tertiary sector. In the municipality the activity rate is 51.7% and the unemployment rate is 17%, while the average in Cantabria is around 52.5% and 14.2% respectively. Therefore, the service sector predominates.

Demography

The municipality has an area of 9.07 km². In 2022 it had a population of 2,664 inhabitants and a density of 293.71 inhabitants/km².

Graphic of demographic evolution of Noja between 1842 and 2021

Population of law according to population censuses of the INE.Population in fact according to population censuses of the INE.

Figure of demographic evolution of Noja between 1998 and 2022

Population as of 1 January according to the municipal register of the INE.

Despite the large size of the urban center of Noja, its census population is not very high, barely exceeding 2,500 inhabitants. This is because the vast majority (close to 96%) of the homes are second homes that are only occupied in the summer. The population in the summer season reaches figures close to 70,000-80,000 inhabitants, which makes it one of the most important tourist centers on the Cantabrian coast. All of this is due to the great urban development that the municipality experienced in the context of the real estate bubble in recent decades, and its proximity to the metropolitan area of Bilbao, which serves as an urban center of influence.

Administration

Miguel Ángel Ruiz Lavín (PRC) is the current mayor of the municipality. The following tables show the results of the municipal elections held in 2007 and 2011.

Festivities and events

• Commemoration of the Privilege of Vara: The first half of March is celebrated the historical recreation of the concession Privilege de Vara.
• June 24: The festival of San Juan is celebrated with bonfires in different parts of the city, highlighting those of the neighborhood of San Juan.
• June 29: The feast of Saint Peter is celebrated in the parish church and its surroundings. Traditionally it was held on San Pedruco Island, but the difficulty of access caused the change of location.
• 16 July: The feast of the Virgin of Carmen, patron of the sailors, is celebrated, which has a procession from the Church of San Pedro to the Casa Palacio del Carmen in Fonegra.
• 30 and 31 August: Festivals of the Holy Martyrs (San Emeterio and San Celedonio), patterns of the villa.
• December 6: The feast of San Nicolás is celebrated in the Helgueras neighborhood.

Sports

• Noja Sports Society: football team that has militated in the Second Division B of Spain for four seasons.

Featured people

• Luis Vicente de Velasco (1711-1762), Military Marine, Ship Captain of the Spanish Navy. Defender of Havana in 1762.