Ademuz is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the ''comarca'' of Rincón de Ademuz in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wi ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The name in

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the El Carche comarca in Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance language also known as Catal ...

is ''Ademús'', but the local language is Spanish, not Valencian.

History

The many archaeological remains still present from different time periods—Neolithic, Iberian, Roman—reveal an early occupation of the area. Notwithstanding, the first written references are Arabic ones, focusing on its castle, whose advantageous emplacement dominated the Turia river and its natural passage from the lands of Aragon to the city of Valencia. The Muslim fortress of ''Al-Dāmūs'' was conquered by

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowled ...

in 1210, with the aid of the hospitalier and templar knights, who were rewarded with the right to collect some taxes from the area. It fell back into Muslim hands shortly thereafter. It was finally incorporated into the kingdom of Valencia by

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...

, who put it under direct control of the crown, together with the other historical village of the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

Castielfabib Castielfabib is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' of Rincón de Ademuz in the Valencia (autonomous community), Valencian Community, Spain. Geography Known as "the small Albarrací ...

. As a royal villa, Ademuz periodically sent an elected representative to the

Corts Valencianes The Corts Valencianes (), commonly known as ''Les Corts'' (), are the main legislative body of the Generalitat Valenciana and therefore of the Valencian Community. The main location of the Corts is in the Palace of the Borgias in Valencia; howev ...

. As a frontier fortress, it suffered from the wars with Castile in the 14th century: both Ademuz and Castielfabib were invaded and occupied by

Peter I of Castile Peter ( es, Pedro; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V for ...

. The heroic defense and the loyalty of its population were later rewarded by

Peter IV of Aragón Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". ( Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), ...

and his immediate successors, who gave the villa new rights and privileges. From the beginnings of the 14th century onwards, Ademuz and its countryside were also an

Encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

of the

Order of Montesa The Order of Montesa ( va, Ordre de Montesa, Aragonese and es, Orden de Montesa) is a Christian military order, territorially limited to the old Crown of Aragon. It was named after the castle of Montesa, its headquarters. Templar background T ...

, which anyway never ruled over Ademuz, limiting itself to collect some taxes they had rights over. On June 7, 1656, the villa suffered a massive earthquake which destroyed the primitive church of San Pedro Intramuros, the city council and forty other houses; the ramparts and the towers of the castle, which had been built surrounding the top of the mountain were also destroyed. Notwithstanding, Ademuz's castle will still prove its worth during the many civil wars of the 19th century, with it being occupied and (supposedly) rebuilt several times by

carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...

troops. The two original municipalities which existed in the Rincón's

, Castielfabib and Ademuz, became fragmented over time, affecting specially that of Ademuz, from which several villages seceded as they reached some populational and economical importance:

Vallanca Vallanca is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Rincón de Ademuz in the Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth mos ...

(17th century),

Puebla de San Miguel Puebla de San Miguel is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Rincón de Ademuz in the Valencian Community, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

(18th century),

Casas Altas Casas Altas is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Rincón de Ademuz in the Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth ...

y Casas Bajas (both during the 19th century).

Geography

Ademuz is situated in the middle of the Rincón de Ademuz, a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

belonging to

representing an exclave situated between the territories of the provinces of Cuenca ( Castile-La Mancha) and

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with a ...

(

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

). The town counts three ''pedanías'' (civil parishes): Mas del Olmo, Segsa and Val de la Sabina.

Demography

As of the 2008 census of

INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Instituto Nacional de Estadística (disambiguation) * Instituto Nacional de Estatística (disambiguation) * Instituto Nacional Elec ...

, the population of Ademuz was 1,269.Source
INE - Demographics of Spanish municipalities since 1842
an
since 1996
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Gallery

File:Verge de l'Horta -Ademús-.JPG, Church of Nuestra Señora de la Huerta, 14th century File:Castell d'Ademuz.jpg, Ademuz castle File:Casa de la Villa-Ademuz.JPG, Town hall

References

Literature

*Candel Tortajada, F.: ''Viaje al Rincón de Ademuz''.

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, 1977. *Eslava Blasco, R.: ''Ademuz y su patrimonio histórico-artístico''. Ademuz, 2007.

External links

* {{authority control Municipalities in the Province of Valencia Rincón de Ademuz Articles which contain graphical timelines