Alaejos is a municipality located in the
province of Valladolid
Valladolid () is a Provinces of Spain, province of northwest Spain, in the central part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Castile and León. It has a population of 520,716 people in a total of 225 munici ...
,
Castile and León
Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain.
It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...
, Spain. According to the 2011
census (
INE), the municipality has a population of 1,467 inhabitants.
History
Even though the origins of the town remain uncertain, it is known that it was part of the old province of
Toro. Its name around the 12th and 13th century was Falafeios. One theory says that it might have been founded by the Castilian monarchs as a hamlet in the reconquered territories during the ''
Reconquista''.
By the mid-14th century, the village had been sold to
Medina del Campo by Diego Fernández de Medina. It was a jurisdictional dominion by the
Bishop of Ávila
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, Alfonso de Fonseca, until the 19th century.
During the 15th century,
Doña Juana de Portugal
Don (; ; pt, Dom, links=no ; all from Latin ', roughly 'Lord'), abbreviated as D., is an honorific prefix primarily used in Spain and Hispanic America, and with different connotations also in Italy, Portugal and its former colonies, and Croati ...
(
Enrique IV
Henry IV of Castile ( Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), King of Castile and León, nicknamed the Impotent, was the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Castile and León. During Henry's reign, the nobles became ...
's wife) was imprisoned in the castle of Alaejos. In 1520, the
comuneros
Comunero may refer to:
* Revolt of the Comuneros, a rebellion in Castile in 1520–1521
* Revolt of the Comuneros (Paraguay), a revolt in Paraguay in 1721–1735
* Revolt of the Comuneros (New Granada), a revolt in New Granada (modern Colo ...
destroyed a large part of the town. In 1595 it joined
Valladolid's Bishopric, even though it kept being part of the
Province of Segovia.
By year 1785, the Royal Economical Society of Charity (Real Sociedad Caritativo Económica) was founded in the town as a part of the spirit of the
Age of Enlightenment, which promoted several very advanced economic, social and educational activities for the childhood and the youth of the town.
The town was declared
Conjunto Histórico-Artístico
The term ''conjunto'' (, literally 'group', 'ensemble') refers to several types of small musical ensembles present in different Latin American musical traditions, mainly in Mexico and Cuba. While Mexican conjuntos play styles such as '' norteño' ...
(the equivalent to
Heritage Preservation) in 1980.
Trivia
Alaejos is the
antipode of the capital of
New Zealand,
Wellington.
See also
*
Cuisine of the province of Valladolid
The gastronomy of the province of Valladolid comprises the meals, their preparation, and the culinary habits of the province of Valladolid. It is based on barbecued and roast food, especially roasted Spanish cuisine. Wines of high qualit ...
References
Municipalities in the Province of Valladolid
{{Valladolid-geo-stub