An alhóndiga (from
Medieval Spanish ''alfóndiga'', in turn from
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
''al-fondaq'', this in turn from Greek ''pandocheion'', lit.: "welcome all") or almudí, almudín, alholí, public house or neighbors' market was formerly an establishment where grain was sold, bought and even stored, whose purpose was to help the neighbors and mainly the farmers in times of shortage. It is historically equivalent or derived from the
caravanserais (or ''funduq''s) of the Muslim world.
The public almudíes were establishments managed by the city councils where all those who introduced any kind of grain to sell were obliged to carry them with the same object. The almudí was composed of large and spacious
warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...
s or markets in which various types of grain were conveniently placed. It was open during the day and to this deposit often came many bodies and individuals who wanted to acquire a certain amount of cereals for their needs. Each competitor or holder of grains satisfied by rights a price for each quantity of
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
,
rye,
millet,
bean,
corn,
vicia faba
''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieti ...
,
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
and
oats
The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...
which it kept.
Currently companies and cooperatives dedicated to the agricultural sector use the term ''alhóndiga'' in their social denominations, especially those of Andalusia and Murcia.
The function of these alhóndigas, in Andalusia and Murcia, is to unify the supply and demand of horticultural products, where the farmers take their products to the alhóndiga and this is responsible for auctioning them through a dynamic auction on the low in exchange for a commission.
File:Cambra Vieja del Trigo-Almudín-Ademuz.JPG, Cambra Vieja del Trigo in Ademuz
Ademuz 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. The name in Valencian language, Valencian is ''Adem ...
, 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 ...
Alhóndiga, Ágreda, España, 2012-08-27, DD 01.jpg, Alhóndiga in Ágreda
Ágreda is a municipality located in the province of Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain.
Ágreda is the regional services center in the Northeast of the province of Soria. Its abundant heritage as well as the local f ...
, Castile and León
File:Avila Puerta del Alcazar 1864 01.jpg, The Alhóndiga in Ávila (demolished).
File:Morelia antigua alhóndiga.JPG, Present-day unused former colonial alhóndiga building in Morelia
Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and lar ...
, MICH (Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
)
File:Bilbao Alhondiga-kriss69-01.jpg, Alhóndiga Municipal Cultural Center in Bilbao
)
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize = 275 px
, map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao
, pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption ...
. Former municipal wineteca reconverted in "Cultural Center Iñaki Azkuna Zentroa".
File:Antiguo almudí de Cuenca.JPG, Former Almudí in Cuenca, Spain
Cuenca () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. It is the capital of the province of Cuenca.
Etymology
Its name may derive from the Latin ''conca'' meaning "river basin", referring ...
File:Granada Corral del Carbón 16-03-2011 17-29-46 16-03-2011 17-29-46.JPG, Corral del Carbón, former alhóndiga in Granada
File:AlhondigaPipila.JPG, The Mexican independence movement-related Alhóndiga de Granaditas
The Alhóndiga de Granaditas (Regional Museum of Guanajuato) ( public grain exchange) is an old grain storage building in Guanajuato City, Mexico. This historic building was created to replace an old grain exchange near the city's river. The name ...
( Guanajuato, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
)
File:Xàtiva. Almodí. Pati 2.jpg, Courtyard of the former Almudín de Xàtiva
Xàtiva (, es, Játiva ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west ...
(Valencian Community)
File:Alhondiga ciudad de mexico.jpg, Former alhóndiga in Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
( neighborhood of La Merced, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
)
File:El palacio almudi - panoramio.jpg, Palacio del Almudí, Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
File:Antigua alhóndiga de Segovia.JPG, Former Alhóndiga in Segovia
Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia.
Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...
, today Municipal Archive
File:Almodí de València.JPG, The Almudín in Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
.
File:Alhóndiga del Pan (Zamora).JPG, The former Alhóndiga del Pan in Zamora
References
*This contains information taken from the homonymous article in the Spanish Wikipedia.
* ''Guía de Zaragoza'', 1860.
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