Entença, Entenza or Antenza is a village in the

La Franja La Franja (; "The Strip"; an, Francha ) is the area of Catalan-speaking territories of eastern Aragon bordering Catalonia, in Spain. It literally means ''"the strip"'' and can also more properly be called (Aragonese Strip), (Western Strip) or ...

area of

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 ...

. It is located at a height of 576 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

in the

Ribagorça Ribagorça () or Ribagorza (; french: Rives Gorces) is a historical and natural region of Aragon and Catalonia. Located in the Pre-Pyrenees and Pyrenees area, most of its territory is mountainous. The region has been steadily losing population s ...

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, ...

Huesca Province Huesca ( an, Uesca, ca, Osca), officially Huesca/Uesca, is a province of northeastern Spain, in northern Aragon. The capital is Huesca. Positioned just south of the central Pyrenees, Huesca borders France and the French Departments of Haute-Ga ...

, 10 km to the

east-southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

Benavarri Benabarre (), in Ribagorçan and Aragonese: Benavarri () is a town and municipality in the Aragonese comarca of Ribagorza, in the province of Huesca, Spain. Benabarre is the historical and cultural capital of the comarca. It is part of the geo ...

, town to which it belongs administratively. Its zip code is 22580. Like many small towns in the

Pre-Pyrenees The Pre-Pyrenees are the foothills of the Pyrenees. Description As a mountainous system the Pre-Pyrenees are part of the Pyrenees. They run parallel to the main mountain range in a west to east direction. On the French side the Pyrenees's slop ...

, Entença has lost much population in the past 50 years. According to the 2007 census it has only 14 inhabitants. The most important buildings are the recently restored St. James' Church with only one bell in its two-eyed

bell-gable The bell gable ( es, espadaña, french: clocher-mur, it, campanile a vela) is an architectural element crowning the upper end of the wall of church buildings, usually in lieu of a church tower. It consists of a gable end in stone, with small ho ...

, as well as the now ruined residence of Queen

Teresa d'Entença Teresa d'Entença (c. 1300 – 20 October 1327) was the eldest daughter of Gombau d'Entença and his wife Constança d'Antillón. She was Countess of Urgell in her own right; however, control over her estate passed to her husband, Alfonso IV of Ara ...

Countess of Urgell This is a list of the counts of Urgell, a county of the Principality of Catalonia in the 10th through 13th centuries. c. 798–870 Counts appointed by the Carolingians *798–820 Borrell, count of Urgell and Cerdanya *820–824 Aznar Galíndez I ...

and Viscountess of Àger (1314–1327), wife of King Alfons IV of Aragon. The town gathers some of its former inhabitants and tourists every 25 July on the St. James' celebrations, as well as every 6 August on the occasion of Sant Salvador's

county fair An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

at the small Sant Salvador d'Entença church located out of the town perimeter.

History

Entença is the place of origin of the ancient

House of Entença The House of Entença was an ancient and noble dynasty of the Crown of Aragon. History The Entença noble family originated in the town of Entença, town, Entença in La Franja, presently in Aragon, around the 11th century. Later, in the 13th c ...

, one of the main dynasties of the ancient

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...

. The

Barony of Entença Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

was established in the lower River Cinca valley and also 90 km further south, in the

Priorat Priorat () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. The central part of the comarca, "Priorat històric," produces the highly regarded wines that are certified under the DOQ Priorat. Wines from elsewhere in the comarca are certified as DO M ...

and

Terres de l'Ebre Terres de l'Ebre (, literally in English 'The Ebre Lands') is one of the seven territories defined by the Regional Plan of Catalonia. It is located in the south-west of Catalonia, in the southern part of river Ebre, and will be formed by four coma ...

, lands conquered to the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

s. Because of this historical significance, streets or squares named 'Entença' or 'Entenza' are common in towns and villages throughout

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, 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 with ...

and the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

. The first mention of the town in a document was in 1036, according to Àngel Canellas López in his ''Colección diplomática de San Andrés de Fanlo''.''Institución Fernando el Católico'',

Saragossa Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, 1964

References

External links

Benavarri Town HallSt. James' Church of Entença
{{DEFAULTSORT:Entenca, town La Franja Ribagorza

History

See also

References

External links