Guadiana (until 2020 Guadiana del Caudillo), is a Spanish town and municipality of the

Province of Badajoz The province of Badajoz () is a province of western Spain located in the autonomous community of Extremadura. It was formed in 1833. It is bordered by the provinces of Cáceres in the north, Toledo, Ciudad Real in the east, Córdoba in the so ...

, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. The municipality covers an area of and as of 2015 had a population of 2,527 people.

History

The town is a

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

founded in 1949 and officially inaugurated in 1951, and was officially became a municipality on 17 February 2012. Named after the nearby river

Guadiana The Guadiana River (, also , , ), or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from the e ...

and after

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

, also known as '' Caudillo'', it was one of the villages founded by the

Instituto Nacional de Colonización The Instituto Nacional de Colonización y Desarrollo Rural, en, National Institute of Rural Development and Colonization, was the administrative entity that was established by the Spanish State in October 1939, shortly after the end of the Spani ...

during the

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

.History of Guadiana
(municipal website) Hamlet of

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The population ...

municipality since its foundation, in 1971 it was constituted as local minor entity (''Entidad local menor'') and, after the approval of Badajoz City Council (Feb. 2009), it became an independent municipality from 17 February 2012. One month later, on March 11, it was held a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

to remove the Francoist reference (''Caudillo'') from the toponym. The

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

parties of

PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...

and Izquerda Unida, following the

Historical Memory Law Law 52/2007 That recognises and broadens the rights and establishes measures in favour of those who suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and the Dictatorship (in Spanish: ''Ley 52/2007 por la que se reconocen y amplían derechos ...

, called for abstention considering the name illegal. With the abstention of 67.7%, 495 votes (60,6%) in favor of the name with ''del Caudillo'' and 310 (37,9%) in favor of ''Guadiana'' option, the toponym has remained unchanged. The city was finally renamed Guadiana in 2020.

Geography

Located between the cities of

(32 km west) and Mérida (32 km east), and next to the Spanish borders with

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

(47 km west of

Elvas Elvas () is a Portuguese municipality, former episcopal city and frontier fortress of easternmost central Portugal, located in the district of Portalegre in Alentejo. It is situated about east of Lisbon, and about west of the Spanish fortress ...

); Guadiana is, along with La Albuera, an

enclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

entirely surrounded by the municipal territory of Badajoz. The municipality is part of the Judicial district of Badajoz and has no hamlets. The town lies on a plain, rich in

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

s and rural lands, between the rivers

Alcazaba A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...

and

. Nearest settlements are

Pueblonuevo del Guadiana Pueblonuevo del Guadiana, also shortened as Pueblonuevo, is a Spanish town and municipality in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura. It has a population of 2,046 and an area of 30,95 km². History The town is a planned community founded in 19 ...

Valdelacalzada Valdelacalzada is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2005 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Instit ...

, Montijo and

Puebla de la Calzada Puebla de la Calzada is a Spanish municipality in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its la ...

Main sights

One of the sights of the town is the

Catholic church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

dedicated to

María de la Soledad Our Lady of Solitude ( es, María de la Soledad; pt, Nossa Senhora da Soledade) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus and a special form of Marian devotion practised in Spanish-speaking countries to commemorate the solitude of Mary on Holy Satur ...

, belonging to the Archdiocese of Mérida-Badajoz.

Transport

The town is served by a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

on the

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ; en, "Royal City") is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. History It was founde ...

-Mérida-Badajoz railway, part of an international line that links

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

with

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. It is crossed to the south by the regional road EX-209, and is 18 km far from

Badajoz Airport Badajoz Airport ( es, Aeropuerto de Badajoz) is an airport located east of Badajoz, a city in Extremadura, Spain, and west of Mérida, Spain, the capital of the same Autonomous Community. The airport is connected with both cities by the Autov� ...

. Nearest motorway exit is "

Talavera la Real Talavera la Real is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Inst ...

", on the Autovía A-5 Madrid-Badajoz, and is 14 km far.

References

External links

Guadiana official website

Guadiana
on Badajoz Deputation website {{authority control Municipalities in the Province of Badajoz Planned communities in Spain Enclaves and exclaves States and territories established in 1951 States and territories established in 2012