Illán de Vacas is a town in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Toledo, in Castile–La Mancha, Spain. The surface area of the municipality is 9 km², it has a total population of 1 inhabitant,http://www.ine.es/pob_xls/pobmun13.xls making it the least populated

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 Spain. Illán de Vacas belongs to 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, ...

" of Torrijos. It is bordered on the north by the municipality of Los Cerralbos, on the northwest by Otero, on the east by Domingo Pérez, on the south by

Cebolla Cebolla is a Spanish municipality of Toledo province, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. Its population is 2,978 and it is 37 km², in area with a density of 80.5 people/km². The mayor of Cebolla is Jesús Malta García, of ...

and on the west by Lucillos. The town lies at an elevation of roughly 480 m, and 59 km west of Toledo and 35 km east of

Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipality of the province of Toledo and the fourth largest in the ...

, on the

railway 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 ...

line between Talavera and Torrijos. It is approximately 95 km southwest of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Illán de Vacas is Mr. Julián Renilla Bru of the Partido Popular. In the 2004 General Election in Spain, all four votes cast at Illán de Vacas went to the Partido Popular. The municipality contains a church consecrated to the

Assumption of Our Lady The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

(''Iglesia de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora'').

Toponymy

The word ''Illán'' derives from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''Iulianus''. The town’s name stems from the worship of ''San Illán'' or ''San Julián'' (“Saint Julian”). The word ''de'' simply means “of”. The last word, ''Vacas'', despite its current meaning in

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, Can ...

– namely “cows” – apparently has an

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 ...

origin, deriving from a word ''Wakka''. In a document from the latter half of the 16th century, it says that the town’s name is “Vacas”, and that a fortunate man named Illán lived there.

Demographics

The following table shows the population development between 1996 and 2007 according to data from the ''Instituto Nacional de Estadística'' (INE). With 5 inhabitants, according to the INE's 2011 census, Illán de Vacas is one of Spain's two smallest municipalities by population.Consulta en el INE de las cifras de población del Padrón Municipal
/ref> At one point (1991), it even temporarily became a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

History

In the past, the town was tied to Los Cerralbos with its beginnings as a workhouse. Illán de Vacas appears in a 1512 document that indicates that three soldiers were captured here. In the 17th century, this

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

was repopulated with 37 families. In the mid 19th century, it had 22 houses and the municipal budget rose to 2,200 reales, of which 800 reales were used to pay the secretary. Madoz, Pascual (1850). '' Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-histórico de España y sus posesiones de Ultramar''. tomo IX. Madrid: Imprenta del Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-histórico de D. Pascual Madoz. pp.&nbs

References

External links

General election results (2004) in Illán de Vacas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Illan de Vacas Municipalities in the Province of Toledo