La Yesa is a small town and

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 the ''comarca'' of

Los Serranos Los Serranos (Valencian: ''Serrans'') is a ''comarca'' in the province of Valencia, Valencian Community, Spain. It is part of the Spanish-speaking area in the Valencian Community. Geographically and historically Chera (Xera) was part of this c ...

in 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 ...

, Spain. The name in

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...

is ''La Iessa'', but the local language is Spanish, not Valencian.

Geography

The municipality covers an area of and as of 2011 had a population of 265 people. La Yesa is located north of

Chelva Chelva is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' of Los Serranos in the Valencia (autonomous community), Valencian Community, Spain. Its name in Valencian language, Valencian is ''Xelva'' ...

and northwest of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, off the provincial road CV-35 which links with the CV-345. It borders Abejuela 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 ...

to the northeast. At an altitude of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

, the climate is dry

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

, resulting in hot summers and cold winters (sometimes below 0 °C), where there is frequent snow.

History

The archaeological remains found in La Yesa attest to a settlement during Roman times. Alpuente and La Yesa were also coveted by the Cid, who seized the land in the late eleventh century. In the Muslim period it was part of the

Taifa The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), re ...

Kingdom of Alpuente(ninth century), being conquered by James I in 1236 and delivered to Juan de Auñón in 1238. In 1583, King

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

granted the status of University and in 1587 it was declared an independent village.

Economy

The municipal economy revolves around agriculture and livestock. In 1611 wheat was reportedly sold for 110 ''sous'' in La Yesa. The town has a growing tourism sector on weekends and holidays, which has fueled the growth of several shops and bars. Kaolin mining and construction are the main industries. The municipality has close ties with the neighboring municipality of Alpuente, the town of which lies to the southwest of La Yesa.

Notable landmarks

Notable hermitages include Ermita de San Juan, Ermita de San Roque, Ermita de San Sebastián (in disrepair) and the ruined Ermita de Nª Sª de Belén. The principal church is the Iglesia de Nª Sª de los Ángeles, which was completed in 1622 in the Renaissance style with a square tower. The church was burned down in 1840 following the

Carlist Wars The Carlist Wars () were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed. Several times during the period from 1833 to 187 ...

but was subsequently reconstructed, completed in 1852. To the left of the façade, recessed, stands the sturdy bell tower of ashlar masonry. Next to the Ermita de San Roque is the Monument to the Carlists, a cross composed of parts of a machine gun on an octagonal stone. The town contains the restaurants ''Tejería'' and ''Cerería''.

References

External links

Official site
{{authority control Yesa, La Yesa, La