Molina de Aragón is a municipality located in the

province of Guadalajara Guadalajara () is a province of Spain, belonging to the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. As of 2013 it had a population of 257,723 people. The population of the province has grown in the last 10 years. It is located in the centre of ...

, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2009

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

(

INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research center * Instituto Nacional de Estadística (disambiguation) * Instituto Nacional de Estatística (disambiguation) * Instituto Nacional Elec ...

), the municipality had a population of 3,671 inhabitants. It holds the record (−28.2 °C) for the lowest temperature measured by a

meteorological station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

in Spain. It was the seat of the taifa of Molina, a

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

independent state, before it was reconquered by the Christians of

Alfonso I of Aragon Alfonso I (''c''. 1073/10747 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior ( es, el Batallador), was King of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Pet ...

in 1129. On 21 April 1154

Manrique Pérez de Lara Manrique Pérez de Lara (died 1164) was a magnate of the Kingdom of Castile and its regent from 1158 until his death. He was a leading figure of the House of Lara and one of the most important counsellors and generals of three successive Castilian ...

issued a sweeping ''

fuero (), (), () or () is a Spanish legal term and concept. The word comes from Latin , an open space used as a market, tribunal and meeting place. The same Latin root is the origin of the French terms and , and the Portuguese terms and ; all ...

'' to the town of Molina, which he was building into a semi-independent fief.Simon Barton, ''The Aristocracy in Twelfth-century León and Castile'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 265. He and his descendants claimed to rule Molina ''Dei gratia'' ("

by the grace of God By the Grace of God ( la, Dei Gratia, abbreviated D.G.) is a formulaic phrase used especially in Christian monarchies as an introductory part of the full styles of a monarch. For example in England and later the United Kingdom, the phrase was fo ...

"). Molina is also the type location of the carbonate mineral

aragonite Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium carbonate, (the other forms being the minerals calcite and vaterite). It is formed by biological and physical processes, including prec ...

Main sights

*Medieval alcazar (10th–11th centuries), the largest in the province *Roman bridge (''Puente Viejo'') *Convent of St. Francis *Giraldo (St. Francis Church Bell Tower) *Church of ''Santa Clara'' *Church of ''Santa María de San Gil'' *Molina-Alto Tajo Geopark, Molina de Aragon is within this

Geopark A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant sciences. In 20 ...

List of settlements in the municipality

* Anchuela del Pedregal * Cubillejo de la Sierra * Cubillejo del Sitio *

Novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

* Tordelpalo

Climate

Molina de Aragón has an atypical variety of the

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

with

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

influences. Due to its irregular precipitation patterns the location does not fall into the clear

mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

zones to the south-west or the semi-arid that is common in the region, with significant precipitation in the summer and very low in the winter.

Gallery

Parador Santa Rita, Molina de Aragón.jpg, A typical inn (built 1826) at Molina de Aragón, Spain. Puente Viejo - Castillo, Molina.jpg, Old bridge over the

Gallo river The Gallo is a river in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, a right-bank tributary of the Tagus. It joins the Tagus in the latter's upper course. It has its source in the Sierra del Tremedal, close to the municipality of Orihuela del Tremedal (p ...

, 13th century, in the background the Medieval alcazar of Molina de Aragón, Spain. Giraldo.jpg, Giraldo on top of St. Francis Church bell Tower. Posada de los Comuneros, Molina de Aragón, Guadalajara, España, 2017-05-25, DD 16.jpg, Posada de los Comuneros. WLM14ES - 02082003 125604 1812 - .jpg, Tower of Aragon.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molina de Aragon Municipalities in the Province of Guadalajara