Santa Magdalena de Polpís (, es, Santa Magdalena de Pulpis) is a town and municipality in the

Baix Maestrat Baix Maestrat (; es, Bajo Maestrazgo ) is a coastal Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' located in the north of the Provinces of Spain, province of Castellón (province), Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. The capital of the '' ...

comarca, province of Castelló, Valencian Community, Spain. The town is located inland in a flat valley between the two mountain ranges of

Serra d'Irta Serra d'Irta (, es, Sierra de Irta) is an 18.8 km long mountain range in the Baix Maestrat comarca, Valencian Community, Spain. Its highest point is Pico Campanelles (573 m). Location The Serra d'Irta stretches in a northeast-southwes ...

and

Serra de les Talaies Serra (Latin for " saw") may refer to: People * Serra (footballer) (born 1961), Portuguese footballer * Serra (surname) * Serra (given name) Cities, towns, municipalities Brazil * Serra, Espírito Santo, a city in the Greater Vitória area *Am ...

. It is a rural

dryland farming Dryland farming and dry farming encompass specific agricultural techniques for the non-irrigated cultivation of crops. Dryland farming is associated with drylands, areas characterized by a cool wet season (which charges the soil with virtually ...

town with only marginal industrial activity, where the main cultivation is

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

and

carob tree The carob ( ; ''Ceratonia siliqua'') is a flowering evergreen tree or shrub in the Caesalpinioideae sub-family of the legume family, Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated for its edible fruit pods, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and landsca ...

s, as well as some orange trees in irrigated patches. There is no river in the valley, instead the water emerges in natural ponds known as ''basses''. The main celebration in Santa Magdalena de Polpís is the Festes patronals in honor of Saint Mary Magdalene.

History

Like neighboring Alcalà de Xivert its castle was an important bulwark in

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 ...

times and a village developed at the feet of the castle, eventually giving origin to the present-day town. Santa Magdalena de Polpís suffered much during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) when the

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

troops tried to split the Spanish Republican government territory in two and reach the Mediterranean coast cutting across the Talaies.Abril del 38 (III part)

References

External links

Web de Santa Magdalena de Polpís

Polpís, terra cremada - The Civil War in Santa Magdalena de Polpís, political, social and historical context

Institut Valencià d'Estadística

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Magdalena de Polpis Municipalities in the Province of Castellón Baix Maestrat