Contamina is a municipality located in the

province of Zaragoza Zaragoza (), also called Saragossa in English,''Encyclopædia Britannica''Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)/ref> is a province of northern Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Aragon. Its capital is Zaragoza, which is also th ...

, Aragón,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

to the west of the Sierra de Padros, in the upper valley of the river

Jalón Xaló (; es, Jalón ), is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta in the Valencian Community, Spain. Geography The town of Jalón is located in the Jalón Valley. The Jalón or Gorgos river crosses the town, which has a length of . ...

, a tributary of the

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

. According to the 2008

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 ...

( Instituto Nacional de Estadística), the municipality has a population of 42 inhabitants. In 1930 the population was 252. The 16th-century parish church is dedicated to St Bartholomew and is constructed in the baroque style. It has a notable 16th-century altar depicting the life of Saint Bartholomew in eight panels. The novel ''Secuestro y fonda de Cela en Contamina'' by José de Cora, is set in the pueblo and recounts a fictional history of the kidnapping of 1989

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner

Camilo José Cela Camilo José Cela y Trulock, 1st Marquess of Iria Flavia (; 11 May 1916 – 17 January 2002) was a Spanish novelist, poet, story writer and essayist associated with the Generation of '36 movement. He was awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literat ...

by three local inhabitants. Two kilometres to the east lies the spa town of Alhama de Aragón. The main highway between Zaragoza and Madrid skirts the northern edge of the settlement. This is a rural community with arable and fruit farms. There is a restaurant and a '' casa rural'' (self catering accommodation). A few kilometres to the south-east lies the Tranquera reservoir and the ancient

Monasterio de Piedra Monasterio de Piedra (Stone Monastery) is a monastery, hotel and park complex in the Iberian System mountain ranges, near Nuévalos, province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. The monastery was founded in 1194 by Alfonso II of Aragon, with thirt ...

with its famous water gardens.

History

The origin of the name ''Contamina'' is believed to be 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 ...

''CONDOMIN(I)A'' (joint domain). Contamina used to lie on the ''Camino Real'', the royal highway to Madrid, and in the Middle Ages was the location of stables for royal post horses. In 1361 king Pedro IV gave the manor of Contamina to Pedro Carrillo. In 1646 Contamina was granted by king Felipe IV to Sr. Juan Fernandez de Heredia of Cetina, who became ''Conde de Contamina''. In the diaries of Elizabeth, Lady Holland, the Conde de Contamina was mentioned favourably as a supporter of the English cause against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

Contamina remained in the Nationalist Zone following occupation of most of the province of

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

by Franco's Nationalist forces in the summer of 1936. Five residents of the village were murdered by nationalist forces in 1936.

Fiestas

*August 24, Saint Bartholomew *First Sunday in October, Virgen del Rosario.

Nearby places

* Alhama de Aragon * Ariza * Cetina *

* Nuevalos

Notes

{{authority control Municipalities in the Province of Zaragoza