Fregenal de la Sierra
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Fregenal de la Sierra (originally Frexnal or Frexenal) is a municipality located in the
province of Badajoz The province of Badajoz () is a province of western Spain located in the autonomous community of Extremadura. It was formed in 1833. It is bordered by the provinces of Cáceres in the north, Toledo, Ciudad Real in the east, Córdoba in the s ...
,
Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...
, Spain.


Geography

Fregenal de la Sierra is located in the Sierra Suroeste
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, ...
(county), among the small hills and ravines of the
Sierra Morena The Sierra Morena is one of the main systems of mountain ranges in Spain. It stretches for 450 kilometres from east to west across the south of the Iberian Peninsula, forming the southern border of the ''Meseta Central'' plateau and providi ...
. Fregenal de la Sierra borders Valverde de Burguillos,
Burguillos del Cerro Burguillos del Cerro is a municipality in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest ci ...
and
Jerez de los Caballeros Jerez de los Caballeros () is a town of south-western Spain, in the province of Badajoz. It is located on two hills overlooking the River Ardila, a tributary of the Guadiana, 18 km east of the Portuguese border. The old town is surrounded by a M ...
to the north, Valencia del Ventoso to the east,
Bodonal de la Sierra Bodonal de la Sierra is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its l ...
,
Segura de León Segura de León is a Spanish municipality in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura. It has a population of 2,170 (2007) and an area of 106 km². It belongs to the ''comarca'' of Tentudía. History Ferdinand III tasked the Knights of the Or ...
and
Fuentes de León Fuentes de León ( ext, Fuentis de Lión) is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2005 census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about ...
to the south, and Higuera la Real to the southwest. It is the seat of the Fregenal de la Sierra
judicial district A judicial district or legal district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court (usually a district court) has jurisdiction. By region Europe Austria In texts concerning Austria, "judicial district" (german: Gerichtsbezirk) refers ...
(''partido judicial''). Fregenal is located on the EX-101, EX-201, and N-435 highways and is served by rail (on the daily Zafra-Huelva line) and by bus.


Economy

Fregenal de la Sierra's economy has traditionally depended on agriculture and livestock. To a lesser extent, mining has also been important; it was important as a distribution point for minerals mined in the surrounding areas. Today major industries include cork extraction and the processing of pork from Iberian pigs. Tourism is also increasing in importance.


History

In the vicinity of the present town lie the ruins (almost entirely buried and little-researched) of a Celtic fort called Nertóbriga, which became known as Nertóbriga-Concordia Iulia after the Roman conquest. This city was part of the
Hispania Ulterior Hispania Ulterior (English: "Further Hispania", or occasionally "Thither Hispania") was a region of Hispania during the Roman Republic, roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania ( ...
region in the first two centuries BC; later it became part of
Hispania Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of the basic di ...
, where it remained for over seven centuries until the beginning of the Muslim conquest. New research in this city has uncovered a watchtower first used by the Visigoths and later by Muslims, and a Muslim cemetery. The only reference made by Christians about this city is the name Castillo de Valera, which was dated by the Knights Templar. The city was conquered by Fernando III with the help of the Templars, but first appearance of Fregenal in historical records was in 1283 when the population was given by Alfonso X of Castile to the Order of the Temple for its work in the reconquista. Fregenal ultimately was returned to the kingdom of Seville in 1312. Over 100 individuals from Fregenal traveled to the New World during Spanish conquest and colonization, among them Alonso Rodríguez Santos and Benito Arias Montano (son of Rodríguez Santos and nephew of the humanist also named Benito Arias Montano). Spanish actress
Pilar López de Ayala Pilar López de Ayala Arroyo (born 18 September 1978) is a Spanish actress. She won a Goya Award for Best Actress for her performance playing Joanna of Castile in 2001 film '' Mad Love''. Family Born in Madrid, López de Ayala has an older br ...
's (b. 1978) father Rodrigo López de Ayala Sánchez-Arjona (b. 1944) was born here, from descendants of
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
.


Twin towns

*
Barrancos Barrancos ( Barranquenho: ''Barrancu'') is a town and a municipality in Portugal. With a population of 1,834 in 2011, it is the least populated municipality in mainland Portugal. Its area is 168.42 km2. The municipality is composed of one pa ...
, Portugal * Taurisano, Italy


Photo gallery

File:Homenajesoportales.jpg, Main place of Fregenal File:Ariasmontano.JPG, Benito Arias Montano File:SANFRAN.JPG, San Francisco's place File:LUISPECHECASA.jpg, Family's Peche House File:Santa Ana Retablo.jpg, Santa Ana's church File:VirgendelosRemedios.jpg, Virgin of los Remedios File:Santa cat.jpg, Santa Catalina's church File:Juan Bravo Murillo.jpg, Juan Bravo Murillo File:Ayuntamiento de fregenal.JPG, City hall File:Escudo fregenal.jpg, Save of Fregenal File:Paseoconst.jpg, Main place File:Torrepilares.jpg, Torrepilares family palace File:Riocabado.jpg, Riocabado family palace File:Corredera.jpg, Jesuita's convent


References

{{authority control Municipalities in the Province of Badajoz