An alhóndiga (from

Medieval Spanish Old Spanish, also known as Old Castilian ( es, castellano antiguo; osp, romance castellano ), or Medieval Spanish ( es, español medieval), was originally a dialect of Vulgar Latin spoken in the former provinces of the Roman Empire that provide ...

''alfóndiga'', in turn from Arabic ''al-fondaq'', this in turn from Greek ''pandocheion'', lit.: "welcome all") or almudí, almudín, alholí, public house or neighbors' market was formerly an establishment where grain was sold, bought and even stored, whose purpose was to help the neighbors and mainly the farmers in times of shortage. It is historically equivalent or derived from the

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...

s (or ''funduq''s) of the Muslim world. The public almudíes were establishments managed by the city councils where all those who introduced any kind of grain to sell were obliged to carry them with the same object. The almudí was composed of large and spacious warehouses or markets in which various types of grain were conveniently placed. It was open during the day and to this deposit often came many bodies and individuals who wanted to acquire a certain amount of cereals for their needs. Each competitor or holder of grains satisfied by rights a price for each quantity of wheat,

rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

, vicia faba, barley and oats which it kept. Currently companies and cooperatives dedicated to the agricultural sector use the term ''alhóndiga'' in their social denominations, especially those of Andalusia and Murcia. The function of these alhóndigas, in Andalusia and Murcia, is to unify the supply and demand of horticultural products, where the farmers take their products to the alhóndiga and this is responsible for auctioning them through a dynamic auction on the low in exchange for a commission.

File:Cambra Vieja del Trigo-Almudín-Ademuz.JPG, Cambra Vieja del Trigo in Ademuz, Valencian Community Alhóndiga, Ágreda, España, 2012-08-27, DD 01.jpg, Alhóndiga in Ágreda,

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...

File:Avila Puerta del Alcazar 1864 01.jpg, The Alhóndiga in

Ávila Ávila (, , ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m abov ...

(demolished). File:Morelia antigua alhóndiga.JPG, Present-day unused former colonial alhóndiga building in Morelia,

MICH Mich or MICH may refer to: People * An abbreviation for Michelle (name) * Mich Dulce (born 1981), Filipina fashion designer, milliner, corsetiere, feminist activist, actress, artist and singer * Mich Matsudaira (1937–2019), American businessman ...

( Mexico) File:Bilbao Alhondiga-kriss69-01.jpg, Alhóndiga Municipal Cultural Center in Bilbao. Former municipal wineteca reconverted in "Cultural Center Iñaki Azkuna Zentroa". File:Antiguo almudí de Cuenca.JPG, Former Almudí in Cuenca, Spain File:Granada Corral del Carbón 16-03-2011 17-29-46 16-03-2011 17-29-46.JPG, Corral del Carbón, former alhóndiga in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

File:AlhondigaPipila.JPG, The Mexican independence movement-related Alhóndiga de Granaditas (

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

, Mexico) File:Xàtiva. Almodí. Pati 2.jpg, Courtyard of the former Almudín de Xàtiva (Valencian Community) File:Alhondiga ciudad de mexico.jpg, Former alhóndiga in Mexico City ( neighborhood of La Merced, Mexico) File:El palacio almudi - panoramio.jpg,

Palacio del Almudí Palacio (''palace'') is a Spanish habitational name. It may have originated from many places in Spain, especially in Galicia and Asturies. Notable people with the surname include: *Agustina Palacio de Libarona (1825-1880), Argentine writer, story ...

, Murcia File:Antigua alhóndiga de Segovia.JPG, Former Alhóndiga in Segovia, today Municipal Archive File:Almodí de València.JPG, The Almudín in Valencia. File:Alhóndiga del Pan (Zamora).JPG, The former Alhóndiga del Pan in Zamora

References

*This contains information taken from the homonymous article in the Spanish Wikipedia. * ''Guía de Zaragoza'', 1860. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alhóndiga (building)