Castilla-La Mancha

Description

Castilla-La Mancha is a south-western European region that was part of the Kingdom of Castile. Nowadays it is established as an autonomous community of Spain. Castilla-La Mancha is bordered by Castilla y León, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and Extremadura. It is one of the most sparsely populated of Spain's autonomous communities. Albacete is the largest and most populous city. Its capital city is Toledo, and its judicial capital city is Albacete.

Castilla-La Mancha was formerly grouped with the province of Madrid into New Castile (Castilla la Nueva), but with the advent of the modern Spanish system of autonomous regions (Estado de las autonomías), it was separated due to great demographic disparity between the capital and the remaining New-Castilian provinces. Also, distinct from the former New Castile, Castilla-La Mancha added the province of Albacete, which had been part of Murcia; adding Albacete placed all of the historic region of La Mancha within this single region.

It is mostly in this region where the story of the famous Spanish novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes is situated, due to which La Mancha is internationally well-known. Although La Mancha is a windswept, battered plateau, it remains a symbol of Spanish culture with its vineyards, sunflowers, mushrooms, olive plantations, windmills, Manchego cheese, and Don Quixote.

History

The history of Castilla-La Mancha has been significant. Its origin lay in the Muslim period between the 8th and 14th century. Castilla-La Mancha was the region of many historical battles between Christian crusaders and Muslim forces during the period from 1000 to the 13th century. It was also the region where the Crown of Castile and Aragon were unified in 1492 under Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand.

Castilla-La Mancha is the successor to New Castile (Castilla la Nueva), which in turn traces back to the Muslim Taifa of Toledo, one of the taifas of Al Andalus. Alfonso VI conquered the region from the Muslims, taking Toledo in 1085. The Reconquista ("Reconquest") took Cuenca in 1177. Other provinces to the south—the Campo de Calatrava, the Valle de Alcudia, and the Alfoz de Alcaraz (Campo de Montiel and Sierra de Alcaraz)—were consolidated during the reign of Alfonso VIII (reigned 1158–1214), whose conquests were completed by the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212). That victory assured Castilian domination of the region and hastened the decline of the Almohad Dynasty. From the time of the Reconquista, Castilla-La Mancha formed part of the Kingdom of Castile. Four centuries later, in 1605, Cervantes' Don Quixote gave the world an indelible picture of La Mancha.

In 1785, the territorial organization by the reformer Floridablanca divided the region into the provinces of Cuenca, Guadalajara, Madrid, La Mancha, and Toledo. Albacete, Chinchilla, Almansa, Hellín and Yeste, however, became part of Murcia. In 1833 Javier de Burgos modified the provincial borders; most of the province of La Mancha was transferred to the province of Ciudad Real, with smaller parts incorporated into the provinces of Cuenca, Toledo and the newly created province of Albacete. Albacete, in turn, also incorporated parts of the territories of the old provinces of Cuenca and Murcia. Albacete was administered as part of the Region of Murcia until the 1978 configuration of autonomous regions. Nonetheless, during the First Spanish Republic, Albacete was one of the signatories to the Pacto Federal Castellano (1869) and in 1924 its deputation favored the formation of a "Comunidad Manchega" that would have recognized La Mancha (including Albacete) as a region.

The Autonomous Community of Castilla-La Mancha dates from November 15, 1978, as one of the many autonomous regions defined by the Spanish central government. (More precisely, each of these regions was initially a preautonomía, a "pre-autonomous" region, until establishing its Statute of Autonomy). The new, hyphenated name constituted an effort to bridge two distinct regionalisms: that of the larger Castilla (extending beyond this autonomous region) and that of the smaller onetime province of La Mancha. The Statute of Autonomy of Castilla–La Mancha was approved August 10, 1982 and took effect August 17, 1982.

Regional divisions

Castilla-La Mancha is divided into 5 provinces named after their capital cities. The following category includes:

Albacete
Ciudad Real
Cuenca
Guadalajara
Toledo

According to the official data of the INE, Castilla-La Mancha consists of 919 municipalities, which amount to 11.3 percent of all the municipalities in Spain. 496 of these have less than 500 inhabitants, 231 have between 501 and 2,000 inhabitants, 157 between 2,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, and only 35 have more than 10,000 inhabitants. The municipalities in the north are small and numerous, while in the south they are larger and fewer. This reflects different histories of how these sub-regions were repopulated during the Reconquista.

The 25 most populous municipalities of Castilla-La Mancha according to the INE are:

Most populous municipalities of Castilla-La Mancha Rank Municipality Province Population 1 Albacete Albacete 172,487 2 Talavera de la Reina Toledo 87,763 3 Toledo Toledo 84,810 4 Guadalajara Guadalajara 81,221 5 Ciudad Real Ciudad Real 72,208 6 Cuenca Cuenca 54,600 7 Puertollano Ciudad Real 51,305 8 Tomelloso Ciudad Real 37,532 9 Hellín Albacete 31,054 10 Azuqueca de Henares Guadalajara 30,794 11 Alcázar de San Juan Ciudad Real 30,408 12 Valdepeñas Ciudad Real 30,255 13 Villarrobledo Albacete 26,311 14 Almansa Albacete 25,591 15 Illescas Toledo 19,167 16 Manzanares Ciudad Real 19,027 17 Daimiel Ciudad Real 18,389 18 La Solana Ciudad Real 16,392 19 La Roda Albacete 16,034 20 Tarancón Cuenca 14,962 21 Campo de Criptana Ciudad Real 14,870 22 Seseña Toledo 13,843 23 Miguelturra Ciudad Real 13,582 24 Socuéllamos Ciudad Real 13,357 25 Torrijos Toledo 12,674

Comarcas

Although the Statute of Autonomy allows for comarcas of political/juridical significance, this has never been followed through at the level of the entire region, and there are no comarcas in Castilla-La Mancha with political or juridical functions. Individual provinces of Castilla-La Mancha have performed comarcalizations for administrative, economic and touristic purposes. Many Castellano-Manchegan comarcas important traditional significance, with some figuring in history well beyond their respective provinces.

Comarcas of Albacete:
- Campos de Hellín
- Llanos de Albacete
- La Mancha del Júcar-Centro
- Manchuela albaceteña
- Monte Ibérico–Corredor de Almansa
- Sierra de Alcaraz y Campo de Montiel
- Sierra del Segura
Comarcas of Ciudad Real:
- Alcudia
- Campo de Calatrava
- Mancha
- Montes
- Montiel
- Sierra Morena
Comarcas of Cuenca:
- La Alcarria conquense
- La Mancha de Cuenca
- Manchuela conquense
- Serranía Alta
- Serranía Media-Campichuelo
- Serranía Baja

Comarcas of Guadalajara:
- La Alcarria (comarca)
- La Campiña (comarca)
- Señorío de Molina
- La Serranía
Comarcas of Toledo:
- La Campana de Oropesa
- La Jara
- La Mancha Alta de Toledo
- Mesa de Ocaña
- Montes de Toledo
- La Sagra
- Sierra de San Vicente
- Talavera (co-extensive with the municipality of Talavera de la Reina).
- Toledo (co-extensive with the municipality of Toledo).
- Torrijos

Official symbols

The Organic Law 9/1982 (August 10, 1982), which is the Statute of Autonomy of Castilla-La Mancha established the flag of Castilla-La Mancha and the law 1/1983 (June 30, 1983) established the coat of arms.

Flag

Seven different designs for a flag were proposed during the era of the "pre-autonomous" region. The selected design was that of Manchego heraldist Ramón José Maldonado. This was made official in Article 5 of the Statute of Autonomy:

One. The flag of the region consists of a rectangle divided vertically into two equal squares: the first, together with the mast, crimson red with a castle of Or masoned in sable and port and windows of azure; the second, white.
Two. The flag of the region will fly at regional, provincial, or municipal public buildings, and will appear next to the Spanish flag, which will be displayed in the preeminent place; historic territories [provinces] may also be represented.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Castilla-La Mancha is based on the flag of the region, and not vice versa, as is more typical in heraldry. Article 1 of the law 1/1983 describes it as follows:

The coat of arms of the Communities of Castilla-La Mancha is party per pale. On the dexter [the statute literally says "On the first quarter"], on a field gules a castle Or, embattled, port and windows of azure and masoned sable. On the sinister [the statute literally says "The second quarter"], a field argent. On the crest, a royal crown enclosed, which is a circle of Or crimped with precious gems, composed of eight finials, of Acanthus mollis, five visible, topped by pearls and whose leaves emerge from diadems, which converge in a globe of azure or blue, with a semimeridian and the equator Or topped by a cross Or. The crown lined with gules or red.

Some institutions of the region have adopted this coat of arms as part of their own emblem, among these the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha, the Consultative Council and the University of Castilla-La Mancha.

Anthem

Although Article 5 of the Statute of Autonomy indicates that the region will have its own anthem, after more than 25 years no such anthem has been adopted. Among the proposed anthems have been the "Canción del Sembrador" ("Song of the Sower") from the zarzuela La rosa del azafrán by Jacinto Guerrero, the "Canto a la Mancha" ("Song of La Mancha") by Tomás Barrera, and many others, such as one presented by a group of citizens from Villarrobledo with the title "Patria sin fin" ("Fatherland without end").

Geography

Castilla-La Mancha is located in the middle of the Iberian peninsula, occupying the greater part of the Submeseta Sur, the vast plain composing the southern part of the Meseta Central. The Submeseta Sur (and the autonomous community) is separated from the Submeseta Norte (and the community of Castilla y León) by the mountain range known as the Sistema Central. Despite this, the region has no shortage of mountain landscapes: the southern slopes of the aforementioned Sistema Central in the north, the Sistema Ibérico in the northeast, and the Sierra Morena and Montes de Toledo in the south.

Castilla-La Mancha is the third largest of Spain's autonomous regions, with a surface area of 79,463 square kilometres (30,681 sq mi), representing 15.7 percent of Spain's national territory.

Terrain

The region has two distinct types of terrain. The Meseta is a vast, uniform plain with little relief. Within that uniformity, the most outstanding variation in altitude is that of the Montes de Toledo, with peaks such as La Villuerca (1,601 meters (5,253 ft)), the highest peak of the Montes de Toledo range, and Rocigalgo (1,447 meters (4,747 ft)). At the south of that system are the Montes de Toledo, which cross the region from west to east, dividing the Tagus (Tajo) and Guadiana drainage basins, forming the southern slope of the basin of the former and the northern slope of the latter.

In contrast, a more mountainous zone surrounds the Meseta and serves as the region's natural border. In the north of the Province of Guadalajara, bordering Madrid and Segovia, is a mountain range forming part of the Sistema Central, among which can be distinguished the mountain ranges Pela, Ayllón, Somosierra, Barahona and Ministra, with the headwaters of the rivers Jarama, Cañamares and Henares. The Sistema Central also penetrates the Province of Toledo, which intersects a southerly part of the Sierra de Gredos, known as the Sierra de San Vicente, delimited on the north by the river Tiétar and on the south by the Alberche and the Tagus.

On the northwest is the Sistema Ibérico, where there is important fluvial and especially karstic activity, which has given rise to such landscapes as the Ciudad Encantada, the Callejones de Las Majadas and the Hoces del Cabriel.

In the southeast is the ridge of the Sierra Morena, the southern border of the Meseta Central and the region's border with Andalusia. Within the Sierra Morena, distinction can be made between the Sierra Madrona, Sierra de Alcudia and Sierra de San Andrés. At the other southern extreme of Castilla–La Mancha, the Sierra de Alcaraz and Sierra del Segura form part of the Sistema Bético.

Hydrography

The territory of Castilla-La Mancha is divided into five principal watersheds. The Tagus, Guadiana, and Guadalquivir drain into the Atlantic Ocean and the Júcar and Segura into the Mediterranean. The Tagus provides water for some 587,000 inhabitants in a watershed of 26,699 square kilometres (10,309 sq mi). It includes the entire province of Guadalajara and the greater part of the province of Toledo, including the two largest cities of the latter province: the capital, Toledo, and the slightly larger city of Talavera de la Reina.

The Guadiana watershed extends 26,646 square kilometres (10,288 sq mi) in Castilla-La Mancha, 37 percent of that river's entire watershed, with a population of 583,259 inhabitants. It includes the southern part of the province of Toledo, nearly all of the province of Ciudad Real (except the very south), the southwest of the province of Cuenca and the northwest of the province of Albacete. The Guadalquivir watershed extends over 5.17 percent of the surface area of the autonomous community, extending 4,100 square kilometres (1,600 sq mi) through the southern parts of the provinces of Ciudad Real and Albacete, including such important population center as Puertollano.

The Júcar watershed had, in 2006, 397,000 inhabitants in an area of 15,737 square kilometres (6,076 sq mi), 19.86 percent of the Castillian-Manchegan territory and 36.61 percent of total of the Júcar watershed. It includes the eastern parts of the provinces of Cuenca and Albacete, including their respective capitals. Finally, the 34 municipalities of southeastern Albacete fall in the Segura watershed, with an extent of 4,713 square kilometres (1,820 sq mi).

Transportation

Railways

RENFE, Spain's state-owned national passenger railway network has numerous lines and stations throughout Castilla-La Mancha.

Long distance

Numerous long distance rail lines (líneas de largo recorrido) pass through Castilla-La Mancha, most of them radiating out of Madrid. Some of these are high-velocity trains (Alta Velocidad Española AVE):

Normal Largo Recorrido trains

Alicante - Albacete - Alcázar de San Juan - Ciudad Real
Madrid - Ciudad Real - Jaén
Madrid - Ciudad Real - Badajoz
Madrid - Cuenca - Valencia
Madrid - Guadalajara - Soria
Madrid - Guadalajara - Arcos de Jalón
Madrid - Talavera de la Reina - Badajoz

High velocity AVE trains

Madrid - Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Córdoba - Seville).
Madrid - Toledo
Madrid - Guadalajara - Zaragoza - Barcelona.
Madrid - Cuenca - Albacete - Valencia (in project).
Madrid - Toledo (La Sagra) - Talavera de la Reina - Navalmoral de la Mata - Plasencia - Fuentidueñas - Cáceres - Mérida - Badajoz - Lisbon (in project).

Local trains

Two local commuter rail lines out of Madrid (Cercanías Madrid) pass through Castilla-La Mancha. The C-2 line stops in Azuqueca de Henares in the province of Guadalajara and in the city of Guadalajara itself. The C-3 to Aranjuez used to stop at Seseña, but service to that station was discontinued in April 2007.

Airports

As of 2009, Castilla-La Mancha had two airports.

The Albacete Airport is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of Albacete, connected by the CM-3203 highway. It has been a civilian airport since July 1, 2003, sharing facilities with the military airbase of Los Llanos. The Ciudad Real Central Airport is located between Ciudad Real and Puertollano and is Spain's largest private airport. Located adjacent to the A-43 highway (Autovía Extremadura-Comunidad Valenciana) and a short distance from the AP-41 toll highway (Autovía Ciudad Real - Puertollano)

Residents of some Madrid exurbs have easy access to Barajas Airport in northeast Madrid, as well.

Health

The Servicio de Salud de Castilla-La Mancha (SESCAM, "Health Service of Castilla–La Mancha"), part of the Consejería de Salud y Bienestar Social ("Council of Health and Social Welfare") is the entity in charge of health in Castilla–La Mancha. It is an integral part of Spain's National Health System, based on universal coverage, equal access, and public financing.