VALDEPEñAS

'Valdepeñas' is a municipality in the Spanish province of Ciudad Real, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. Its also head of the judicial district that groups of localities of Moral de Calatrava, Santa Cruz de Mudela, Viso del Marqués, Torrenueva, Castellar de Santiago and Almuradiel.
=Geography=
Its name means '''Valley of Rocks''', because it’s located in a wide area meander of hill the Jabalón River surrounded, just border on the plain south of La Mancha and the subsoil is rich in limestone rock.
Valdepeñas is located in the Campo de Calatrava, an extensive plain north of the Sierra Morena, and lies on the left bank of Jabalón River, a tributary of the Guadiana.
Valdepeñas is located at ^[1] and its population is 28,183.^[2]

=History=

Contents

Prehistory

Old History

Iberian period

Roman and Visighotic period

Medieval History

Islamic period

Reconquest and Order of Calatrava

Modern History

Señorío of Valdepeñas

Contemporary History

XIX Century

XX Century

Prehistory

In the municipal term, there are manifold prehistory rest, platforms and watchtowers located in next hills, compatible settlers of the 'Bronze age' .('''Culture of the Motillas'''), dated between 'XX and XIII centuries adC.' Vasco Merlo in their ''History of Valdepeñas'' described these structures erroneously like Celtiberian settlement, being despite very previous to these and even contemporary of the ''Culture of Argar''.

Old History

Iberian period

Eight kilometres to the South of the city, we find The Iberian city of “Cerro de las Cabezas” (Hill of the Heads), a great oppidum or town fortified with a true castle in the summit of the hill that occupies, inhabited between VII and II centuries adC.
It’s an important archaeology deposit of the Oretana Culture and shows sings the ''first vestige of the grapevine in this region''.

Roman and Visighotic period

In the XVI century and after had been found graves, coins and others ancient Roman, from a Roman villa of century I adC, that still exit in Visighotic period.

Medieval History

Islamic period

During this time the zone belonged to the Kingdom of Toledo, the inscriptions in Arab and a sun clock in the walls of the Church of Assumption remains this period. According to the oral tradition, the Caliphate gave permission to the inhabitants of this zone authorized to the culture of vine and manipulation, which was prohibited by the Koran. The Moorish were expelled of Valdepeñas by the expulsion decree in XV century.

Reconquest and Order of Calatrava

By order of the Queen Berenguela of Castile and after the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, settlers of the several villages (''Aberturas, Corral Rubio de Jabalón, Santa María de las Flores and Castilnuevo'') grouping around the present Church of the Assumption, it had been an old castle.
From that moment Valdepeñas belonged at Order of Calatrava and first text is mentioned it’s in the record of Order of Calatrava in 1243. The new settlers coming from the Kindoms of Castile, León (Galicia meanly) and Aragón. The Order demanded like condition of stablishment and rigth citizenship, the continue care of the grapevine.
The city was bordered of two Military Orders: Calatrava and Santiago , at present regions of ''Campo de Calatrava'' and ''Campo de Montiel''.
At medieval times was important the presence of a Jewish community with the existence at least two synagogues, one turned with time hermitage (Veracruz) and the old building where was the Parish of The Christ, behind its present location.

Modern History

The Reyes Católicos Ferdinand and Isabella of Castille loged in Valdepeñas on 18th February 1488 at the house of the mother of Alonso de Merlo, and left to the care of the widow the infants during part of the campaign of conquest of Granada. (''according To Fernando Vasco Merlo in History of Valdepeñas, who mentioned several historians of this time'').
At the present time we found diverse religious and civilians buildings from the XVI century (Trinitarians Covent).
The King Ferdinand the Catholic wanted controlling the power of Military Orders and the Pope Adrian VI saw granted the orders to the Kindom of Castile, reason why he passes to the Royal Jurisdiction an important patrimony: two cities, two hundred villas (Valdepeñas among them) and a hundred of villages, distributed in an ample territory.

Señorío of Valdepeñas

The king Philip II sold the villa on April 22nd 1575 to D. Alvaro de Bazán first Marquess of 'Santa Cruz', whom became 'Lord of Valdepeñas'. Valdepeñas would happen to be a “Señorío”, secreting itself of the Order of Calatrava.
The sucessives marquesses promoted the wines of Valdepeñas in the ''Spanish Court of the Austrian'' and it fame extended thus by all the country. The “clarete” of Valdepeñas recived at this time the name of “aloque”.

Contemporary History

XIX Century

Nothing remarkable happened until on 6th June of 1808, when the Napoleonic occupation of Spain turns on the heat meanly after events of 2nd May in Madrid this year.
Napoleonic troops went to Andalusia as reinforcements and attempted to cross the villa; whole people (men, women and also some of neighbours villas) took up arms not allowing passing the troops by the villa. The result was the elevated cost of lives and a big fire. The troops had back away from the province of La Mancha, this delay, without doubt, made easier the victory in the Battle of Bailen by the Spanish troops.
The king Fernando VII would give the villa the Title of 'Very Heroic'.
After these events some inhabitants from Valdepeñas took part of the guerrilla fighting against the Napoleonic troops in the “Guerra de la Independencia”, Francisco Abad called “Chaleco” became a famous guerrillero.
At the end of the XIX century and beginnings of XX, happened some events that making possible the development of the villa, the comings of supply electricity, drinkable water, the railways station and improved the roads, and the appearance of an emergent bourgeoisie growing in inhabitants duplicating in number to the provincial capital-city. In 1895, the queen Mª Cristina granted to Valdepeñas the title of 'City'.

XX Century

At the beginnings of the century, the appeared of Phylloxera made to introduction of the resistant American vineyard but not changed the economy a lot.
The Spanish Civil War broke this development; the city went down in population.
During the decades 40, 50, 60 and 70 only the agriculture and the traditional family industry of wine were the economics activities in there, a common phenomenon of central Spain in these times.
Already in the eighties had an intensive process of moving with the times in Valdepeñas by the wine sector including news kinds of grapes, and introduced techniques in elaboration and wine production.
=Culture=
Valdepeñas has several museums of history, art and wine.
There are two Fairs, in August "the summer fair" at the first week and in September known as "Fiesta de la Vendimia" (Grape Harvest Fair).

★ Sons:

★
★ One of the city's famous sons is Bernardo de Balbuena, appointed Bishop of Puerto Rico in 1620, who wrote Baroque poetry extolling the beauties of Mexico.

★
★ Gregorio Prieto. Member of the pictorical branch of Generation of '27, friend of Federico García Lorca, Rafael Alberti, and author of recognized pictures of them. During the decade of 1940 he lived in England with Luis Cernuda. You can visit the most of his work at several museums in Valdepeñas: The Thurst of Gregorio Prieto, The windmills´ Gallery, The Windmill of Gregorio Prieto and the Town Museum.
=Economy=
It contains large distilleries, tanneries, flour mills, cooperages, and other factories, but its chief trade is in red wines. The city is famous for its wines and is the centre of a grape-growing district. Valdepeñas wines are among the most popular in Spain and recently in EU countries. There are hot mineral springs near the city.
Recently, in addition to the food and wine industry, there’re setting up small and medium industries located in several industrial parks.
Leading these industries:

★ Plant of production and investigation of Systems in High Electronic Technology.

★ The logistic center of Heavy Transport. (Trucks of great tonnage)

★ We shouldn’t forget the tourism with D. Quixote Route and the through train of wine with point of the departure from Madrid.
= Twin (sister) towns =
Its twin town is Cognac, France.

★ Cognac,
=Gallery=

★ [[1]]
=References=
Historia de Valdepeñas. Fernando Vasco Merlo1. Valdepeñas record at Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
2. Population info at citypopulation.de

=External links=

★ Ayuntamiento de Valdepeñas Website of Municipal government and in virtual guided tour.(La Ciudad, visita virtual).

★ D.O. Valdepeñas