Cuenca, Spain
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Criteria | Cultural: ii, v |
| Reference | 781 |
| Inscription | 1996 (20th Session) |
Cuenca is a city (2004 pop. 47,862) in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha in central Spain. It is the capital of the province of Cuenca (see map), one of the largest provinces in Spain (17,061 sq. km.), almost as large as countries like Slovenia or Montenegro.
History
When the Iberian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire there were several important settlements in the province, such as Segóbriga, Ercávica and Gran Valeria. However, the place where Cuenca is located today was uninhabited at that time.
After Muslim troops conquered the area in 714, they soon realized the value of this strategic location and they built Conca alcazaba (an Arabic fortress) between two gorges dug between the Júcar and Huécar rivers, surrounded by a one km long wall. Cuenca soon became an agricultural and textile manufacturing city, enjoying growing prosperity.
Around the twelfth century the Christians, living in northern Spain during the Muslim presence, started to slowly recover the Iberian peninsula. Castile took over western and central areas of Spain, while Aragon enlarged along the Mediterranean area. The Muslim Kingdom, Al-Andalus, started to break into small provinces (Reinos de taifas) under christian pressure, and in 1100 these areas were near Conca. Conca was conquered by Alfonso VIII , King of Castile, from the Taifa's Kingdom of Toledo in 1177. Previously it had been handed to Castile, under the marriage agreement between princess Zaida and Alfonso VI, but it was soon recovered by the Muslims in 1108, after the battle of Sagrajas.
Alfonso VIII granted a city title, and it was considered to be "Muy noble y muy leal" (Very noble and very faithful). It was given a name, the Fuero, written in Latin, that ruled Cuenca's citizenship, and it was considered one of the most perfect written at that period of time. During the next few centuries Cuenca enjoyed prosperity, thanks to textile manufacturing and livestock exploitation.The cathedral started to be built at that time, in an anglo-norman style, with many French workers, since Alfonso VIII's wife, Leonor de Plantagenet, was French.
During the eighteenth century the textile industry declined, specially when Carlos IV forbade this activity in Cuenca in order to prevent competition with the Real Fabrica de Tápices (Royal Tapestry Factory), and Cuenca economy declined, thus losing population dramatically (5,000 inhabitants). During the independence war against Napoleon's troops the city suffered great destruction, and it made the crisis worse. The city lost population, with only around 6,000 inhabitants, and only the rail track arrival in the nineteenth century, together with the timber industry, were able to boost Cuenca moderately, and population increased as a result to reach 10,000 inhabitants. In 1874 Cuenca was taken over by "carlistas" troops, supporters of Carlos María Isidro as king instead of the ruling Isabel II, and the city suffered great damage once more.
The twentieth century began with the collapse of the Giraldo cathedral's tower in 1902, which affected also the facade. It had to be rebuilt by Vicente Lámperez, with two new twin towers at both ends of the facade which have remained unfinished without the upper part of them.
The first decades of the twentieth century were as turbulent as in other regions of Spain. There was poverty in rural areas, and the Catholic Church was attacked, with some monks, nuns, priests and even a bishop, Cruz Laplana, killed. During the Civil War Cuenca was part of the republican zone (Zona roja). It was conquered in 1938 by General Franco's troops. During the post-war period this area fell into extreme poverty, and a lot of people had to migrate to more prosperous regions, mainly the Basque Country and Catalunya, but also to other countries such as Germany. The city started to recover slowly from 1960 to 1970, and the town limits went far beyond the gorge to the flat surroundings.
The hanging houses
A beautiful and ancient city, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is famous for its casas colgadas (hanging houses) on the edge of the gorge of the river Huécar. While it's collection of historical buildings is not as impressive as Toledo or Salamanca, it offers a unique mixture of nature and human constructions. It's landscapes are particularly wonderful in autumn, due to the mix of green, yellow and red colours in the gorges of the two rivers. Cuenca, and the hanging houses, were featured in C. J. Sansom's 2006 novel, Winter in Madrid.
Quote
"Most Spanish towns faced with Cuenca's need to expand in the 18th century would have spread out along the surrounding countryside. But Cuenca, perched on the top of a hill, turned not to the earth but to the sky. Its improbable solution stands all along that part of the town that clings to the side of the hill and that faces the River Huécar: its hanging houses. The flat-fronted dwellings in the Barrio de San Martìn, so starkly simple a child could draw them, rise seven or eight teetering stories above a ravine and the River Huécar to the east. It is as if the town were trying to outgrow itself, reaching ever higher in an effort to compensate for the ravine below."
- — Isabel Sota, from "Hanging Houses of Cuenca", in the October 21, 1990 edition of The New York Times
Name origin
Its name may derive from the Latin conca meaning "river basin", referring to the gorge of the rivers Júcar and Huécar. It may also be derived from the now-ruined Arab castle, Kunka. Other alternative original names have been suggested, including "Anitorgis", "Sucro" or "Concava". The city of Cuenca is also known as the "Eagle's Nest" because of its precarious position on the edge of a gorge.
Attractions
Cuenca is home to numerous museums, including the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art. Other attractions include Cuenca Cathedral.
Transports
The city is a popular day or weekend trip from Madrid. to which it is conveniently connected by rail (RENFE), by Bus (Auto Res 2h or 2:30h trip duration) and by highway (166 km), taking the A-3 (Madrid - Valencia) and leaving at Tarancón junction to take the A-42 to Cuenca. Within two or three years a new high-speed rail link is foreseen to be set up between Cuenca and Madrid, making the trip last only 45 minutes. AVE
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Neo-Gothic façade of the Cuenca Cathedral -
Looking through an arch in old Cuenca -
Casas Colgadas (Hanging Houses) -
Júcar River flowing through Cuenca
External links
- Official website
- Webcam in a side street
- Photos Monastery San Pablo (Gotic S.XVI) at Pasaporteblog.com
40°04′N 2°09′W / 40.067°N 2.150°W
