Castielfabib

Castielfabib
Municipality
Coat of arms
Coordinates:
Country	Spain
Autonomous community	Valencian Community
Province	Valencia
Comarca	Rincón de Ademuz
Judicial district	Llíria
Government
• Alcalde	Eduardo Aguilar Villalba
Area
• Total	106.3 km2 (41.0 sq mi)
Elevation	927 m (3,041 ft)
Population  ()
• Total
Demonym(s)	Castielero, castielera
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	46141
Official language(s)	Spanish
Website	Official website

Castielfabib is a municipality in the comarca of Rincón de Ademuz in the Valencian Community, Spain.

Geography

Known as "the small Albarracín", Castielfabib is located on a hill near the right bank of the river Ebrón. Located in the northwest corner of Rincon de Ademuz, it is mountainous with elevation ranging between 800 and 1,550 metres (2,600 and 5,100 ft). The most important points of elevation are: Mill Creek (1,338 m), Peña de Águila (1,112 m), Peral (1481 m), Cabezo (1,442 m), Macarron (1,222 m), Umbria La Muela (1,068 m) and Cross of the Three Kingdoms (1,552 m), so named because its summit joined the old kingdoms of Aragon, Castile and Valencia. The river Turia flows from the north, serving as the border with Teruel. It flows on the east of Riodeva, bordering Torre Baja. Ebrón River crosses the territory from northwest to southeast, flowing into Turia, the boulevard of Palomarejos runs north and comes to the precipice of the Canaleja. The climate is continental, with prevailing winds from the north and east, the latter bringing rains in April.

Civil parishes

In the municipality of Castielfabib, there are the following civil parishes (pedanías):

• Arroyo Cerezo
• Cuesta del Rato
• Mas de Jacinto
• Mas de los Mudos
• Los Santos

Bordering towns

The municipality of Castielfabib shares borders with the towns of Ademuz, Torrebaja and Vallanca, all of them situated in the province of Valencia.

Farther afield to the west, the municipality borders Salvacañete in the province of Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha; Tormón, Veguillas de la Sierra, El Cuervo, Tramacastiel and Libros of the province of Teruel, Aragon to the north and the north-east.

History

View of the church-fortress of Castielfabib

In Soreico Solana, there are remnants of Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Iberian cultures. West of the town, Faber Castle had been built on a Roman ruin. In 1971, a Roman tombstone fragment was found in Castillejo and has been preserved in the Museum of Prehistoric Valencia.

The area was captured in 1210 by Peter II of Aragon, recovered by Muslims shortly afterwards, and captured in the Reconquista by James I. Castielfabib, along with Ademuz, became part of the Kingdom of Valencia, and held in the royal domain under direct control of the crown. In 1304, the village was used as collateral for a loan from the Knights Templar. When they were disbanded, their rights fell to the Order of Montesa which collected tithes from Castielfabib and Ademuz. In 1390, the pope intervened in a dispute between the Montesa and the bishop over religious practises in the village. As a royal town, Castielfabib periodically sent a representative to the Generalitat Valenciana, the Valencian Parliament.

During the Peninsular War, Castielfabib was occupied by the French. In the civil wars of the 19th century it was occupied by Carlist forces, who rebuilt the castle; it was later demolished and won back by nationalist forces.

The township has remained virtually unchanged since medieval times and has only been a municipality at the expense of the territory of Torrebaja.

Demographics

Demographic evolution of Castielfabib since 1842

<timeline> Colors= id:a value:gray(0.9) id:b value:gray(0.7) id:c value:rgb(1,1,1) id:d value:rgb(0.6,0.7,1) ImageSize = width:800 height:350 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:30 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:3000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:b increment:400000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:a increment:40000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:c BarData= bar:1842 text:1842 bar:1857 text:1857 bar:1877 text:1877 bar:1887 text:1887 bar:1900 text:1900 bar:1910 text:1910 bar:1920 text:1920 bar:1930 text:1930 bar:1940 text:1940 bar:1950 text:1950 bar:1960 text:1960 bar:1970 text:1970 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 bar:2005 text:2005 bar:2006 text:2006 bar:2007 text:2007 PlotData= color:d width:20 align:left bar:1842 from:0 till:1336 bar:1857 from:0 till:1738 bar:1877 from:0 till:2167 bar:1887 from:0 till:2148 bar:1900 from:0 till:2427 bar:1910 from:0 till:2641 bar:1920 from:0 till:2393 bar:1930 from:0 till:2200 bar:1940 from:0 till:2194 bar:1950 from:0 till:1905 bar:1960 from:0 till:1444 bar:1970 from:0 till:1126 bar:1981 from:0 till:798 bar:1991 from:0 till:645 bar:2001 from:0 till:511 bar:2005 from:0 till:276 bar:2006 from:0 till:256 bar:2007 from:0 till:244 PlotData= bar:1842 at:1336 fontsize:s text:1,336 shift:(-10,5) bar:1857 at:1738 fontsize:s text:1,738 shift:(-10,5) bar:1877 at:2167 fontsize:s text:2,167 shift:(-10,5) bar:1887 at:2148 fontsize:s text:2,148 shift:(-10,5) bar:1900 at:2427 fontsize:s text:2,427 shift:(-10,5) bar:1910 at:2641 fontsize:s text:2,641 shift:(-10,5) bar:1920 at:2393 fontsize:s text:2,393 shift:(-10,5) bar:1930 at:2200 fontsize:s text:2,200 shift:(-10,5) bar:1940 at:2194 fontsize:s text:2,194 shift:(-10,5) bar:1950 at:1905 fontsize:s text:1,905 shift:(-10,5) bar:1960 at:1444 fontsize:s text:1,444 shift:(-10,5) bar:1970 at:1126 fontsize:s text:1,126 shift:(-10,5) bar:1981 at:798 fontsize:s text:798 shift:(-10,5) bar:1991 at:645 fontsize:s text:645 shift:(-10,5) bar:2001 at:511 fontsize:s text:511 shift:(-10,5) bar:2005 at:276 fontsize:s text:276 shift:(-10,5) bar:2006 at:256 fontsize:s text:256 shift:(-10,5) bar:2007 at:244 fontsize:s text:244 shift:(-10,5) </timeline>

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística

Economy

The economy is traditionally based on agriculture and livestock. Rivers provide irrigation for apples, pears, vegetables and cereals. In the rain-fed area, cereal and vine are grown. The sheep are the most important, followed by pork and goat. Beekeeping is also practised.

The town entrance is from the road N-420, and the Tourism Office of the Rincón de Ademuz is located at "Los Centenares" of Castielfabib, along with a rural tourism complex. There is currently a youth hostel, with room service and swimming pool.

Festivals and traditions

• A festival to Our Lady of Grace is held 7–11 September.
• A festival celebrates San Guillermo, the patron of Castielfabib, on 10 February.
• Easter celebrations have many traditions. Two poplar trees are brought from the banks of the river on Friday, to be planted in the square on Saturday, with a popular dance that night, the singing of the "Aurora" in the early hours of Sunday and bellringing and Sunday services.

Cuisine

Castielfabib shares with the other towns of Rincon de Ademuz several recipes such as gachas (porridge), puchero and others, in which pork and its derivatives are central.

Almond, apple and other fruits are grown in the fertile plain of the River Ebrón and they are a key ingredient in the local bakery.

In recent times other local products such as mushrooms and tomatoes have been promoted.

Notable people

• Francisco Novella (1581–1645), was an author and professor of rhetoric at the University of Valencia
• Antonio Diaz Tortajada (b. 1947), journalist and writer