Láchar

Láchar
Municipality

Flag

Coat of arms

Location of Láchar
Láchar

Location in Spain

Coordinates: 37°12′N 3°50′W / 37.200°N 3.833°W / 37.200; -3.833Coordinates: 37°12′N 3°50′W / 37.200°N 3.833°W / 37.200; -3.833
Country Spain
Autonomous community  Andalusia
Province Granada
Comarca Vega de Granada
Judicial district Santa Fe
Commonwealth Vega Baja de Granada
Government
  Alcalde Francisco Javier Montiel Olmo (1995) (PSOE)
Area
  Total 13.12 km2 (5.07 sq mi)
Elevation 568 m (1,864 ft)
Population (2008)
  Total 3,005
  Density 230/km2 (590/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Lachareño, -ña
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 18327 (Láchar)
18328 (Peñuelas)
Website Official website

Láchar is a municipality in the province of Granada, in Spain. The village of Láchar lies in Granada's floodplain (or "Vega de Granada", in Spanish) amid poplar forests and fertile orchards. The surrounding countryside, and particularly the area known as Los Pinares has various kinds of outdoor sports and recreational activities, and there is also a long tradition of partridge shooting.

History

The origin of Láchar goes back to the times of the earliest human settlements and its situation in the fertile floodplain of the River Genil has made farming the main form of livelihood in the area for many centuries.

Studies have revealed the existence of a Roman settlement in the area, "Los Hornillos", and a field of silos has been found which would have been for the storage of food. Near to "Lacen" (the name given to Láchar by the Romans), there are also other Roman remains, such as the "Villas Rusticae" in Adamucejo (or Lower Daimuz), and Daragoleja, which was under the administrative control of the Roman villa of Ilurco.

In the Reconquest, the alquería or farmstead was burnt by the troops commanded by Álvaro de Luna (the Constable of Castile) and was finally conquered in 1492.

Láchar had previously formed part of the Alquería of La Piedra (the Spanish translation of its Arabic name) which was owned by a wealthy Nasrid family from Boabdil's court. Cortijo of Láchar were granted to the ancestors of the Count of Benalúa, who owned it until 1897 when Don Julio Quesada de Cañaveral y Piédrola successfully made a claim of ownership resulting in the cortijo and all its adjoining land being passed to him. At the end of the Spanish Civil War, the village was bought by the National Institute for Colonisation, to carry out the plans outlined in 1932 by the Institute for Agrarian Reform for the redistribution of land among new settlers.

Sister city

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.