Marchena, Spain

Marchena

Municipality

Flag

Coat of arms

Marchena

Coordinates: 37°20′N 5°25′W / 37.333°N 5.417°W

Spain

Government

• Mayor

Juan Rodríguez Aguilera

Area

• Total

378.25 km² (146.04 sq mi)

Elevation

150 m (490 ft)

Population (2009)

• Total

19,984

• Density

53/km² (140/sq mi)

Demonym(s)

Marcheneros

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Postal code

41620

Website

Official website

Marchena is a city in the province of Seville, southern Spain, which counts with 19,984 inhabitants. Its Moorish name was Marshēnah (مَرْشَانَة) which means "of the olive trees". The city covers 379 square kilometers and had a population estimated at 19,940 in 2014.

Marchena is known as "the unknown beauty" due to the nearby important cities of Carmona, Osuna and Ecija.

It is located at an altitude of 150 meters and 64 kilometers from the provincial capital, Seville, in the region called La Campiña. It is known for its Holy Week and, especially, for its monumental complex (declared a Historic-Artistic Site), where the church of San Juan Bautista and the Arch of the Rose (Puerta de Sevilla) stand out. In addition, the municipality is characterized by its link with flamenco and for being the birthplace of important artists such as Pepe Marchena and guitarist Melchor de Marchena.

Marchena's situation in the middle of the "La Campiña" of Seville, at a point of communication between the cities of Seville, Antequera and Ecija, brought a human population presence since prehistory. There existed a settlement of an old civilization called Tartessos, this settlement is denominated Montemolín, in the proximities of the present population. There are also remains that testify Roman villagers in this area. There are also no data on a Roman colony called Martia, as local historians have stated. [1]

In Roman time it had to be a farm (town) of sparsely populated population. There are testimonies of settlers in the Visigothic period, but it is not until the Islamic dominion when the city conformed with the structure that at the moment can be distinguished. It was denominated by the Muslims like Marsen'ah due to the great amount of olive trees that surrounded the population, reached a great urban development and was walled (centuries XI-XII).

It passed into Christian hands in the middle of the thirteenth century, during the reign of Ferdinand III of Castile, becoming a town of Realengo, until during the reign of Ferdinand IV of Castile in 1309 it was granted to Fernando Ponce de Leon, great-grandson Of king Alfonso IX of León; before it had belonged to Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, famous defender of the city of Tarifa. For several centuries the lordship of Marchena was in the hands of the family Ponce de León, from which comes the house of Arcos.

In 1367 Juan Ponce de León, Lord of Marchena, was executed in Seville together with the major admiral of the Egidio Boccanegra Sea, and the following year Marchena's lands were sacked and devastated by King Muhammed V Of Granada, ally of king Pedro I of Castile, that also demolished the walls of the villa.

The current name of the population comes from a decree of the Catholic Monarchs. The urban nucleus in Muslim time was composed of the alcazaba, to the north, and of the hamlet, that extended towards the south occupying all the hill. The streets started from the main doors and would have multiple squares and bumpers. The apples would be irregular, with large inner courtyards and places chained. During the medieval Christian period (XIV and XV centuries) the Arab city is reused, the house is renovated intramuros, the walls are rebuilt, the old Alcazaba is transformed into a real stately castle and works are done in the Ducal Palace.

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Wikipedia