Borja, Zaragoza

Borja
Municipality

Borja in 2004

Flag

Coat of arms
Borja

Location in Spain

Coordinates: 41°49′N 1°32′W / 41.817°N 1.533°W / 41.817; -1.533
Country Spain
Autonomous community Aragon
Province Zaragoza
Comarca Campo de Borja
Government
  Alcalde Miguel Arilla Andía (PAR)
Area
  Total 107 km2 (41 sq mi)
Elevation 448 m (1,470 ft)
Population (2014)
  Total 4,931
  Density 46/km2 (120/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Borjanos
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 50540
Website Official website
Church of Santa Clara convent
The Mudéjar towers of the Collegiate of Santa María

Borja is a town and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, community of Aragon, north-eastern Spain. As of 2014, its population was of 4,931.

Geography

The municipality borders with Ablitas (in Navarre) Agón, Ainzón, Alberite de San Juan, Albeta, Ambel, Bulbuente, El Buste, Fréscano, Magallón, Maleján, Mallén, Tabuenca, Tarazona, and Vera de Moncayo. It is the administrative seat of the comarca of Campo de Borja.

History

The town's origins date back to the 5th century BC, when a Celtiberian settlement, known as Bursau or Bursao, existed near the current ruins of the castle. After the Roman conquest (1st century BC) also the slopes of the hill were populated, though the town started to expand significantly only after the Muslim conquest in the 8th century AD.

In the 12th century it was conquered by the Christians from the north, and in the 15th/16th centuries it was converted into a military fortress against the Castillan invasions, but at the same time received much of its historical architectural heritage, with numerous churches and palaces. It received the title of "city" by King Alfonso V of Aragon in 1438. During the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, the Jews, forming an important part of the Borjan community, were expelled.

Borja lived through a period of recession and plagues in the 17th and 18th centuries. It recovered economically starting from the 19th century, when a railway connecting the city to Cortes de Navarra was inaugurated. In the 20th century agriculture, traditionally the mainstay of Borja's economy, started to lose its importance, and, without a consistent industrial base, the city lost economical and political importance in the area: much of the population therefore emigrated to other more developed areas. The industrial sector is intended to be boosted by businesses being attracted to the ongoing development "Polígono Industrial Barbalanca", the Barbalanca Industrial Estate.

Demographics

Main sights

Fresco restoration

In 2012, octogenarian amateur painter Cecilia Giménez botched a partial restoration of an unremarkable Ecce Homo fresco (c. 1930) depicting Christ by Elías García Martínez. The spectacularly bad results garnered worldwide attention,[1] and has been called one of "the worst art restoration projects of all time"[2]

Notable people

Twin towns

Gallery

Town hall 
Plaza del Mercado ("Market Square") 
Casa de la Estanca 
Interior of the church of the Mercy 

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.