Patones
Encyclopedia
Patones is a Spanish
municipality
in the region of the Comunidad de Madrid situated partly in the valley of the river Jarama
and partly in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama
mountain range.
Although small, the town has its own council, and consists of two distinct settlements: The ancient hillside village (Upper) Patones Arriba and the modern (Lower) Patones Abajo on the plain below.
According to an 18th century travelogue quoted below, the name is believed to originate from the family name of the first settlers Patón, who were, reputedly refugees from Muslim invaders who established a private Christian Kingdom of Patones Alternatively, since Iberian languages
are of Latin origin the name may simply be derived from 'patricius'.
which is the principal water utility for both the city and the region of Madrid.
As mechanized transport grew in importance around the mid 20th century, a more accessible settlement was established on the plain below the original village, hence the name Patones Abajo (Lower Patones)
Although the schools and administration buildings in the old village were then of fairly recent construction, new facilities were created in the new settlement. (Upper) Patones Arriba was finally abandoned in the mid 1960s.
In the 1990s the historical value of the old village and the potential for hill-sports was appreciated, and the old settlement was extensively rehabilitated. Facilities for rural education, cultural tourism, and sports-recreation were established. At the same time, day facilities for visitors and short-stay accommodation was also amplified and improved to meet modern technical standards.
A Rural Telecentre CENIT was established in 2002 to enhance to local economic development, and offer modern services in new technologies to the local population and business community.
The single-track road No.M912 to the Patones Arriba is heavily used by sports-cyclists, and motor-vehicle access has been severely restricted both for road-safety and environmental protection reasons. In 2011 a free micro-bus service between Patones Abajo and Patones Arriba was initiated as an experiment, principally to facilitate access for tourists and hotel guests.
It is next mentioned in a census of 1555 when seven residents are recorded. In 1687 it became attached to the nearby town of Uceda, and the first record of the King of Patones dates from about this time.
In the 17th century it appears to have been the property of The Marquise of Ensenada, and at one time was owned by the Bishop of Toledo.
s, vineyard
s and olive grove
s which stretch up-hill. The banks of the river Jarama a very attractive arboreal landscape that follows the road to Torrelaguna.
Higher up, rockroses appear, and the northern and eastern facing slopes are commercial pine
forest. Above Patones Arriba, in different areas known as Eras there are crop terraces
once used for growing rye
, pens
for holding livestock
(which were mostly goats )and sty
s for pigs. All of the Eras are now abandoned and disused except as marked paths for hill-walkers. Hunting wild animals is strictly license
d.
now in disuse. It is the last of six reserves along the course of the river Lozoya
and is also its oldest, being built in 1857 as part of a system of dams and canals supplying drinking water to the capital.
Its course runs through the towns of Patones, Torremocha and Torrelaguna. Originally there were six bridges, three aqueducts, eight guardhouses and numerous smaller canals.
It remained in use until the late nineteenth century, when it was superseded by the more systematic work of the Canal de Isabel II. A 1.3 km section remains in operation in Patones which is fed from the Canal de la Parra and Atazar Reservoir. The canal is a Grade 1 (maximum) listed site, with two ancient stone bridges classified at Grade 2 protection
, now a ruin under a preservation order, was built for a religious community in about the XII-XIII centuries and was attached to the Cathedral Church of Alcala de Henares
and now belongs to the successor Diocese of Complutense, based in the same town.
and for recreational caving
.
Unfortunately, although it has been declared a monument of national interest since 1944, easy access to the cave and its close proximity to the city of Madrid made the cave a recreation center for many groups who were lacking the necessary knowledge and respect for such a site, and the cave became contaminated with trash and graffiti. Accordingly, since 2008 it has been closed to the public by the Directorate General for Heritage in the Community of Madrid, in order to allow the scientific community to perform archaeological and paleontological studies.
It contains three levels of varying difficulty between 78m and 9810m depth. Detailed information can be obtained from the Spanish Wikipedia article
In 1974 a 2nd century Celtic
Druid
encampment was also found neary
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the region of the Comunidad de Madrid situated partly in the valley of the river Jarama
Jarama
Jarama is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid when El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez...
and partly in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama
Sierra de Guadarrama
The Sierra de Guadarrama is a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges at the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It is located between the Sierra de Gredos in the province of Ávila, and Sierra de Ayllón in the province of Guadalajara...
mountain range.
Although small, the town has its own council, and consists of two distinct settlements: The ancient hillside village (Upper) Patones Arriba and the modern (Lower) Patones Abajo on the plain below.
- Altitude: 834 m.
- Extension: 35 km².
- Distance from MadridMadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
: 60 km. - Population (in 1999) 368
According to an 18th century travelogue quoted below, the name is believed to originate from the family name of the first settlers Patón, who were, reputedly refugees from Muslim invaders who established a private Christian Kingdom of Patones Alternatively, since Iberian languages
Iberian languages
Iberian languages is a generic term for the languages currently or formerly spoken in the Iberian Peninsula.- Pre-Roman languages :The following languages were spoken in the Iberian Peninsula before the Roman occupation and the spread of the Latin language.* Aquitanian * Proto-Basque* Tartessian*...
are of Latin origin the name may simply be derived from 'patricius'.
Patones Abajo
The area around Patones is a major water catchment zone with extensive storage reservoirs and pumping stations operated by the company Canal de Isabel IICanal de Isabel II
Canal de Isabel II is the public company that manages the water supplies for Madrid, Spain. It is owned by the Autonomous Community of Madrid.The Y in the abbreviation is from the old spelling Ysabel.- External links :*...
which is the principal water utility for both the city and the region of Madrid.
As mechanized transport grew in importance around the mid 20th century, a more accessible settlement was established on the plain below the original village, hence the name Patones Abajo (Lower Patones)
Although the schools and administration buildings in the old village were then of fairly recent construction, new facilities were created in the new settlement. (Upper) Patones Arriba was finally abandoned in the mid 1960s.
In the 1990s the historical value of the old village and the potential for hill-sports was appreciated, and the old settlement was extensively rehabilitated. Facilities for rural education, cultural tourism, and sports-recreation were established. At the same time, day facilities for visitors and short-stay accommodation was also amplified and improved to meet modern technical standards.
A Rural Telecentre CENIT was established in 2002 to enhance to local economic development, and offer modern services in new technologies to the local population and business community.
The single-track road No.M912 to the Patones Arriba is heavily used by sports-cyclists, and motor-vehicle access has been severely restricted both for road-safety and environmental protection reasons. In 2011 a free micro-bus service between Patones Abajo and Patones Arriba was initiated as an experiment, principally to facilitate access for tourists and hotel guests.
Patones Arriba
Patones Arriba existed some time before 1527, when its inhabitants were required to repair a bridge .It is next mentioned in a census of 1555 when seven residents are recorded. In 1687 it became attached to the nearby town of Uceda, and the first record of the King of Patones dates from about this time.
In the 17th century it appears to have been the property of The Marquise of Ensenada, and at one time was owned by the Bishop of Toledo.
The King of Patones
The Kings of Patones were hereditary sages, and fulfilled the functions of mayor and justice of the peace. They governed town until 1750 when the last incumbent moved to Madrid. There is an account of this role written in in 1781 by Don Antonio Ponz, in his monumental work Journey around Spain, in which there is significant entry in Vol. X. The work was published in Madrid, about 1781 The (Spanish language) entry concerning the Kingdom of Patones is (approximately interpreted) as follows:Places of Interest
Patones Arriba is almost exclusively constructed in black slate and provides an important source of information for students of medieval and drystone architecture.General Environment
The lower part of the municipality is agricultural, with cerealCereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s, vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s and olive grove
Olive Grove
Olive Grove was Sheffield Wednesday F.C.'s first permanent football ground, home to the club for just over a decade at the end of the 19th century...
s which stretch up-hill. The banks of the river Jarama a very attractive arboreal landscape that follows the road to Torrelaguna.
Higher up, rockroses appear, and the northern and eastern facing slopes are commercial pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
forest. Above Patones Arriba, in different areas known as Eras there are crop terraces
Terrace (agriculture)
Terraces are used in farming to cultivate sloped land. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease erosion and surface runoff, and are effective for growing crops requiring much water, such as rice...
once used for growing rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...
, pens
Pen (enclosure)
A pen is an enclosure for holding livestock. The term describes multiple types of enclosures that may confine one or many animals. Construction and terminology varies depending on region of the world, purpose, animal species to be confined, local materials used, and cultural tradition...
for holding livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
(which were mostly goats )and sty
Sty
A sty or pigsty is a small-scale outdoor enclosure for raising domestic pigs. It is sometimes referred to as a hog pen, hog parlor, pigpen, pig parlor, or pig-cote. Pigsties are generally fenced areas of bare dirt and/or mud. Both "sty" and "pigpen" are used as derogatory descriptions of dirty,...
s for pigs. All of the Eras are now abandoned and disused except as marked paths for hill-walkers. Hunting wild animals is strictly license
License
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
d.
Ponton De la Oliva
The Ponton de la Oliva is a reservoirReservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
now in disuse. It is the last of six reserves along the course of the river Lozoya
Lozoya
Lozoya is a municipality of the Community of Madrid, Spain....
and is also its oldest, being built in 1857 as part of a system of dams and canals supplying drinking water to the capital.
Canal de Cabarrús
This irrigation channel was constructed between the 16th - 18th Centuries. It has a length of 13 kilometers (eight miles), and was the first to be built to irrigate the valley of Uceda from the river Lozoya (and later the Ponton de la Oliva).Its course runs through the towns of Patones, Torremocha and Torrelaguna. Originally there were six bridges, three aqueducts, eight guardhouses and numerous smaller canals.
It remained in use until the late nineteenth century, when it was superseded by the more systematic work of the Canal de Isabel II. A 1.3 km section remains in operation in Patones which is fed from the Canal de la Parra and Atazar Reservoir. The canal is a Grade 1 (maximum) listed site, with two ancient stone bridges classified at Grade 2 protection
The Ermita de la Virgen de la Oliva
The HermitageHermitage (religious retreat)
Although today's meaning is usually a place where a hermit lives in seclusion from the world, hermitage was more commonly used to mean a settlement where a person or a group of people lived religiously, in seclusion.-Western Christian Tradition:...
, now a ruin under a preservation order, was built for a religious community in about the XII-XIII centuries and was attached to the Cathedral Church of Alcala de Henares
Cathedral of los Santos Niños Justo y Pastor de Alcalá de Henares
The Cathedral of los Santos Niños Justo y Pastor de Alcalá de Henares is a cathedral located in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1904....
and now belongs to the successor Diocese of Complutense, based in the same town.
Cueva del Reguerillo
The cave of Reguerillo is the most important archeological site in the Comunidad Madrid, in terms of both scientific interestSpeleology
Speleology is the scientific study of caves and other karst features, their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form and change over time...
and for recreational caving
Caving
Caving—also occasionally known as spelunking in the United States and potholing in the United Kingdom—is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems...
.
Unfortunately, although it has been declared a monument of national interest since 1944, easy access to the cave and its close proximity to the city of Madrid made the cave a recreation center for many groups who were lacking the necessary knowledge and respect for such a site, and the cave became contaminated with trash and graffiti. Accordingly, since 2008 it has been closed to the public by the Directorate General for Heritage in the Community of Madrid, in order to allow the scientific community to perform archaeological and paleontological studies.
It contains three levels of varying difficulty between 78m and 9810m depth. Detailed information can be obtained from the Spanish Wikipedia article
In 1974 a 2nd century Celtic
Celtic
The words Celt and Celtic can refer to:In ethno-linguistics:*Celts, a people of the Celtic nations*Celts , the modern Celtic identity*Celtic languages...
Druid
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
encampment was also found neary
Festivities
- La Candelaria (2nd February)
- Carnival (before lentLentIn the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
- usually in February) - Saint Joseph's Day (19th March)
- Saint John's Day (24th June/Midsummer)
External links
- Sierra Norte
- Madrid Rural
- Turismo
- DescubreMadrid
- Monumentos
- Opiniones de Patones
- Imágenes
- Esmadrid
- Ocio Crítico
- Andarines
- Canto del Pico
- Todopueblos
- Adecorar
- Sierra Pobre
- Opiniones
- http://www.mundoanuncio.com/anuncio/patones_de_arriba_16943.html
- Imágenes
- Torrelaguna y Alrededores
- Hortensio
- Imágenes Google
Statistics
- Instituto de Estadística de la Comunidad de Madrid > Ficha municipal
- Instituto de Estadística de la Comunidad de Madrid > Series estadísticas del municipio