Priego de Córdoba
Encyclopedia
Priego de Córdoba is a town and 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...

 of southern Spain
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...

 in the extreme southeastern portion of the province of Córdoba, near the headwater of the Guadajoz River, and on the northern slope of the Sierra de Priego. The population in 2008 was 22,558.

History

The oldest church was built in the 13th century and subsequently restored; it has a fine chapel. There are ruins of an, originally Moorish, castle (currently (2006) under restoration) having been a fortified city of the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

 (with the Hispano-Arabic name Baguh) which was captured by the Christians under Ferdinand III
Ferdinand III of Castile
Saint Ferdinand III, T.O.S.F., was the King of Castile from 1217 and León from 1230. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. He finished the work done by his maternal grandfather Alfonso VIII and consolidated the...

 in 1225, lost again in 1327, and finally retaken in 1340 by Alfonso XI.

Some of the best examples of the Spanish Baroque are found in the numerous churches in Priego. The first President of the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

, Niceto Alcala-Zamora
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first premier minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then — from 1931 to 1936—as its president....

, was from Priego. Priego is a village found on the 'Ruta de la Califata' (trade route of the Califa).

The oldest section of Priego is its Barrio de la Villa. It is bordered on one side by the town's natural fortress, a high cliff. The alleys that wind through this part of the town are Moorish in style, decorated proudly by the populace with flower pots and religious icons. Some homes retain the ancient tunnel system that went from their cellars (bodegas) to the castle.

Priego is a member of the Route of the Caliphate. It is called “City of the water” because of the many springs and "Jewel of the Baroque Native of Córdoba” for its multitude of Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

-style constructions. It has been referred to as “the lock and key to the Kingdom of Granada”.

Geography

The view from the cliff, known as the "Adarve", is breathtakingly beautiful and is a favorite subject for paintings. From the "Adarve" one sees an over 180° degree expanse of valley and olive grove speckled mountains known as the "Subetica".

The oldest section of Priego is its Barrio de la Villa. It is bordered on one side by the town's natural fortress, a high cliff. The alleys that wind through this part of the town are Moorish in style, decorated with flower pots and religious icons. Some homes still have the ancient tunnel system that went from their cellars (bodegas) to the castle.

Economy

Its economy is based on agricultural products, mainly olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...

 and cereals. The olive oil from Priego has been given its own denominational label. The olive oils have recently garnered many of the most prestigious prizes in international competitions.

Culture

The religious brotherhoods of Priego have a long history, some dating back to before the 16th century. The traditional displays of these brotherhoods in the religious processions of Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...

 (Semana Santa) are renowned for their grandeur and beauty.

The procession on Holy Thursday (Jueves Santo) of the Brotherhood of the Column (Jesus de la Columna), which is the oldest and most prestigious of the town's brotherhoods, and on Holy Friday (Viernes Santo) the Brotherhood of the Nazarenos, in which the procession is of a hand carried float with Christ carrying the cross.

The Nazareno is carried from a church in the center of Priego to a mountain top that overlooks Priego known as the Calavario. Once there a priest comes out of the hermitage there and delivers a benediction
Benediction
A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service.-Judaism:...

. The population holds up pastries in the form of roosters or pigs, with a hard boiled egg in the center, known as 'hornazos'. After the benediction it is considered good luck for the coming year to eat the pastry.

The Barrio de la Villa or “Old Quarter” was given the official title of Historic Centre of Priego in 1972.

External links

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