Viguera

Viguera is a municipality in La Rioja, Spain. It includes the villages Castañares de las Cuevas, El Puente, and Panzares.

Viguera
Municipality
Coat of arms
Viguera Location in La Rioja Viguera Location in Spain
Coordinates: 42°18′29″N 2°32′2″W
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	La Rioja
Region	Rioja Media
Comarca	Camero Nuevo
Government
• Mayor	Luis María Jalón Velasco (PP; 2007)
Area
• Total	41.72 km^2 (16.11 sq mi)
Elevation	689 m (2,260 ft)
Population  (2018)[1]
• Total	390
• Density	9.3/km^2 (24/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	viguereño / a
Website	Official website

History

The earliest documentary evidence is in the Berber historian Ajbar Machmua, who told that Abd ar-Rahman I recovered La Rioja in 759, after it having been conquered by Alfonso I of Asturias in 755. He commented in particular that after taking Viguera Castle, Abd ar-Rahman I crossed all of La Rioja and penetrated Álava.

It was one of the fortifications that the Banu Qasi used to defend La Rioja from the Christians.

In the second half of the ninth century, Lubb ibn Musa, one of the sons of Musa ibn Musa ibn Qasi, reconstructed the fortress. Lubb died hunting deer and was buried in the location.

Upon Christian reconquest, it became the site of the Kingdom of Viguera (970-1005). At the end of this period, it became part of the Kingdom of Navarre, although later the area passed into the hand of the nobles of Cameros, as part of their feudal territory.

Demographics

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1900 1,327 —     1910 1,026 −22.7% 1920 1,085 +5.8% 1930 946 −12.8% 1940 851 −10.0% 1950 754 −11.4%	Year Pop. ±% 1960 660 −12.5% 1970 480 −27.3% 1981 431 −10.2% 1990 434 +0.7% 2000 357 −17.7%
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística de España

Population centres

• Viguera
• Castañares de las Cuevas
• El Puente
• Panzares

Places of interest

Hermitage of Santa Lucía, in Panzares

• Parish Church of La Asunción: Constructed in the 16th century of masonry and ashlar, recently restored
• Hermitage of Nuestra Señora del Rosario: Based on an earlier hermitage from the 16th century, reformed in the 18th century
• Hermitage of San Marcos: Originally in the 17th century, recently restored by a group of women of the town who, without interest in the devotion of this hermitage or its festival, have restored it
• Hermitage of San Esteban
• Hermitage of Santa Lucía, in the village of Panzares, rebuilt in 1968 above a 16th-century edifice
• Parish Church of La Asunción: In Castañares de las Cuevas, from the 16th century
• Medieval bridges:
  • Leaving Logroño near the border of Viguera, 11th century
  • After Islallan

Local festivals

• In honor of Saint Mark, April 25
• Patrol festivals in honor of Saint James and Saint Ann. July 25 and 26

References

1. Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.