La Carlota, Spain
| La Carlota | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipality | |||
| |||
  La Carlota Location in Spain | |||
| Coordinates: 37°40′N 4°56′W / 37.667°N 4.933°W | |||
| Country | Spain | ||
| Autonomous community | Andalusia | ||
| Province | Córdoba | ||
| Comarca | Valle Medio del Guadalquivir | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Antonio Granados Miranda (PSOE) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 78.97 km2 (30.49 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 228 m (748 ft) | ||
| Population (2013) | |||
| • Total | 13,903 | ||
| • Density | 180/km2 (460/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym(s) | Carloteños | ||
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) | ||
| Postal code | 14100 | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
La Carlota is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cordoba, autonomous community of Andalusia. In 2005 it had 11,488 inhabitants. Its area is 80 km² and it has a density of 162.43 hab. Its geographical coordinates are 37º 40 'N, 4 ° 56' W. It is situated at an altitude of 228 meters and is 30 kilometers from the provincial capital, Córdoba.
Geography
Because of the history of its foundation, the population is divided into 11 districts or cores: the characteristic of the head of the municipality of La Carlota and ten departments. These departments are:
- First department: La Paz
- Second department: Los Algarbes
- Third department: Monte Alto
- Fourth department: Arrecife
- Fifth department: El Garabato
- Sixth department: La Chica Carlota
- Seventh department: Las Pinedas
- Eighth department: El Rinconcillo
- Ninth department: Fuencubierta
- Tenth department: Aldea Quintana
La Carlota is located in the Cordovan countryside, south of the capital, occupying part of the alluvial valley of the Guadalquivir and the area of Quaternary terraces. La Carlota borders the province of Seville to the west and south; to the north is the city of Guadalcázar. The relief is continuous without extreme slopes. Hills in the rainy season tends to stagnate. The weather is typical of the area: a little annual rainfall exceeding 600 mm and very high temperatures in summer and winter semifrías. It stresses the aridity of the area and the annual deficit in the hydrological balance. The main economic activity is agriculture and traditional products; dry cereals, olive groves, vineyards, sunflowers, sugar beet, and cotton are highly favored by its geographical location and activity between two provincial capitals among other minor centers.
History
La Carlota was founded in 1767 due to the interest of King Carlos III to colonize some depopulated areas of the Guadalquivir valley and Sierra Morena (see Colonization of Sierra Morena and Andalusia). The legal framework for carrying out this colonization was the Law of the New Populations of Andalusia, which established three main settlement areas: La Carolina (Jaén), La Carlota (Córdoba), and La Luisiana (Seville). The aim of this colonization was twofold: on the one hand protect the stagecoach traffic in these areas as a refuge to banditry, and the other put in big farm unproductive areas hitherto. The project was driven by two large figures: Campomanes and Pablo de Olavide, who was commissioned to carry out the settlement.
To recruit settlers to inhabit these lands he commissioned the adventurer Juan Gaspar de Thurriegel, who brought to Spain about six thousand German and Flemish Catholic settlers, plus some Catalans and Valencians. This is why Central European surnames and ethnic features still exist among its inhabitants. Of those 6,000 colonists, approximately 1,600 settled in Carlota.
Because of French influence and the Enlightenment, the municipality was divided into administrative "departments" instead of villages. The ruler of Carlota was not only the head of the current municipality, but also of the capital of the western colonies, comprising San Sebastián de los Ballesteros (Córdoba), Fuente Palmera (Córdoba), and La Luisiana (Seville). For the same reason, the design of La Carlota is orthogonal, with streets that intersect perpendicularly and give rise to regular apples, which extend on both sides of Camino Real (then national highway IV) leading from Cádiz to Madrid.
Among its illustrious locals is the writer Juan Bernier.
Cultural events
- Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos, January 5
- La Candelaria, February 1 and 2
- Día de Andalucía, February 28
- Feria del libro, April 24
- Fiesta del día de la Cruz, feria y fiestas de Aldea Quintana. Décimo Departamento (recomendada, todas las ferias de la zona comienzan con ésta), May 3
- Romería de San Isidro, May 15
- San Pedro y San Pablo (Feria y Fiestas de Montealto), June 29
- Feria y Fiestas de la paz, July 1
- Día de la Colonización, July 5
- Mercado Colono local, second weekend of July
- Feria y Fiesta de Los Algarbes, July 16
- Santiago Apóstol, feria y fiestas de El Garabato, July 25
- Día de la Virgen de los Ángeles, feria y fiestas de Las Pinedas, August 2
- Virgen del Tránsito y Virgen de Agosto, feria y fiestas de La Chica Carlota y El Rinconcillo respectivamente, August 15
- Verbena del Emigrante, August 28
- Feria y Fiestas de la Fuencubierta, August 30
- Fiestas del Santísimo Cristo de la Misercordia, September 14–17
- Fiesta de la Virgen del Rosario, patrona de la Carlota, October 7
- Día de la Constitución, December 6
See also
References
External links
