Valle de Villaverde
Encyclopedia
Valle de Villaverde is a town and municipality
located in the autonomous community
of Cantabria
, Spain
. It is surrounded by the Basque
municipalities of Carranza
, Arcentales
, and Trucíos, but the town belongs to the administration of the government of Cantabria
. Thus, it is an enclave of Biscay
and an exclave of Cantabria
.
In the south of the municipality are the headwaters of the Río Agüera, whose valley includes altitudes of more than 400 metres. The municipality is crossed from west to east by the Santander-Bilbao
railway line operated by FEVE
.
times not by the Cantabri
but by the Autrigones
. It was colonized by Rome, and later became part of the Kingdom of Asturias
, as did the rest of Las Encartaciones and the heart of Biscay
.
The valley was purchased in the mid-15th century by Pedro Fernández de Velasco, at which point it ceased to be part of Biscay, the antecedent to its current status as an enclave. The 1822
and 1833 territorial divisions of Spain
gave it the name Villaverde de Trucíos; in 2005 it returned to its traditional name, Valle de Villaverde.
The region was devastated in the Carlist
battles of 1875; as a result, few old buildings survive. One notable older building is the Church of Santa María, its interior in ruins due to the 1875 fighting and later abandonment.
Source: INE
(a Burgalese exclave surrounded by Álava
), Basque nationalists
wish to incorporate Valle de Villaverde into the surrounding Basque province, in this case Biscay. Also similarly, this intent is opposed by the Cantabrian government: Miguel Ángel Revilla
, president of the autonomous community of Cantabria has been clear in his unwillingness to cede the municipality. In 1979, deputies (congressmen) Xabier Arzalluz
of the Basque Nationalist Party
(PNV) and Juan María Bandrés of Euskadiko Ezkerra
, affirmed that Article 8 of the then-new Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country
was intended to integrate the enclave of Treviño into Álava and the enclave of Villaverde into Biscay.
Although the leading political party in municipal elections in recent years has been the Regionalist Party of Cantabria
, in decades past Valle de Villaverde (then Villaverde de Trucíos) was more inclined to integrate itself into the surrounding province of Biscay. Piedad González, mayor of Villaverde de Trucíos beginning in May 1983, originally as a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
and later as an independent socialist, was described by El País in 1987 as an "impenitent defender of integration into Biscay."
The following tables show the results of the 2003 and 2007 municipal elections.
Municipalities of Spain
The municipalities of Spain In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. municipi.*Galician or , sing. municipio/bisbarra.*Basque , sing. udalerria. are the basic level of Spanish local government...
located in the autonomous community
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
of Cantabria
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
, 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...
. It is surrounded by the Basque
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
municipalities of Carranza
Karrantza
Karrantza in Basque or Carranza in Spanish is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. The official name is "Valle de Carranza"....
, Arcentales
Arcentales
Artzentales is a municipality in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:*...
, and Trucíos, but the town belongs to the administration of the government of Cantabria
Government of Cantabria
The Government of Cantabria is one of the statutory institutions that conform the Autonomous Community of Cantabria. It is the superior collegiate body that directs the politics and the Administration of this Spanish autonomous community, and at the same time the holder of the executive power as...
. Thus, it is an enclave of Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
and an exclave of Cantabria
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
.
In the south of the municipality are the headwaters of the Río Agüera, whose valley includes altitudes of more than 400 metres. The municipality is crossed from west to east by the Santander-Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
railway line operated by FEVE
FEVE
FEVE is a state-owned Spanish railway company, which operates most of Spain's of metre gauge railway.-History:...
.
Localities
The municipality is made up of the following localities:- La Altura
- El Campo
- La Capitana
- Los Hoyos
- La Iglesia
- Laiseca
- La Matanza (the capital)
- Mollinedo
- Palacio
- Povedal
- Villanueva
History
The area was settled in pre-RomanRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times not by the Cantabri
Cantabri
The Cantabri were a pre-Roman Celtic people which lived in the northern Atlantic coastal region of ancient Hispania, from the 4th to late 1st centuries BC.-Origins:...
but by the Autrigones
Autrigones
Location of the tribe of the Autrigones.The Autrigones were a pre-Roman people of ancient Spain, described by the Roman historian Paulus Orosius as neighbours of the Gallaeci, and thus had their homeland in the northwest of Hispania.-Location:Their historical territory now lies split between the...
. It was colonized by Rome, and later became part of the Kingdom of Asturias
Kingdom of Asturias
The Kingdom of Asturias was a Kingdom in the Iberian peninsula founded in 718 by Visigothic nobles under the leadership of Pelagius of Asturias. It was the first Christian political entity established following the collapse of the Visigothic kingdom after Islamic conquest of Hispania...
, as did the rest of Las Encartaciones and the heart of Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
.
The valley was purchased in the mid-15th century by Pedro Fernández de Velasco, at which point it ceased to be part of Biscay, the antecedent to its current status as an enclave. The 1822
1822 territorial division of Spain
The 1822 territorial division of Spain was a rearrangement of the territory of Spain into various provinces, enacted briefly during the Trienio Liberal of 1820–1823...
and 1833 territorial divisions of Spain
1833 territorial division of Spain
The 1833 territorial division of Spain divided Spain into provinces, classified into "historic regions" . on the official web site of the government of the Canary Islands, accessed 2009-12-31...
gave it the name Villaverde de Trucíos; in 2005 it returned to its traditional name, Valle de Villaverde.
The region was devastated in the Carlist
Carlism
Carlism is a traditionalist and legitimist political movement in Spain seeking the establishment of a separate line of the Bourbon family on the Spanish throne. This line descended from Infante Carlos, Count of Molina , and was founded due to dispute over the succession laws and widespread...
battles of 1875; as a result, few old buildings survive. One notable older building is the Church of Santa María, its interior in ruins due to the 1875 fighting and later abandonment.
Demography
| 1900 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 726 | 738 | 741 | 764 | 757 | 756 | 756 | 565 | 464 | 459 | 367 | 383 |
Source: INE
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain)
The National Institute of Statistics is the official organisation in Spain that collects statistics about demography, economy, and Spanish society. Every 10 years, this organisation conducts a national census. The last census took place in 2001....
Politics and government
As with the larger Enclave of TreviñoEnclave of Treviño
The Enclave of Treviño in northern Spain is part of the territory of the province of Burgos , but is completely surrounded by the territory of the Basque province of Álava. It consists of two municipalities—Condado de Treviño and La Puebla de Arganzón—and is part of the legal district of Miranda...
(a Burgalese exclave surrounded by Álava
Álava
Álava is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Álava. Its capital city is Vitoria-Gasteiz which is also the capital of the autonomous community...
), Basque nationalists
Basque nationalism
Basque nationalism is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or, chiefly, full independence of the Basque Country in the wider sense...
wish to incorporate Valle de Villaverde into the surrounding Basque province, in this case Biscay. Also similarly, this intent is opposed by the Cantabrian government: Miguel Ángel Revilla
Miguel Ángel Revilla
Miguel Ángel Revilla Roiz, President of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria , was born in Polaciones, Cantabria on 23 January 1943.In 1976, he was a founder of the Association in Defense of the Interests of Cantabria , a pioneer organization in the defense of the autonomy of Cantabria, and later...
, president of the autonomous community of Cantabria has been clear in his unwillingness to cede the municipality. In 1979, deputies (congressmen) Xabier Arzalluz
Xabier Arzalluz
Xabier Arzalluz Antia is a Spanish Basque nationalist politician, who has been the leader of the Basque Nationalist Party for two decades, until 2004. He is a nationalist and a Christian Democrat...
of the Basque Nationalist Party
Basque Nationalist Party
The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
(PNV) and Juan María Bandrés of Euskadiko Ezkerra
Euskadiko Ezkerra
Euskadiko Ezkerra or EE was a Basque socialist political organisation. It was founded as a coalition of Euskal Iraultzarako Alderdia and other Basque Marxist forces in 1977 to present lists for the Spanish general elections in the constituencies of Vizcaya,...
, affirmed that Article 8 of the then-new Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country
Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country
The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country is the legal document organizing the political system of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country' which includes the historical territories of Alava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa. It forms the region into one of the autonomous communities envisioned in...
was intended to integrate the enclave of Treviño into Álava and the enclave of Villaverde into Biscay.
Although the leading political party in municipal elections in recent years has been the Regionalist Party of Cantabria
Regionalist Party of Cantabria
The Regionalist Party of Cantabria , is the second oldest political party in the Spanish Autonomous Community of Cantabria. The PRC originated in the Association in Defense of the Interests of Cantabria , founded on May 14, 1976, with the objective of promoting Cantabrian autonomy.-History:The PRC...
, in decades past Valle de Villaverde (then Villaverde de Trucíos) was more inclined to integrate itself into the surrounding province of Biscay. Piedad González, mayor of Villaverde de Trucíos beginning in May 1983, originally as a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
and later as an independent socialist, was described by El País in 1987 as an "impenitent defender of integration into Biscay."
The following tables show the results of the 2003 and 2007 municipal elections.
| Municipal Elections, 25 May 2003 | |||||
| Party | Votes | % | Council seats | ||
| PRC Regionalist Party of Cantabria The Regionalist Party of Cantabria , is the second oldest political party in the Spanish Autonomous Community of Cantabria. The PRC originated in the Association in Defense of the Interests of Cantabria , founded on May 14, 1976, with the objective of promoting Cantabrian autonomy.-History:The PRC... |
259 | 84.09 % | 6 | ||
| PP People's Party (Spain) The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship... |
38 | 12.34 % | 1 | ||
| Mayor: Pedro Luis María Llaguno (PRC) | |||||
| Municipal Elections, 27 May 2007 | |||||
| Party | Votes | % | Council seats | ||
| PRC | 238 | 71.90 % | 6 | ||
| IU United Left (Spain) The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain... |
59 | 17.82 % | 1 | ||
| Mayor: Pedro Luis María Llaguno (PRC) | |||||