Last modified: 2019-09-14 by ivan sache
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The municipality of Guadalmez (731 inhabitants in 2018; 7,1899 ha) forms the south-westernmost corner of the Province of Ciudad Real, on the border with Extremadura (Province of Badajoz) and Andalusia (Province of Córdoba), 130 km south-west of Ciudad Real and 120 km north of Córdoba.
Guadalmez originally emerged around the castle of Aznaharón, located on
the bank of river Valdeazogues upstream its confluence with river
Guadalmez; the castle watched the road connecting Córdoba to Toledo.
After the reconquest of Córdoba by Ferdinand III the Saint, the valley
was incorporated to the Kingdom of Córdoba. The re-settlement of the old
castle of Aznaharón failed: when visiting it in 1344, its lord, Bernat
de Cabrera, counted only five inhabitants.
The Fernández de Córdoba subsequently re-settled the lower part of the
valley, establishing villages such as Las Casas de Domingo Estevan; the
colonists were granted in 1410 the land of Vega de Guadarmes (Guadamez
Plain) by their owners, the commanders of Los Donceles and lords of
Chillón. The settlements was renamed to Aldea de Guadarmes in 1452; in 1546, the Marquess of Comares chartered the Vega de Valdesapos and its dependencies to the villagers, which fostered the development of the valley.
In the 18th century, the village attracted several colonists from
neighboring Extremadura; in 1834, the village of Los Palacios de
Guadalmez was incorporated to the Province of Ciudad Real, severing a
multi-centenary connection with Córdoba.
Guadalmez was granted the status of villa in 1868, separating from
Chillón, but had to wait until a Royal Decree signed on 15 November 1927
by Alfonso XIII to actually obtain independent municipal status.
[Marca Guadalmez, 3 December 2014]
Ivan Sache, 17 May 2019
Flag of Guadalmez - Image by "Erlenmeyer", Wikimedia Commons, 17 May 2019
The Marca Guadalmez association appears to have designed a flag for Guadalmez (photo, photo, photo, photo, photo), green with a white cross cantonned by four yellow castles. The flag does not appear to have been officially registered; it exists in the cloth, seemingly mostly used by the Marca Guadalmez group.
The Omayyad green color refers to the fertile valley of Guadalmez, which
has supported the inhabitant's life for centuries. It also recalls the
Arab origin of the town and its belonging to the old Kingdom of Córdoba.
It is also the color of hope and aspiration to a better future.
The cross' horizontal arm represents river Guadalmez, while its vertical
arms represents rivers Alcudia and Valdeazogues and the brooks tributary
of the Guadalmez. It also symbolizes the Christian roots of the old village.
The two colors, green and white, highlight the historical and cultural
connections of Guadalmez with both Extremadura and Andalusia.
The four castles represent the Kingdom of Castile, to which Guadalmez
belonged, and the modern connection with Castilla-La Mancha. They
represent the four fortresses that watched the valley of Guadalmez:
Aznaharón (the remote origin of the town of Guadalmez), Vioque,
Madroñiz, and the Cats' Tower.
[
Marca Guadalmez, 3 December 2014]
Ivan Sache, 17 May 2019