What if when you changed streets in your town you moved to another? How does this affect the cadastral level? What demonym do you use if in reality your region is “kidnapped” by others?
In Spain there is a riddled place in its cartography and that place is called Albarracín, a municipality in the province of Teruel (Aragón) which, for centuries, was surrounded by villages that sought autonomy, organized themselves into their own community and ended up purchasing their independence in 1689, which fragmented the term into 24 municipalities that today act as enclaves within their territory. A political-administrative delirium that goes from the medieval to the modern and leaves us with an impossible map that on August 12 will also be one of the best viewpoints of the total eclipse.
A map full of holes. To the southwest of Teruel and with just over a thousand inhabitants, Albarracín is one of the strangest terms in Spain. Within its term there are “islands” that do not belong to Albarracín, but to villages separated centuries ago. 24 independent municipalities, just like that. These fitted pieces de facto delimit the territory, generating a network of villages that turns the map into a puzzle. And how does this affect day to day life?
For example, selling a plot of land in Albarracín requires surgeon-like precision. Before closing the operation, it is necessary to check with a magnifying glass which municipality governs that land, if the plot matches exactly between Cadastre and Registry, and if its boundaries have changed due to the history of the municipal area. In such a fragmented area, the problem is usually not “the sale” itself, but the identification of the property: if there are discrepancies in area, space or limits, if rectifications, annexes or extra certificates appear and, sometimes, topographic measurements to prevent the buyer from inheriting a lawsuit or a tax surprise. Something as obvious as in which municipality the IBI is settled is here a geological escape room. At a legal level, Any conflict of boundaries, easements or discrepancy between Cadastre and deed may delay the signing.
A problem of mountains and boundaries. First it was an independent manor (that of the Azagra). Later, after the conquest by Pedro III in 1284, the Christian repopulation of the area and the definitive incorporation of the city to the Crown of Aragon around 1300, Albarracín remained the center of a large mountain territory. At the beginning of the 14th century, the towns of the mountains began to organize themselves into a supra-municipal entity distinct from the city to manage mountains, pastures and taxes and, above all, to gain margin against the Albarracinense tutelage. That early structure had few powers at first, but over time it reinforced its autonomy and prepared the ground for jurisdictional rupture.
Buy independence. In 1689 the point of no return arrived, when that entity was formalized as the Community of Villages of Albarracín. A jurisdictional separation granted by Charles II himself. Thus he managed to definitively separate from the city. The villages paid 45,000 ducats to achieve full jurisdictional separation, becoming their own municipalities under the umbrella of the Community. From this process, among others, Bronchales, Gea de Albarracín, Orihuela del Tremedal, Tramacastilla, Griegos, Jabaloyas or Villar del Cobo were born, which today circumvent or directly pierce the original terminus.
It’s sesmas time. To understand this community we must talk about its four “sesmas” (Jabaloyas, Bronchales, Royuela and Frías). These blocks grouped villages and resources into subdistricts. Each municipality inherited scattered plots, hills and pastures, creating a mosaic that makes you laugh at private property in Ireland. Small portions nested within each other whose seal, under political geography, has its own administration: they are defined as enclaves. And in Albarracín they are counted in dozens.
Wars and Carlists. The Community of Villages remained a public law institution for almost two centuries, coexisting with the city of Albarracín. Until the Carlist Wars and their great liberal provincial reform dissolved it, in 1833. The Spanish administrative map was reorganized and Albarracín, with a Carlist tendency, was occupied by liberal troops, punishing the region for a conflict that neither went nor came to them. But no one beat the stubborn ones and the new division maintained the multiplicity of municipalities.
Decades passed and these municipalities continued to function independently within the province of Teruel. We are already talking about the 20th century and even the 21st: Albarracín is a heritage and tourist reference. In 2003, the Government of Aragon created the Sierra de Albarracín region through Law 1/2003which once again grouped Albarracín and its 24 municipalities into the same regional entity. The region respects the municipal boundaries, so the cartographic hell persists, but with a layer of supra-municipal coordination that is reminiscent of the ancient medieval community.
Total eclipse over the labyrinth. As the great Bonnie Tyler sang, may she rest in peace, the “total eclipse” will bathe these lands. Cartographic irony wants the total solar eclipse of August 12, 2026 to cross Spain from west to east at sunset and cross the Sierra de Albarracín. This area is, without a doubt, one of the best viewpoints in the entire world. In Albarracin, The partial eclipse will begin around 19:36:45totality will begin at 20:30:59, reaching its maximum at 20:31:46 with the Sun only 6 degrees high and magnitude 1.032. It will end at 20:32:32, with the end of the partial around 21:04, already close to sunset.
And what are the best viewpoints? Note: the natural space of Rodeno, that of Muela de San Juan in Griegos, that of Santa Barbara in GuadalaviarEl Batán in Tramacastilla and Carrizuelo in Villar del Cobo, although Santos de la Piedra in Pozondón and Alto Cabezo in Saldón are also great. Let us keep in mind that, for the eclipse, what is important is the west orientation, the height and a clean horizon. The Sierra de Albarracín starts with that natural advantage: little light pollution, high relief and a network of ideal viewpoints.
The show is served. And surely those 4,500 reais with which they bought their independence are well amortized. Because they are privileged viewpoints that will probably be filled next August 12, when the shadow of the Moon travels through that geography of municipal holes. Political alignment, too, because each municipality belongs to its father and mother. Bezas, for example, has some 60 inhabitants; Bronchales is one of the largest, reaching 500 in summer, in line with Gea de Albarracín. However, others like Rubiales barely have any registered 43 inhabitants and Saldón ends up with 21 citizens. An administrative hell, yes, but a beautiful one.
Images | Aragon.es / National Geographic Institute
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