02 ONTINYENT - ALBAIDA (English)

Описание: Ontinyent and Jaime I: the king’s fortress
Ontinyent –the hisn’Untinyân of the Arab fountains- was incorporated by Jaume I the Conqueror to the Kingdom of Valencia in 1245. The Islamic revolt of the years 1247-1248 justified the expulsion of the Muslims from the Village, and the foundation here –as its name reveals- of a royal village (1248) repopulated by Catalan and Aragonese settlers, amongst those that had taken part in the process of conquest.
The division of estates was carried out by the Aragonese settlers Lope de Vaello, Artal de Foces and García Ortiz. The tomb of a descendant of Vaello (14th century) can be seen in the lateral inner door that gives access to the gothic church dedicated to St Mary, a dedication that is also made to Jaume I. He promoted the plantation of vineyards and the production and exportation of wine ‘from Ontinyent’. In 1256 the sovereign made a collective donation of the flat land of the Alforins (the current local area of Fontanars) to the first settlers in Ontinyent from Valencian origin. A scarce Muslim minority lived with them, in the poor quarter. In the same year the monarch authorised the opening of St Roc’s gate, next to the Islamic fortress (the current palace of the Duchess of Almodóvar and headquarters of the Tourist Info Office), which was damaged, together with the wall and many houses in the terrible earthquake of 1258. Jaume I imposed no taxes during many years to the neighbourhood so that they could rebuild everything. The Conqueror visited Ontinyent during the siege of Biar (1244-1245), after the earthquake (1258) and in several more occasions, in the years 1271-1273.