Añora

Añora – Los Pedroches Region

Añora is located in the region of Pedroches, to the north of the province, in a landscape dominated by the oaks, whose rich meadows are used for raising cattle, sheep and pigs.

The municipality limits with Villaralto, Dos Torres, Alcaracejos and Pozoblanco.

The town, with limited dimensions, offers an architectural peculiarity in its homes – some very old-, which consists in the construction of facades with granite ashlars stressed by white strips. Another typical thing is doors and windows with granite lintels.

The Añora term comes from the Arab word naura, which means big wheel. According to experts, the term refers to the waterwheel of a garden that was in the vicinity of the place that, nowadays, occupies the municipality. And was around the garden where the first inhabitants of the villa were gathering. In relation to the historical period in which the first neighbours were lodged in place, although not being easy to document the exact date, is believed that was in the late XIV and early XV century.

On the other hand, there are three different theories around the creation of the village: the first of them refers to Añora was formed at an imprecise time due to a group of neighbours of Torremilano and Pedroche who left their villages avoiding a horrible plague; and these neighbours looking for a settlement to start a new life in a place called Añora, which, at first, depended on the population of Torremilano.

The second hypothesis refers to Añora could be made up with neighbours coming from Pedroche; though, experts say, this theory has very little signs of reality. Finally, there is a third theory about the origin of Añora, which offers more signs of verisimilitude, and refers to the population is formed around the year 1414 in the call Huerta de Crespo (located on the outskirts of town, to the left of the road that goes from Añora to Dos Torres), and, according to the some sources, these lands were planted with many plantations of vines that were cared for by neighbours from Torremilano. However, at the end some of these families ended up taking up their residence in the Huerta de Crespo forming, thus, a small village which, over time, would grow with the arrival of new neighbours who came and were lodged in that place.

It is quite clear that the first inhabitants of Añora came from the neighbouring Torremilano, depending legally the first town in the second until that was granted its independence. As for the foundation of Añora, it happened in the second half of the XIV century, coinciding with the appearance of new urban centres in the region around Pedroche and Torremilano, primitive centres of population; being those centres called Pozoblanco, Torrecampo, Torrefranca and Encina Enana. A century later, in 1487, Añora, next to Alcaracejos, bring an action with the one Torremilano, which both depend in a jurisdictional way.

The aspirations of independence of these towns were realized for Alcaracejos that obtained its Title of Villa in 1488; but Añora still had to wait. In 1492, the neighbours of Añora headed back to the Royal Council to denounce the negative situation regarding the council of Torremilano; but they could not get their independence. A new opportunity arose in 1552, year in which Emperor Carlos V and his mother Juana gave a power in favour of Prince Felipe, son of the emperor. In this letter the prince was authorized to give the title of town to places that were subject to other jurisdictions, in return they offer a certain amount. So, opting for this letter-power, a representative of Añora set out on behalf of the council the damages damage and inconvenience that caused the jurisdictional dependence of the town of Torremilano, being accepted the reasons by the Crown on 27 May 1553 ceded the Title of Villa to the town, and was made with the recognition of all the prerogatives assumed that title, upon payment of 300,000 maravedies who surrendered to the royal treasurer two days later.

Once it was obtained the title of Villa, Añora became part of the Siete Villas de los Pedroches. The first count of people made in Añora, in 1553, gives a number of 160; some years later, in 1571, the number nearly doubled, reaching the village take 300 inhabitants.

Añora also was part of the Siete Villas, regional territory as property of the Crown under the jurisdiction of Córdoba, until there was a division of communal lands in the mid-nineteenth century. Another important fact of this place was that in 1660, the King Felipe IV had a good in turn into manor the population for the benefit of the Marquis del Carpio, a situation that will last until 1747. Two centuries later, in mid-nineteenth, Añora population is just over 1000 inhabitants, at the time of the reign of Elizabeth II, and it has been written, the population maintained a faithful allegiance to the crown. Regarding to the above, a curious fact is that according to some documents, in 1835 occurred in some villages of Pedroches, including Torremilano, clashes between Carlist and Elizabethan without participate no neighbour from Añora.

In the XX century, the first mayor of Añora of this century was Eugenio José Rodríguez Gutiérrez, elected on July 1, 1899 by the votes of eight of the nine councils elected in municipal elections on 14 May of that year; a few years later, in 1910, Añora had already reached the 2410 inhabitants. The most outstanding of this first third of the XX century are the dreadful working conditions and livelihood issues of many noriegos (people from Añora): poverty and ignorance were a common denominator in those years. All this became worse by both international events (World War I, 1914-1918) and national (War with Morocco, 1,920 and up), and abnormal conditions for agriculture such as drought, rainy years and constant pest. This often makes that the Town Hall acting as if it were a charity, employing many Noriega in urban and infrastructure planning, which will come to configure the present general urban plan. Creation, expansion and alignment of many streets, works in the town hall (1906), remodelling of the Ermita de la Virgen de la Peña’s environment, and undoubtedly the work of this century: the construction of the municipal cemetery of Nuestra Señora del Carmen (completed in August 1908), instead of the Cementerio Viejo next to the Parish Church, give good example of this activity.

All these basic problems would also be increased by population growth in recent years, it went from 2,410 inhabitants in 1,910 to 3,074 in 1923. They were difficult years, not absent of conflict, in which we carry out celebrations nowadays with the most natural thing like the August Fair (Feria de Agosto) were suspended in pursuit of social and collective benefit. They were the end of the Spanish Civil War.

Monuments

Parish Church of San Sebastián, with its feature tower-façade.

Church of La Virgen de la Peña.

Chapel of San Pedro.

Archaeological Sites

Yacimiento de Cerro Cuerno (pre-Roman).

Town Planning

Houses with architectural elements of granite (stone fronts).
Many crossroads located in open areas and squares of the town.

Añora Gastronomy

Embutidos (Cold meats). Albóndigas noriegas (made with Iberian Ham).

Sausages: Bizcochadas. Piñonates. Rosquillas de los tres pesos. Hornazos.

How to get there

You have to exit Córdoba, continue: N-432 and alleyway of El Vacar. At the roundabout, take the salida 2 and continue: CO-420. Cross Villaharta and take CO-421. In the area around Pozoblanco, take A-435. Cross Pozoblanco, continue along: A-3177 and follow until you get Añora.

Distances

Espiel 35 km
Obejo 47 km
Almería 78 km
Pozoblanco 6 km
Alcaracejos 7,5 km
Torrecampo 25 km
Hinojosa del Duque 28 km
Villanueva del Duque 11 km
Villanueva de Córdoba 26 km