Puebla de Guzmán

Puebla de Guzmán

Puebla de Guzmán is located 221 meters above sea level and 61 Km from Huelva, this town, with its beautiful landscape, belongs to the Judicial District of Valverde. It has a population of 3228 inhabitants according to official figures from 01.01.1998, and occupies an area of 324 km2.

Puebla de Guzmán limits witht the municipalities of Paymogo y Santa Bárbara de Casa.

The region of Andévalo has been inhabited since time immemorial. It is believed that the word Andévalo has its origin in the pre-Roman god Endovélico, the god of “Hell and night, of divination and health” who adopted the form of a boar, and was also worshiped in what is now Portugal.

The first pre-Roman traces found come from the site known as La Longuera, in which was found a tomb containing the remains of pottery and other items.

There exists evidence of mining activity developed by the Romans, who extracted copper, iron and silver and other metals in the mines of the Cabezo del Pasto, Herrerías, Cabezo de Gibraltar and others. On the outskirts of Cabezo del Águila  was found a funerary stone with inscriptions, and other remains.

Muslim civilization also left its mark amongst the highlights of which are some pieces of slate with inscriptions.

In the Middle Ages there were two towns called Alqueria de la Vaca and Alqueria Juan Perez.

The Count of Niebla established in 1445 franchises for the inhabitants of Alquería de Juan Perez to increase the population.

In 1481 the name Puebla de Guzman first came into use, and in 1796 it was granted the title of Town by King Carlos IV.

During the sixteenth century it was the site of constant Portuguese invasions, the consequence of which being the war which separated Portugal from Spain.

In the early nineteenth century it was invaded by the French. At the end of the century its revitalized mining activities exploited the rich deposits of manganese, copper and pyrites in Herrerías, Cabezas del Pasto and La Mina del Toro, creating new settlements and the town of Minas de Herrerías, which led to a considerable increase in population, uninterrupted even during the civil conflict and subsequent years of hardship. Puebla de Guzman reached the peak of its population in 1950 with 6661 inhabitants.

The 50’s saw a moderate drop in population that intensified in the 60’s as a result of emigration. At that time, the crisis of pasture and agricultural land use, and the decline of mining offered no other viable economic alternatives for many of its inhabitants. Just over 2,000 people sought emigration as the only way to survive and departed for the economic boom of the Huelva capital. In addition they emigrated to Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Valencia and to some foreign countries.

This migration process, even though negative, was moderated in the 70’s and practically stopped by 1980. Today the population is about 3,200 inhabitants.

Monuments in Puebla de Guzmán

Hermitage of la Virgen de la Peña
Church of la Santa Cruz
Convent of María Auxiliadora
House of the Brotherhood de los Labradores
Casa de Isabelita

Puebla de Guzmán Gastronomy

One specialty is the stew, which is consumed throughout the year but especially during the pilgrimage of the Virgen de la Peña. The turmas and gurumelos are prepared in various ways: in omelettes, scrambled …

Other dishes prepared are poleás, migas, sausages.

For cakes, rosas, pestiños, sponge cakes, borrachos, sweets made from grapefruit and cider.

Directions

Leave Huelva and head towards Portugal. Pass Gibraleón and take the road A-495 to San Bartolome de la Torre. Pass through San Bartolome de la Torre and take the A-490 to Villanueva de los Castillejos where you join the A-499 to La Puebla de Guzmán.

Distances from Puebla de Guzmán

Huelva 58 km
Alosno 16 km
Calañas 41 km
Tharsis 13 km
Sevilla 138 km
Aracena 89 km
Paymogo 19 km
Cabezas Rubias 20 km
Santa Bárbara de Casa 33 km
Villanueva de los Castillejos 15 km