Entença, Entenza or Antenza is a village in the

La Franja La Franja (; "The Strip"; ) is the area of Catalan-speaking territories of eastern Aragon bordering Catalonia, in Spain. It literally means ''"the strip"'' and can also more properly be called (Aragonese Strip), (Western Strip) or (Eastern St ...

area of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

. It is located at a height of 576 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

in the Ribagorça

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

Huesca Province Huesca (; ), officially Huesca/Uesca, is a province of northeastern Spain, in northern Aragon. The capital is Huesca. Positioned just south of the central Pyrenees, Huesca borders France and the French departments of Haute-Garonne, Pyrénées-A ...

, 10 km to the

east-southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

of Benavarri, town to which it belongs administratively. Its zip code is 22580. Like many small towns in the

Pre-Pyrenees The Pre-Pyrenees are the foothills of the Pyrenees. Description As a mountainous system the Pre-Pyrenees are part of the Pyrenees. They run parallel to the main mountain range in a west to east direction. On the French side the Pyrenees's slope ...

, Entença has lost much population in the past 50 years. According to the 2007 census it has only 14 inhabitants. The most important buildings are the recently restored St. James' Church with only one bell in its two-eyed

bell-gable The bell gable (, , ) is an architectural element crowning the upper end of the wall of church buildings, usually in lieu of a church tower. It consists of a gable end in stone, with small hollow semi-circular arches where the church bells are ...

, as well as the now ruined residence of Queen

Teresa d'Entença Teresa d'Entença (c. 1300 – 20 October 1327) was the eldest daughter of Gombau d'Entença and his wife Constança d'Antillón. She was Countess of Urgell in her own right; however, control over her estate passed to her husband, Alfonso IV of Ar ...

, Countess of Urgell and Viscountess of Àger (1314–1327), wife of King Alfons IV of Aragon. The town gathers some of its former inhabitants and tourists every 25 July on the St. James' celebrations, as well as every 6 August on the occasion of Sant Salvador's

county fair An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhib ...

at the small Sant Salvador d'Entença church located out of the town perimeter.

History

Entença is the place of origin of the ancient

House of Entença The House of Entença was an ancient and noble dynasty of the Crown of Aragon. History The Entença noble family originated in the town of Entença, town, Entença in La Franja, presently in Aragon, around the 11th century. Later, in the 13th c ...

, one of the main dynasties of the ancient

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

. The

Barony of Entença Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

was established in the lower River Cinca valley and also 90 km further south, in the

Priorat Priorat () is a comarca (county) in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The region is named due to the monastery of Scala Dei which held many properties and the capital is now the town of Falset. Economy The central part of the comarca, ''Pr ...

and

Terres de l'Ebre Terres de l'Ebre (, in English 'Ebro, Ebre Lands') is the south-westernmost of the eight regions (Vegueria, ''vegueries'') defined by the Regional Plan of Catalonia. It has a population of 182,231 as of 2022, placing it second to last in terms of ...

, lands conquered to the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

s. Because of this historical significance, streets or squares named 'Entença' or 'Entenza' are common in towns and villages throughout

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

and the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

. The first mention of the town in a document was in 1036, according to Àngel Canellas López in his ''Colección diplomática de San Andrés de Fanlo''.''Institución Fernando el Católico'',

Saragossa Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, 1964

References

External links

Benavarri Town HallSt. James' Church of Entença
{{DEFAULTSORT:Entenca, town La Franja Ribagorza

History

See also

References

External links