Tembleque is a municipality located in the

province of Toledo Toledo () is a Province (Spain), province of central Spain, in the western part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Madrid Province, Madrid, Cuenca Province (Spai ...

, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2010

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

( INE), the municipality had a population of 2 390 inhabitants, but it has since declined.

History

The name is of Iberian origin. At that time there were a lot of villages with names ending in "que". After the reconquest of Toledo, the village belonged to the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

Heraldry

The town has a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

featuring three towers over a small mountain and a cannon.(see note) The cannon symbolises the town's historical link with the

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

.(see note)

Landmarks

Buildings of interest include: * the main square (''Plaza Mayor'') * the church of the Assumption (''Nuestra Señora de la Asunción''), which dates from the 16th century.

Famous inhabitants

Francisco de Tembleque gave his name to the Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque in Mexico. This structure is now a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. * Nena Goodman (1910-1998), New York artist and philanthropist

Notes

:1.In heraldry "escutcheon" would be a more precise translation of the Spanish term ''escudo'' than "coat of arms". :2.The village supplied

saltpetre Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...

for making gunpowder.

References

External links

Municipalities in the Province of Toledo {{CastileLaMancha-geo-stub