Bescós de Garcipollera

Coordinates: 42°37′38″N 0°30′14″W / 42.62722°N 0.50389°W / 42.62722; -0.50389
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Bescós de Garcipollera
Settlement
CountrySpain
Autonomous communityAragon
ProvinceHuesca
ComarcaJacetania
MunicipalityJaca
Elevation
929 m (3,048 ft)
Population
 • Total5 (INE 2,019)

Bescós de Garcipollera or Bescós de la Garcipollera is a Spanish settlement belonging to the municipality of Jaca, in the Jacetania, province of Huesca, Aragon. It is located in the valley of the Garcipollera.

Geography[edit]

It is located in the lower part of the valley of the Ijuez river, in the valley of the Garcipollera.

Etymology[edit]

For Manuel Benito Moliner, from the Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses, there are four possible etymologies or explanations for the origin of the toponym: firstly, it could be an anthroponym, that is, a toponym derived from a name or anthroponym, which in this case would be that of the holder of the estate or fundus, a Viscus in Latin; the second possibility would be to relate it to the word forest (bosque); the third, to derive it from osca, in the sense of land put under cultivation (which could fit with the late cultivation of the Garcipollera on the land of Bescós).[1]

History[edit]

It is estimated that it was around 1040-1050 when the Garcipollera was put under cultivation, at the initiative of Count Sancho Galíndez.[2]

Around 1080, Garcipollera (and Bescós with it) became dependent on the monastery of San Juan de la Peña, forming part of a single priory.[2]

Around 1200, most of the patrimony of this priory passed to King Peter II of Aragon, who founded a female monastery that shortly after moved to the monastery of Cambrón, in Sádaba (Cinco Villas), maintaining the ownership of several of the places in the Garcipollera.[2]

At the beginning of the 17th century, however, the master of Garcipollera was Juan Abarca y Gurrea, and thus the ecclesiastical lordship in the area had disappeared.[2]

Between 1859 and 1863, at a time of strong expansion of the arable land in the province of Huesca due to the phenomenon of the ploughing of communal mountains after the disentailment of Mendizábal, there is evidence of the sale at auction of several hills of Bescós.[2]

In 1933 it became part of the medical district of Castiello de Jaca, where the doctor who attended to the residents of Bescós resided.[3]

The village has been abandoned since the 1960s because both buildings and farmland were expropriated for the construction of the Yesa Reservoir on the Aragón river. Its forests were then planted with pine trees in an attempt to delay the filling of the reservoir basin with the materials carried by the erosion caused by rainfall. This erosion was increased due to the recent land clearing in the second half of the 19th century.[2]

Thus, in 1961, by Royal Decree 2543/61, of December 7, published in the Official State Gazette number 303, of December 20, Bescós de Garcipollera ceased to exist as a municipal district, being absorbed by Jaca, where it currently belongs. Since that time, the ruins of Bescós have been the property of the State, although they were later transferred to the Government of Aragón.[4]

A fish farm has been built next to the ruins of the old village.

Demographics[edit]

Locality[edit]

Demographic data for the town of Bescós de Garcipollera in 1900:[5][6]

Historical population of Bescós de Garcipollera
Year1900191019201930194019501960197019811991200120112019
Population253237208192163118681797455
  • Data related to the de jure population.

Former municipality[edit]

Demographic data of the municipality of Bescós de Garcipollera since 1842:[7]

Historical population of Bescós de Garcipollera
Year1842185718601877188718971900191019201930194019501960
Population10538940538038037237536333630627219099
  • Between the 1857 Census and the previous one, the municipality grew because it incorporated Bergosa and Yosa de Garcipollera.
  • Between the 1970 Census and the previous one, this municipality disappeared because it became part of the municipality of Jaca.
  • Data refer to the de jure population, except in the 1857 and 1860 Censuses, which refer to the de facto population.

Architectural heritage[edit]

The parish church of San Miguel stands out, with a Romanesque floor plan from the 12th century, although it underwent major reconstruction in the 17th or 18th centuries. It is currently in a state of ruin, since the abandonment of the town.[8]

Natural heritage[edit]

The Garcipollera valley, as a whole, has been declared a National Hunting Reserve, depending in these aspects on the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1962, the Reserve was repopulated with several specimens of deer.[3]

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

  • Historical list of precipitation at the Bescós de Garcipollera weather station. (in Spanish)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Benito Moliner, Manuel. "Pueblos del Alto Aragón: el origen de sus nombres". Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses - Diputación General de Aragón. Archived from the original on November 9, 2007. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Asociación Cultural Sancho Ramírez. "Casetas de piedra y falsa cúpula en la Jacetania / Biello Aragón. 6. Hitos en la Historia del paisaje. 6.1. Garzipollera y Rapitán". Government of Aragón (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Calvo Ramón, Pascual. "La Garcipollera. Memoria de un valle" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on June 28, 2004. Retrieved November 29, 2007.
  4. ^ "El Gobierno aragonés ha decidido recuperar su patrimonio inmobiliario rural". La Defensa. Revista aragonesa para la defensa ambiental del territorio (in Spanish). 2004. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007.
  5. ^ Instituto Aragonés de Estadística (2005). Catálogo de pueblos y municipios de Aragón. Estadística de población y nomenclaturas toponímicas entre 1900 y 2004 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Zaragoza: Gobierno de Aragón. pp. 74–75. ISBN 84-7753-366-0.
  6. ^ Nomenclature: Population of the Continuous Register by Population Unit. INE - Spanish National Statistics Institute. (in Spanish)
  7. ^ Alterations of the municipalities in the Population Censuses since 1842. INE - National Institute of Statistics of Spain. (in Spanish)
  8. ^ García Omedes, Antonio (2004). "Bescós de Garcipollera" (in Spanish). Románico Aragonés. Retrieved November 29, 2007.

42°37′38″N 0°30′14″W / 42.62722°N 0.50389°W / 42.62722; -0.50389

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