Almonte, Spain

**Almonte** is a town and municipality located in Huelva, in southwestern Spain. It has a population of more than 25,000 inhabitants and an area of 33,174 square miles. It receives worldwide tourism thanks to the village of El Rocío (which had a great influence in the American Wild West culture and hosts one of the most popular pilgrimages in the world), the Doñana National Park (Europe's largest natural reserve and a World Heritage Site by UNESCO) and the longest coast in Spain. It’s also the only municipality in southern Spain to have a presidential residence.

## History

The town is located within the ancient region of Tartessia and traded metals during the Chalcolithic, having been partially surrounded by the Ligustinian Lake, which dried completely in 700BC. Archaeologists George Bonsor and Adolf Schulten, in their search for Atlantis, discovered remains of a garum factory, settlements and necropolis, for the area was also ruled by Romans. Its current name derives from the one established during the 8th century AD (Al Munt) and the Umayyads were the first to tame and breed the wild horses which had inhabited the area for centuries, later registered as the Marismeño protected species and becoming ancestors of Mustangs.
Almonte was reconquered by the Castillians and in 1270 king Alfonso X The Wise ordered to build a sanctuary devoted to a deity in the woods which locals referred to as Saint Mary of Las Rocinas and whose statue, an anonymous gothic carved wood sculpture, has remained within the temple since its construction. The virgin later became known as the Virgin of El Rocío.
During the Renaissance, the village of El Rocío was one of the most important medieval river ports and the typical sandy unpaved roads and the wooden hitching rails to tie horses up were exported to the United States, along with the ancestors of the Mustang horse.
The woods of Las Rocinas became a Royal forest called Doñana and an official residence (Palacio de las Marismillas) was established there over time. In this century, six defensive towers were built alongside Almonte’s coast by order of king Philip II. In 1583, Almonte purchased Doñana from the duke and the Virgin of El Rocío became patron saint of the town in 1653, receiving attention from neighbouring towns and a yearly pilgrimage to El Rocío started.
In 1810, during the war against France, Almonteans executed a French captain and Napoleon sent thousands of soldiers as retaliation, but they never made it to town, so locals organise a vow called "El Rocío Chico" every August to commemorate what they thought to be a miracle. From 1949 on, it was established that the Virgin would be taken from her sanctuary in El Rocío to Almonte every seven years, spending nine months there.

## Government and politics

The council of Almonte is responsible for the three urban areas within its municipality: town of Almonte, village of El Rocío and coastal town of Matalascañas. Having been administered by the Duke of Medina Sidonia over the 18th century, it was from 1812 on that the local council actually played a key role in governing. It was in the 19th century that a new scientific interest in preserving local flora and fauna arose and in 1858, local Antonio Martín Villa, dean of the University of Seville sent a letter to the town council, begging for a detailed inventory of the wild fauna. This register would later contribute to the establishment of the Doñana National Park, currently a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Almonte's local government is made up of 21 councillors and Francisco Bella has been mayor for more than 20 years (except for the period from 2011 to 2023), currently holding the charge. Main local issues include the waste derived from tourism that ends up polluting the Doñana National Park and seasonal population peaks in Matalascañas (during summer) and El Rocío (which ranks as Spain’s third city in terms of population during the pilgrimage). Watering crops and feuds between local, regional and national goverments due to the coexistence of industrial development and the national park management are other recurrent topics are typical news.

### Urban planning

The three urban areas in the municipality of Almonte are quite different from each other regarding urban planning, history and locals due to their geographical situation and founding processes. The main town of Almonte is located in the northern area of its municipal territory, 26 km (16 miles) far from the Atlantic coast. The village of El Rocío is 15 km to the south and finally, the coastal town of Matalascañas is just at the very shore. While the main town has been evolving since its foundation in the 8th century, having narrow cobbled streets in its historic centre and restored buildings, the village of El Rocío has maintained its wide straight unpaved streets, adapted to 19th-century equestrian traffic. Finally, the coastal town of Matalascañas was founded in the late 1960s just before the establishment of the Doñana National Park, which surrounds it.

### Architecture

Until the mid-20th century, the three architectural styles of the town were the houses, oil mills and wineries. Most Almotean dwellings since the 16th century have had two floors and a patio with a back door towards the street. A hallmark are the towers of the oil mills, being the Hacienda de Santa María (18th century) a main one. Some wineries that have been restored in the 90s include the Bodega del Conde de Cañete (now Library “Ana María Matute”), the Bodega de los Hermanos Escolar (now the Wine Museum), the Molino de Cepeda (now the Town Museum) and the Bodegón de Serafín (19th century, now the visitor centre).
The village of El Rocío is a rectangular unpaved town next to a marsh, just in the limits of the Doñana National Park. All the streets are straight, except for the ones surrounding the hermitage in the southern part. It has little more than 1,000 permanent inhabitants and its architectural style and horse culture were brought over to the American Wild West during the discovery of America
Finally, 26 km south from Almonte, in the Atlantic coast, the town of Matalascañas was built during the late 60s. It consists of an urban area 4 km long and 1 km wide along the coast. Around 3,000 inhabitants live here permanently.

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Almonte
- **settlement type**: town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality
- **image flag**: Almonte Spain.svg
- **flag size**: 150
- **image shield**: Escudo de Almonte (Huelva).svg
- **shield size**: 75
- **pushpin map**: Spain
- **pushpin map caption**: Location in Spain
- **subdivision type**: List of municipalities in Huelva, Municipality
- **subdivision name**: Huelva (province), Huelva
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **leader name**: Francisco Bella Galán
- **area total km2**: 861
- **area land km2**: 861
- **area water km2**: 0.00
- **population as of**: 2023
- **population total**: 25,751
- **population density km2**: auto
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset**: +1
- **timezone dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset dst**: +2