Province
& Villages - Almeria - Albox
Albox information
The
history of albox goes back to Phoenician times, when sailors
using the Guadalquivir river to reach Andalucía, began
looking for other routes to the interior, finding Andarax,
in western Almería, and the Almanzora. This took early
explorers to the Rambla de Albox and from there to the mountains
ranges near Bocas de Oria and the village of Vertientes. along
this route are the remains of four neolithic fortifications,
now known as El Picacho, El Castellón, El Castillo
de la Balsa Vieja and the Castellón de Olías
- these would have been used to protect the trade routes of
the time.
The Almanzora valley can be likened to an enormous open-air
museum, due to the diversity of archaeological remains that
have been discovered in the area - stone axes, decorative
in the area - stone axes, decorative times, vessels, ceramics
and coins - dating from Phoenician, Greek and Romans times.
The are many areas along the Rambla del Saliente near Albox
in which objects have been found dating back to the neolithic
era. Certainly the Almanzora river was an important trade
route up to and the capital of the region. Its sixteenth century
church of Santa María is interesting for its architecture
and its original features, although a central altarpiece by
alonso Cano is now missing. There is also the hermitage of
San Antonio in the Barrio Alto, built between the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries on the site of an even older mosque,
according to tradition. More recently, in the nineteenth century,
Albox supported almost three hundred weaving looms, as well
as forges, artisans' workshops and factories. To really experience
Albox, it is necessary to visit the Santurio del Saliente,
which represents the religious aspect of the town and its
surroundings. To do so, travel north towards the summit of
the Sierra de las Estancias. Constructed in the eighteenth
and subsequently declared an artistic historical monument,
the sanctuary is remarkable for its simplicity, and appears
to be fused with the mountain in perfect harmony. Each year,
devotees, some from far away, arrive to make a pilgrimage
to the sanctuary on the evening of 7th September in order
to celebrate the fiesta of the Virgin.
During
the eighteenthe century, Labox fell under the jurisdiction
of the Marquesado de Vélez, and many buildings remain
from that era.In the main square, the Templo Parroquial de
Santa María is devoted to the Virgin of the Rosary.
Close to the church is the city council chamber whose façade
features the heraldic shield of Vélez, dating back
to 1646, and which the municipality has adopted as its official
motif. In the Barrio Alto district, the hermitage of San Antonio
is another site of interest. The present building, enclosing
the old hermitade, episcopal place and missionaries' seminary,
was constructed in 1769.
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