Province
& Villages - Almeria - Bedar
Bedar information
Bédar
is an old hill town that has managed to maintain its peace,
tranquility and beauty, overlooking a fertile valley dotted
with cortijos and small farms. For many years these characteristics
have made it a popular location for artistic - painters, actors,
musicians and intellectuales. Its history goes back to the
Middle Ages, when Bédar, along with neighbouring villages
Serena and Bedari belonged to the municipality of Vera. A
mosque survives as a reminder of the Muslim past, converted and for many years used as an olive oil mill,
and more recently into a private residence. Bédar's
Muslim heritage can be observed in its narrow, twisting side
streets and its fertile plain , with traditional morisco terraces
staggered around water courses - an irrigation system that
uses the water supply to maximum advantage.
After de repopulation of Bédar at the ende of the 16th century,
the town contin ued
to grow its economy for another two hundred years. In the
19th century many mines were built to exploit local deposits
of galenite (lead sulphide, the mineral that is the primary
source of lead), and the first aerial transport system was
constructed to carry ore from Pinar to a furnace at Garrucha.
Later, in 1896 the installatoin of a 16km underground system
railway was opened, taking minerals straight to a quay at
Garrucha harbour, for onward transport. After WW1, the European
depression hit the mining sector badly, and practically all
the mines in Almería closed down as a result.
|
|