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| Monfragüe National Park | |
|---|---|
 A view of theSalto del Gitano | |
 Location of Monfragüe | |
| Location | Extremadura |
| Coordinates | 39°50′27″N6°01′48″W / 39.84083°N 6.03000°W /39.84083; -6.03000 |
| Area | 179 km2 (69 sq mi)[citation needed] |
| Established | 2007 |
| Visitors | 331,788 (in 2008) |
Monfragüe (Spanish:Parque Nacional de Monfragüe, or simplyMonfragüe[moɱfɾaˈɣwe]ⓘ) is a Spanishnational park noted for its bird-life. It is situated in the center of a triangle formed byPlasencia,Trujillo and the city ofCáceres within theprovince of Cáceres. Monfragüe is also acomarca (county, with no administrative role) ofExtremadura, western Spain.
Monfragüe is acomarca in Spain, i.e. a county, with no administrative role inExtremadura, western Spain.[1]
Monfragüe is famous for itsnational park by the same name, which is noted for its bird-life. It is situated in the center of a triangle formed byPlasencia,Trujillo and the city ofCáceres within theprovince of Cáceres. The park runs from east to west along the valley of the RiverTagus or Tajo.[citation needed] which cut through a long mountainous ridge, and created a rock face, the Peña Falcon, 'falcon rock' on the western side.[citation needed] On the eastern side is the Castle of Monfragüe. The RiverTietar enters the park from the north-east and joins the Tagus just to the east of Peña Falcon. The only village in the park is Villareal de San Carlos (population 28).[citation needed]The park occupies an area of 18,118 hectares.[2]
The area's and the Park's name comes from the LatinMonsfragorum, "monte fragoso" (Spanish) which means "lush mountain".[3]
The mountains of Monfragüe house a great number of caves withprehistoric paintings from theCopper Age,Bronze Age andIron Age for example the "Cueva del Castillo", located on the south face of the Sierra de las Corchuelas.Around the Park are remains of pre-Roman times. InMiravete remnants of an old castle exist, and inMalpartida de Plasencia there is an estate known as "El Calamoco". A warrior stele found inTorrejón el Rubio and the Treasury ofSerradilla are evidence of a highly hierarchical agricultural society inhabiting this area.[3]
Remains ofRoman roads, bridges, fountains and gravestones can be found, since the park is close to theRuta de la Plata (Silver Route). A section of the route, which goes down to the bridge of the Cardinal from Villarreal, can be considered as a vestige of Roman road. As in almost all Spanish geography, valleys provide the layout for the road. Remains of watchtowers exist, in Cerro Gimio for example.[3]
During the ninth century, the castle of Monfragüe was built with five towers and two perimeters of walls. What is visible today are remnants of multiple restorations after military orders conquered it forKing Alfonso VIII, with a round tower from the twelfth century and a pentagonal one from the fifteenth century.[3]
In 1450,Juan de Carvajal ordered the Cardinal's Bridge to be built entirely from granite ashlars; it facilitated communications between Plasencia and Trujillo. Since the bridge was practically the only one crossing the Tagus in the Extremadura, it gave rise to pillage, turning the area into a "paradise" of bandits and robbers hidden in its steep and impenetrable mountain ranges.[3]
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, theSpanish War of Succession seriously affected the area: The village of Monfragüe disappeared, inhabitants took refuge in the nearby village of Corchuelas, and the village ofPiñuela at the other end of the mountain range was seriously damaged.Carlos III de Espana founded a village halfway between the "port of La Serrana" and the Puente del Cardenal, called Villarreal of San Carlos. It had a church, a fountain and barracks, but in spite of the privileges granted to its inhabitants, it never became more than a small village linked to Serradilla due to the danger and poverty of the area.[3]
TheSpanish War of Independence destroyed the Castle of Monfragüe, the Bridge of the Cardinal and Castillejo del Pico in Miravete and Corchuelas, whose inhabitants fled to Torrejón the Rubio, Serradilla and Malpartida de Plasencia.[3]
During theSpanish Civil War in the nineteenthirties, the Extremadura was taken over rapidly. Rather than the conflict itself, the worst aspects were the hunger and poverty which followed. The impenetrable mountains with theirmaquis shrubland of the region were important to the highlander groups commanded by famous guerrillas like "Quincoces",[4] "Chaquetalarga" (Joaquín Ventas Cintas) and "the French" (Pedro Díaz Monje),[5]
In 1966, construction of the dam atTorrejón el Rubio, and theAlcántara Dam in 1969 altered the landscape irreversibly, as it submerged the wild beauty of the Tagus riverbanks along with its ecological and ethnological wealth.[3]
In 1968, Jesus Garzón arrived in the area, enamored of the beauty of Monfragüe and dedicated himself tonature conservation. He battled with the administration, the owners of neighboring estates, politicians and mayors of the area, but his commitment, supported by scientists and nature lovers resulted in the 4 April 1979 declaration of Monfragüe as anatural park, a lower level of protection than a national park.
In 1991, Monfragüe was declared as aSpecial Protection Area for birds,[1] During the following years, the conservationist mentality, the infrastructure in Villarreal and publication efforts about the riches of the Park were strengthened. Since 2003, it has been recognised byUNESCO as aBiosphere reserve. In May 2004, it was enlarged to the actual ZEPA "Monfragüe y Dehesas del entomo", which covers 116,160 hectares.[6] After twenty-five years Monfragüe became anational park by law on 2 March 2007.[3]
At the end of 2016, the area also received recognition as adark-sky preserve.[7]
Habitas in the park include extensive densescrub, smalloak woodlands, and numerous cliffs and rock faces.The land is mainly used for traditional, low-intensive farming.[citation needed] However, there were two major changes in the years 1960–70: the river Tagus was dammed, affecting its course through the park and in 1970 brutal reforestation with non-indigenouseucalyptus and pine began. For a planned but never built paper industry inNavalmoral de la Mata many hectares of the Park were desolated and irreversibly altered by terraces built with heavy machinery. The Sierra de Miravete and ravines of the streams Malvecino and Barbaón received a hard blow and important thickets of the Mediterranean forest disappeared.[3]
The non-indigenous species are being eradicated.[when?] Commercial forestry is prohibited in Spanish national parks.[citation needed]
In 1988 theEuropean Union designated Monfrague aSpecial Protection Area (SPA) for bird-life. The SPA (orZEPA, the equivalent acronym in Spanish) extends beyond the park, where the nesting sites are concentrated, into the surroundingdehesas, which provide food for the birds.[8]
Monfrague is an outstanding site forraptors, with more than 15 regular breeding species. including the world's largest colony ofEurasian black vulture (over 600 pairs),[9] it has the world's highest concentration of imperial eagles (more than 10 pairs), a large population ofgriffon vulture (over 600 pairs), and several pairs ofEgyptian vulture,golden eagle andBonelli's eagle.[citation needed] The crags and cliffs on the north side of the river midway through the park draw photographers from all over Europe and the Americas. The government has built observation blinds throughout the course of the river.[citation needed]
Other breeding birds for which the park is important areblack stork andEurasian eagle owl and there is a high density ofazure-winged magpie. It is also one of the few locations in Europe wherewhite-rumped swift breed.[citation needed]
Iberian lynx survived for a long time before numbers decreased. They were reintroduced and have since been doing well.[9] Deer and wild boar live in the park.
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