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Abenójar (Municipality, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain)

Flag of Abenójar - Image by "Nethunter", Wikimedia Commons, 6 May 2019

Presentation of Abenójar
Symbols of Abenójar

See also:

Presentation of Abenójar

The municipality of Abenójar (1,520 inhabitants in 2014; 42,343 ha; municipal website) is located 60 km of Ciudad Real.

Abenójar was identified by Francisco Coello with Ad Turres, a place listed on the Antonine Itinerary; recent archeological findings, however, cast doubt on this identification. The modern village was established in the early 11th century, named for the local hero, the rascal Aben Ocaxa / Ben Ocaxa, who once occupied Córdoba. In 1183, King Alfonso VIII granted the pastures of Abenójar to the Order of Calatrava, which would rule the place until 1818. Abenójar was granted in 1214 by Ferdinand III to Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, Archbishop of Toledo; the grant was confirmed in 1217 by Pope Honorius.
The local coal mines, already exploited in the Roman times and flooded in the 16th century, were progressively closed in the early 20th century. In 1934, Abenójar was known as Little Asturias after the local miners had set up a strike to support their fellows from Asturias.

Ivan Sache, 6 May 2019

Symbols of Abenójar

The flag (photo) of Abenójar is prescribed by an Order issued on 11 September 2008 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on 25 September 2008 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 198, pp. 30,294-30,295 (text).
The flag is described as follows:

Flag: Rectangular, in proportions 2:3, horizontally divided in the middle, the upper part, white, the lower part, red. In the center the crowned municipal coat of arms.

The coat of arms of Abenójar is prescribed by Decree No. 7, adopted on 22 January 1985 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on 29 January 1985 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 4, p. 99 (text).
The coat of arms is described as follows:

Coat of arms: Per fess, 1. Gules a castle or masoned sable port and windows azure, 2. Argent a Cross of Calatrava surrounded in base by two chains sable. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed. (The black chains are emblems of the Commandery of the Order of Calatrava).

The arms were proposed on 20 February 1983 by Ramón José Maldonado y Cocat, who had been commissioned on 28 May 1982 to design them.
The first quarter features the arms of the old Kingdom of Castile, to which Abenójar belonged.
The second quarter features the arms of the Order of Calatrava, which ruled the town for centuries.
[Ramón José Maldonado y Cocat. 1984. La bandera regional y nuevas armas municipales de la provincia de Ciudad Real. Cuadernos de estudios manchegos 15, 303-337]

Ivan Sache, 6 May 2019