Last modified: 2019-10-06 by ivan sache
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The municipality of Cañada del Hoyo (247 inhabitants in 2018; 9,037 ha) is located 40 km south-east of Cuenca.
Cañada del Hoyo is overlooked by the castle of Buen Suceso, originally
erected by the Moors as a watch tower. After the reconquest of Cuenca by
Alfonso VIII in 1178, the tower was increased to a fortress, part of the
defense line established against the taifas (Moorish kingdoms) of
Albarracín, Alpuente and Valencia; after the reconquest of Teruel, the
line formed the so-called sand border.
The castle was transferred in 1291 to Juan Núñez de Lara, lord of
Molina. In 1403, following the marriage of Diego Hurtado de Mendoza with
Beatriz de Albornoz, the castle was granted to the lord of Cañete. Juan
de Pacheco, 1st Marquess of Villena and Master of the Order of Saint
James, added crenels and towers to the fortress. The D-shaped, square
tower served as a template for the castles of Belmonte (Cuenca),
Chinchilla de Monte Aragón (Albacete) and Jumilla (Murcia).
Reincorporated to the Royal domain, the castle was then swapped by the
Hurtado de Mendoza for the castle of Cuenca.
[Castillos del Olvido]
The lakes of Cañada de Hoyo were registered as a Natural Monument by
Decree No. 18, issued on 20 March 2007 by the Government of Castilla-La
Mancha and published on 23 March 2007 in the official gazette of
Castilla-La Mancha, No. 63, pp. 7,476-7,491 (text).
The lakes of Cañada de Hoyo are seven circular sinkholes permanently
filled with water, part of the karst field of Los Oteros. They represent
limnological tresures, harboring fragile ecosystems poor in nutrients.
Their singular hydrologic characteristic and botanic specificity called
for prioritary conservation.
One of the most famous lakes of Cañada del Hoyo is the Lagunillo de las
Tortugas (lit., Turtles' Lagoon), 65 m in average diameter and 4 m in
maximum depth, named for the presence of the European pond turtle (Emys
orbicularis L.), a vulnerable species listed on the Regional Catalogue
of Threatened Species.
In fall, the color of the water experiences a brutal change, from the
usual blue to purple. Bacteria that usual thrive near the lake's bottom
are massively brought to the surface after atmospheric agents break the
water's stratification observed the rest of the year. The purple
bacteria, mostly belonging to family Chromatiaceae, conducts an
anoxygenic photosynthesis using hydrogen sulfur instead of water a the
terminal reductant and releasing elemental sulfur rather than molecular
oxygen as the product.
In a similar lake located in Ballesteros, scientists have identified two
species, Lamprocystis roseopersicina Kútzing and Thiocapsa
roseopersicina Winogradsky. The species of Lagunillo de las Tortugas
have yet to be identified. Other lakes in Cañada del Hoyo, such as
Laguna de la Cruz and Laguna del Tejo, experience the same phenomenon,
in a much more conspicuous manner, since those lakes are much bigger and
the purple color is "diluted".
[Official website]
Ivan Sache, 15 June 2019
The flag of Cañada del Hoyo is prescribed by an Order issued on 11 May
2000 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on 30 May
2000 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 51, p. 5,299 (text).
The flag is described as follows:
Flag: Rectangular, twice longer than wide, quartered, the 1st and the 4th quarters, white with a blue castle masoned and port and windows in black, the 2nd and the 3rd quarters, yellow with a black bend.
The coat of arms of Cañada del Hoyo is prescribed by an Order issued on
11 May 2000 by the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and published on 30
May 2000 in the official gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, No. 51, p. 5,299 (text).
The coat of arms is described as follows:
Coat of arms: Spanish shield. Per pale, 1. Argent a castle azure masoned and port and windows sable on a mount vert, 2. Or a bend sable. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed.
The Royal Academy criticized the proposed symbols, which represent the
Buen Suceso castle that overlooks the village and feature the arms of
the Albornoz lineage, first lords of the place.
The flag reproduces the coat of arms but, for an unexplained reason, in
a quartered design instead of being vertically divided, omitting the
green mount supporting the castle.
The Academy recommends the unification of the symbols, preferably by
quartering the shield and, also preferentially, to remove the green
mount from the shield.
[Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia 198:1, 180. 2001]
Ivan Sache, 15 June 2019
