The municipality of Puebla de Arenoso belongs to the Alto Mijares region and covers an area of 42.7km². La Puebla lies at an altitude of 626 metres above sea level, though there are some peaks in the surrounding district that exceed this mark. It is 77 km from Castellón, 110 km from Valencia and 70 km from Teruel. Its population, a total of 211 people, is spread out between the villages of Puebla de Arenoso, Los Calpes, Los Cantos and La Monzona. The roots of Puebla de Arenoso and the district's farm houses can be found in the castle of la Viñaza, later called the castle of Arenós. It was here that the Arabs established a flourishing settlement, although they were not the first people to live in the land - the presence of the Iberians before them is evidenced by the ceramic remains found in the area. In the first half of the 13th Century, James I the Conqueror drove the Arabs out of the castle. Around the time of the Reconquest, the castle would have had up to 200 houses in its perimeter. After the expulsion of the Moors, people came from the North to resettle the land: chiefly, old Christians from Aragón. In the year 1271, a charter to establish Puebla de Arenoso was granted to 10 settlers, although another Town Charter follows in 1317, when the castle of Arenoso did not meet the requisite conditions for a Villa (Town), and so the settlement moved to a flatter site, where the current village stands. Until the early 20th century, it was a prosperous town, even reaching the 2,000 inhabitant mark. Like so many others in the country, successive waves of emigration led to gradual depopulation. It is now facing up to reality of 21st-Century rural life, just like other towns in inland Castellón are also being forced to do.
The people of Puebla de Arenoso have always been dedicated above all to agriculture, both rainfed and irrigated, and to grazing; though significant numbers also worked in handicrafts, trade or livestock raising.
The town has a grid layout, typical of the towns founded after the Reconquest, and the façades of most of the houses feature a semicircular arch, which give it a real Medieval feel. In the four main centres, you can admire examples of the typical architecture of the region. In the centre lies the Plaza de la Iglesia (church square), where the only triangular-shaped church in the whole of Valencia can be found. This same square is home to the Town Hall and the Parish Church, which is typical of Renaissance Castellón.
The terrain is mountainous, with many rivers and ravines, notably the basin of the Mijares, Rodeches and La Maimona rivers. It is worth mentioning the numerous faults and crannies that pervade the land. The climate transitions between Mediterranean and continental. With average temperatures of 6ºC in January and 24ºC in August, Puebla de Arenoso has an average elevation of 700 m. The bulk of the vegetation consists of forests of pines, kermes and Pyrenean oaks, and different varieties of junipers, as well as bush plants such as gorse, lentisks, thyme, lavender and wild and cotton lavender. There is also riverside vegetation such as poplars, elms, purple willows and the plant coriaria myrtifolia (raudores), etc.
Economy
The people of Puebla de Arenoso have always been dedicated above all to agriculture, both rainfed and irrigated, and to grazing; though significant numbers also worked in handicrafts, trade or livestock raising.
What to see
The town has a grid layout, typical of the towns founded after the Reconquest, and the façades of most of the houses feature a semicircular arch, which give it a real Medieval feel. In the four main centres, you can admire examples of the typical architecture of the region. In the centre lies the Plaza de la Iglesia (church square), where the only triangular-shaped church in the whole of Valencia can be found. This same square is home to the Town Hall and the Parish Church, which is typical of Renaissance Castellón.
Landscape
The terrain is mountainous, with many rivers and ravines, notably the basin of the Mijares, Rodeches and La Maimona rivers. It is worth mentioning the numerous faults and crannies that pervade the land. The climate transitions between Mediterranean and continental. With average temperatures of 6ºC in January and 24ºC in August, Puebla de Arenoso has an average elevation of 700 m. The bulk of the vegetation consists of forests of pines, kermes and Pyrenean oaks, and different varieties of junipers, as well as bush plants such as gorse, lentisks, thyme, lavender and wild and cotton lavender. There is also riverside vegetation such as poplars, elms, purple willows and the plant coriaria myrtifolia (raudores), etc.
