Province of Cuenca (Spain)

"Cuenca (province)" redirects here. For the province in Colombia, see Cuenca Province (Gran Colombia).

Cuenca
—  Province  —
Cuenca provincial parliament
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Spain with Cuenca highlighted
Coordinates: 40°00′N 2°00′W / 40°N 2°W / 40; -2Coordinates: 40°00′N 2°00′W / 40°N 2°W / 40; -2
Autonomous community	Castile-La Mancha
Capital	Cuenca
Government
- President	Juan Manuel Ávila Francés (PSOE)
Area
- Total	17,141 km2 (6,618.2 sq mi)
Area rank	Ranked 5th
Population (2007)
- Total	211,375
- Rank	Ranked 44th
- Density	12.3/km2 (31.9/sq mi)
Demonym	Spanish: Conquense
Official language(s)	Spanish
Website	dipucuenca.es

Cuenca is a province of central Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha.

Guide to the area

Located in a natural setting of beauty, the Old Town of Cuenca occupies a superb site between two river gorges. Famous are its 15th Century "hanging houses" (casas colgadas), that appear suspended over the cliffs edge. One of these houses the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art, the museum being one of the finest of its kind. The city centre, remarkably beautiful, is presided over by a magnificent Gothic cathedral. To the east of Cuenca is the Serranía de Cuenca massif with scenic valleys, gorges, and waterfalls. Here are an interesting group of rock formations known as 'The Enchanted City' (Ciudad Encantada)

Geography

The province is bordered by the provinces of Valencia (including its exclave Rincón de Ademuz), Albacete, Ciudad Real, Toledo, Madrid, Guadalajara, and Teruel. The northeastern side of the province is in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico area.

211,375 people (2007) live in the province. Its capital is Cuenca, where nearly a quarter of the population live, some 52,980 people. There are 238 municipalities in Cuenca.

Other populous towns and municipalities include Tarancón, San Clemente, Quintanar del Rey, Huete, Villanueva de la Jara, Motilla del Palancar, Mota del Cuervo and Las Pedroñeras.

History

In 1851 Cuenca lost Requena-Utiel to the neighbouring Valencia Province with which it was developing commercial ties. Nevertheless, Requena-Utiel remained Castillian/Spanish speaking (rather than Valencian), while the loss of its most dynamic region left the province of Cuenca relatively under-developed economically.