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In the vote of Fernán González and San Millán Autol appears with the name of "Abtole". Later on, in the privilege granted by García from Nájera to the church of Calahorra in 1046, appears with the denomination of "Autonium". In the year 1040 the queen Estefanía received in gift Arnedo and its fence that possessed them in dominion Fortún Ochoa, for the denominated Letter of Arras, granted by its husband, García IV from Nájera. It it allows to suppose that Autol, like town understood in the valley of Arnedo, passed at the hands of the queen, but almost time, since in 1063 it appears documented as feudal lord of Arnedo a certain Sancho García, fact that seems to corroborate the absence of Arnedo and its fence in the queen's widow testament Estefanía toward the year 1066.
Fernández de Bobadilla affirms that "the year 1125 the feudal lord of Autol, Sir Justac, subscribes a donation of the village and castle of Corella for the count of Alperehe granted for Alfonso I the Fighter."
During the XII century the history of Autol appears bound to Arnedo amid the fights maintained by the christian kings in La Rioja after the tragic death of Sancho from Peñalén in 1076, Alfonso VI from Castile achieved the incorporation of this territory that would not take in falling under the Aragonese orbit.
The year 1127, Alfonso I from Aragon, before the serious situation created by the war that maintained with Castile, he promised to return La Rioja to their stepchild, Alfonso VII the Emperor, to the bishop's of Pamplona instance. The promise was not carried out for the Aragonese one since to their death happened in 1135, the king of Castile and Leon took possession of the engaged lands. To half-filled of the XII century it was suited that La Rioja's area located in the right riverbank of the Ebro was given to the king's feofee of Castile, García Ramírez from Navarra.
During the minority of age of Alfonso VIII from Castile, the king of Navarra rushed to recover the territories of La Rioja and between 1162-63 he occupied diverse villages among those Autol that was claimed by Castile before the court found Englishman of Henry II once Sancho from Navarra and Alfonso VIII from Castile agreed to solve their territorial differences by means of the English king's arbitration. The failure of the contentious ordered to restore Castile the conquests made in times of Alfonso VIII, among them Autol.
It has belonged to the archpriesthood of Arnedo until the XIX century in that was incorporate to that of Calahorra, to which belongs.
It was attributed to Soria until the creation of the county of Logroño November 30 1833. Their last feudal lords were the counts of Azpa.
During the War of the Independence numerous people from Autol formed in the lines of the regiment of Calahorra to fight against the French. Later on, with reason of the first Carlist war, people of Autol enroll in the same one regiment to combat to the pretender's troops, Carlos. This was worth them for their city the title of "very loyal".
Inside the urban old part of they are numerous buildings of the XVII and XVIII centuries with heraldic shields, balconies and ironworks of the time.
The parochial church
of San Adrian began to be built in the first half of the
XVI century and it was finished by Domingo and Juan of Ayaraza at
the end of the same century. The building is lifted with brick
and masonry and it consists of a ship of four tracts, with head
octoroom and chapels among those buttresses.
Into they highlight a romanesque Virgin of the XIII century, that it belonged to the Cistercian monastery of the mount Yerga; one image of Saint Ana with the Virgin and the Boy of the XVI one and the Baroque altarpieces of the Rosario's chapels and of the Saint Christ.
The current tower is carried out starting from 1634 by Juan of Urruela, according to own appearance, continuing it Domingo de Usabiaga and Francisco and Miguel de Murua.
The high choir has a seat of thirteen low seats and twenty-one high, with a box of organ of the XVIII century; they conserve, also, eight choir books in parchment with initials decorated.
The
hermitage of the Virgen de Nieva it was built in 1774.
It is a masonry building chained with brick that consists of a
ship of three cruise tracts and rectangular head. It has chapels
among the buttresses with paintings and sculptures of the XVIII
century.
In the summit of the mount Yerga, to twelve kilometers of the center urban, they are the ruins of the hermitage of Santa Maria of Yerga, high on what was a monastery Cistercian, been founded initially during the year 1139. The group was built in masonry and stone, That that you it conserves of the church it seems of the second half of the XII century. The hermitage of the Angel it is a building next to the cemetery built in brick and masonry.
In the high of the hill on the one that settles the village exist the ruins of an old one medieval castle, with toast of the homage of which they still stay two walls. Possibly the most characteristic fact happened in the one castle and environment to which numerous legends have been elaborated, it centers in the crime made in August of 1445 when some wicked they stabbed the feudal lord of Autol and they seized of the castle, but the population and the nobility fenced the enclosure and they conquered it to the thirty days.
Autol is located in full basin of the Cidacos, near the mountain Yerga and of rock Isasa that dominates the whole valley from their 1.500 meters high. To few kilometers of the village, in a place near to Arnedillo is one of the few colonies of vultures that still exist in Spain.
The vegetation of the near mountain to Autol is made up of mount under, with abundant aromatic grasses that attract to the bees, for what any itinerary is sprinkled of artificial beehives. The forest repopulation has been beneficial for the environment and the forest fires are not had fed excessively in the area, therefore one can enjoy of a hoisted that, although it is not leafy, it constitutes a mass of pleasant vegetation to go for a walk. Also, to six kilometers approximately of the village, in the proximities of the monastery of Vico, in Arnedo, can see the only mass of stone pines it turns that it is in La Rioja.
This habitat is the appropriate one for a considerable number of species among those that highlight currucas, escribanos, reyezuelos, and carboneros comunes, with some patience can the one it turns kestrel, a small predator, suspended in the air attempting to sight some prey.
In the high basin of the Cidacos is Enciso, with the water-course of Valdecerillo sprinkled of prints of dinosaurs. Numerous small towns sprinkle the route river below until Arnedillo, famous for their spa, and near him Peroblasco, a village abandoned that groups of young to inclination of work fields are rehabilitating during the summer and in Munulla, in the that it still can it turns, through their buildings, the wealth textile and cattleman that maintained at the beginning of century.
On the other hand, Autol has a privileged situation close of Arnedo, Calahorra and Alfaro, the three population focuses more important of the low Rioja, what allows to come closer until her with absolute easiness.
As the whole area of the riverside the gastronomy from Autol rotates around the horticultural and fruit products, the rich variety of vegetables and dried legumes make that this is the paradise of pottages and salads it has made possible the appearance of the chilindron, one tomato sauce and peppers to which is sometimes added garlic and onion.
The vegetable garden provides a rich variety of tomatoes, onions, garlics, beans and peas, but without place to doubts, the pepper is the most significant species; they are eaten with meat stuffed, fish stuffed, cooked, roasted, in salad with lettuce and tomato..,
As for the traditional desserts it is necessary to mention as more significant the mantecados and rosquillas, in one and another case it uses as ingredients basic flour, shortening and sugar.
The importance that has the wine inside the production agrarian from Autol is also manifested in the gastronomic aspect and it causes the introduction of the must like main element of several plates.
Cooking the must during several hours is obtained arrope, a dense and very sweet liquid that it is eaten extended on slices of bread.
The "tajos" are made with arrope cooked with flour, nuts, almond, orange shells and lemon, cinnamon and sugar. It is a paste of a certain consistency that it is eaten cut in small pieces and sprinkled with flour.
During the holiday, stuffed tubes are elaborated of cream or chocolate, candied almonds and the flavorful "Barzon".
The whole municipal term possesses 47000 hectares dedicated to cultivations. But it has been the arrival of the irrigable one, like in others areas, what has transformed to the town into the urban establishment more important after the district heads. The surface of irrigable is busy fundamentally for those vegetables and fruits products that give the matter prevail for the canning industry. In fact, the agriculture of Autol has transformed deeply along the last ones forty years, since the appearance of new cultivations, starting from the canalization of the river Cidacos, and the total mechanization of those agricultural tasks have provided to the village a wealth of the that it lacked in previous years.
As consequence of the growing demand the horticultural products it has settled in the village an important industry canning that at the present time contains twenty approximately companies. The main activity is centered without a doubt in lathe to the asparagus and the mushroom, but they are also elaborated fruits in syrup, marmalades, precooked dishes, and dehydrated products.
Most of the factories correspond to small and medium companies, - only four of them possess insoles superiors to forty five employees -, although, when being absolutely automated and modernized, they reach some levels of quality and competitiveness that it makes them have a weight specific important inside the sector.
Although the main activity of the inhabitants of Autol is centered undoubtedly in the canning industry, there is another series of employments that they represent an important factor in the economy of the village.
The construction agglutinates a number of companies that they dedicate so much to the extraction of gravels and sands and to the realization or storage of materials. They are also had installed in the last years some footwear industries with the help of the growing economic importance that this sector has in the district of Arnedo.
Autol is located in a natural landscape that deserves to visit. Near to the mount Yerga and almost surrounded by the river Cidacos, keeps in the old part of the village all the flavor of past centuries. On the other hand, their proximity to Calahorra, Arnedo and Alfaro makes possible numerous trips.
In the proximities of the town it can be visited also the excavations of Sorban, a town of the Iron I with archaeological remains with those the City council wants to mount a museum.
On the other hand, the mountain Yerga and the high valley of the river Cidacos offer magnificent mountain landscapes, where the small hunt is plentiful; in the limit of Cornago, near of Autol, they take place the regional championships.
The village is also pierced near the area of the spas - Arnedillo, Cornago and La Pazana - that during the last years they are acquiring a peak considerable due to the impulse that the tourism of quality is creating among these centers par excellence.
The Virgen de Nieva is the patroness of the village. They are made novenas in May and August; at the end of August, the eve of the holiday, they move the image in procession from the hermitage to the parish and again to her hermitage the following day. This way, fourth and fifth of September, Our Mrs. de Nieva is walked by the town in shoulders of their two brotherhoods one of men and another of women.
February three, San Blas, is a special holiday in Autol; the eve takes place confinements of bulls, the tradition says that they are the oldest in Spain; the Saint's day the people comes out to to hunt early and after the mass the pieces are blessed to prepare with them a snack. At the end of the party the people from Autol have recovered an old tradition: "repiquetes", old play of bell that they have already disappeared in most of the places in that they were accustomed to to be carried out.
The patroness holiday are celebrated September eight in honor of San Adrian and Santa Natalia. The most characteristic thing of they are the confinements of bulls, that are carried out in four streets communicated among, what allows that the bulls can appear for several addresses at the same time. This converts them in specially dangerous.
The urban nucleus of Autol is located in a narrow pass traveled by the river Cidacos and dug on the conglomerates of the Valley of Arnedo, what gives a very significant character to the landscape whose eroded stones have their maximum exponent in the Picuezo and the Picueza.
The municipality has an extension of 853 square kilometers and it is seated in a district whose main center is the city of Arnedo, wich is to three kilometers.
Autol, is to 458 meters on the level of the sea. Its climate is continental, characterized by the cold winters and dry and hot summers.
It is an eminently agricultural city, given power for the development of the irrigable ones, what has favored the installation of an important canning industry as consequence, the population has had a continuous increase until to arrive to the 3.461 inhabitants that it maintains at the present time.
In the proximities of the village is the mountain de Yerga, with the most southern holm-oak forest in La Rioja that covers those ruins of a hermitage built by the templar knights.
The river Cidacos transforms the fertile lands in rich vegetable gardens in vegetables and fruit-bearing that provide those products base of the flourishing canning industry seated in the municipality. The distance that separates its of Logroño is of 58 kilometers.
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Date
of the last change: 11-01-2001
