Alfafar

HOW TO GET THERE:

The V-31 that connects the A-7 and the AP-7 at the height of Silla with Valencia pass through the municipal area of Alfafar; the N-340 (former Royal Path from Valencia to Madrid) today is converted into an interurban road; and the CV-401 connects Alfafar with El Saler and the CV-500.

It also has a shared railway station with Benetússer through which the RENFE commuter lines C-1 and C-2 pass.

 

DEMOGRAPHY

Alfalfar has a registered population of 21,395 inhabitants (10,473 men and 10,922 women), of which 16.02% are under 16 years of age and 18.98% are over 64 years of age. The bulk of its population is in the age range of 30 to 64 years.

 

SOCIOECONOMIC DATA

According to the Statistics Institute of the Valencian Government, Alfafar has 1,054 companies of which 42.79% belong to the services, transport and hospitality sectors.

With regard to the labour market, Alfafar has 6,697 Social Security affiliates (82.62% under the general regime and 15.68% are self-employed) and there are 2,406 people unemployed (17.30%), the rate being higher among women.

TERRITORY

The municipality has an area of ​​10 km² and is located at an altitude of 6 meters above sea level. Its municipal area is flat and fertile, mostly dedicated to irrigation, among which rice predominates.

Its built-up urban centre occupies approximately 13% of the term, leaving a good part of the rest within the Albufera Natural Park, one of the most representative and valuable coastal wetlands in the Region of Valencia and the Mediterranean basin, which has an area of 21,120 hectares.

 

 

Alfafar is at a distance of only 5 kilometres from Valencia (and one commuter train stop) and 14 kilometres from the airport, which makes it a residential city in the metropolitan area of ​​the capital, where the average price per square meter remains, approximately 1,091 euros. Currently the housing stock has more than 9,000 units.

The municipality of Alfafar has the following population centres:

– Old Town.

It is located near the railway station, and is where the most important activity of the economic and administrative life of Alfafar takes place. Around the Plaça del País Valencia are located the Parish Church of Our Lady of the Do, the Town Hall, the Cultural and Recreational Centre, the Municipal Market, the Municipal Library and the Musical Instructional Centre.

– Orba neighbourhood. Also called Parque Alcosa, it is the most populated, with around 6,000 inhabitants. In the centre of the neighbourhood is located the Santa Fe Parish Church and the Square of the Poet Miguel Hernández.

– La Fila neighbourhood. Located in the vicinity of the irrigation canal of La Fila, it is a neighbourhood that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century as an expansion of the old town, to build new homes. Also called ‘Els Patis’ since initially they were plots.

– San Jorge neighbourhood. Located between the railway line and the Royal Path of Madrid, it was at the beginning of the 20th century, the industrial area of Alfafar. It currently maintains an important commercial activity.

– Barrio del Tremolar. Located on the road from Castellar to Pinedo and its surroundings, in the Albufera Natural Park, it is crossed by the El Tremolar irrigation canal. Until the 1960s, the canal was the Albufera port closest to Valencia, full of life and activity with its boats, fishermen, rice farmers, etc.

– Industrial and commercial estates. In its beginnings in the 70s, the Continente commercial area was built next to the highway, this was the origin of the commercial spirit of the future Alfafar industrial estates. At present, there are more than 100 companies located in the commercial areas that border Carrefour (former Continent). In addition, it has the MN4 Shopping Center, Albufera Park and Alfafar Parc.

 

 

The latter has a total buildable area of 223,200 m2, 96,000 of them for commercial spaces, being one of the largest commercial parks in all of Spain.

The park’s commercial focus, with more than seven million visitors a year, allows entry to new operators, who are not yet present in the Valencia area. The park houses the first Ikea space in the Region of Valencia.

 

HISTORY

Alfafar was once a Muslim agricultural estate. The name comes from the Arabic “Al Hofra” which means hollow place, of holes or moats. These graves have been found quite recently in the process of carrying out various works in the centre of town.

In one corner of the Plaza del País Valencià galleries appeared at a depth of four to five meters; In them various pieces of pottery were found that are believed to date from the 9th or 10th centuries.

The name of Al Hofra was becoming, successively by inappropriate use of the word, in Alfolfar, Alfofar and in the current Alfafar. In the “Llibre del Repartiment” of Jaime I, there is evidence of donations in June 1238 -before the Conquest of Valencia that took place in October- of houses and lands, to people of his troops in “Alqueriam d ‘Alfofar ».

In January 1347, King Pedro IV “the Ceremonious” donated all the lands to Don Pedro Boil, main knight of this Kingdom, making it a Lordship in his favour on February 14, 1363, and his family exercised it until the disappearance of the Lordships in 1812.

Although there are few old buildings left, it is assumed that the Via Augusta ran through this town, and that there was a very old population centre dedicated to agriculture and fishing, due to the proximity of the place to the Albufera Lake.

(Download the book with the history of Alfafar: http://issuu.com/aytoalfafar/docs/libro_web)

 

 

HERITAGE

– Parish Church of Our Lady of Don. (Església Parroquial de Nostra Senyora del Do).

 

 

It is the oldest historical building in the municipality. Its construction began in 1736 with contributions from the people of the town and was opened to worship in 1748. It has a bell tower with three sections and a clock, while the temple has three naves with a transept, a dome and side chapels. It houses the image of the Virgin that, according to legend, was found in the 13th century, during the Conquest. The temple is an example of the popular Valencian Baroque.

– Rice Union (Sindicat Arrosser).

It was built in 1928 and currently houses the Municipal Library. It is a great example of the private leisure centres that flourished in the 1920s.

 

 

-City Hall (Casa de la Vila).

It dates from the end of the 19th century and is located opposite the church. It was built according to the plans of Sebastian Monleon, who designed the bullring in Valencia. Inside there is a painting by the Cuban painter Armando Menocal, dated 1887.

 

 

-Monument to the water (Monument a l’aigua): it is from the early twentieth century, it is located in the centre of the Plaza Mayor and contains life-size figures that represent the orchard and some children playing.

-Alquería del Pi (farmhouse), protected as an Asset of Local Relevance.

-Natural heritage: Albufera Natural Park.