Yepes

Spanish city
native_name = Villa de Yepes
spanish_name = Villa de Yepes
native_language = Spanish
nickname =
lat_long = coord|39|54|N|3|38|W
time_zone = CET (GMT +1)
time_zone_summer = CEST (GMT +2)
community = Castile-La Mancha
community_link = Castile-La Mancha
province = Toledo
province_link = Toledo (province)
comarca = Mesa de Ocaña
comarca_link = Mesa de Ocaña
mayor = Antonio Rodríguez-Tembleco de la Oliva
political_party = PP
political_party_link = PP
area = 85
altitude = 699
population = 5200
date-population = 2006
population-ranking =
density = 61.18
date-density = 2006
website =
postal_code = 45313
area_code = 925

Yepes is a "villa" (town) in the northern region of the province of Toledo, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain.

Population

*The first numbers about the population of Yepes date back to 1534 and account for some 4000 or 5000 inhabitants.
*In the 20th century the population was 4767 (INE 2005).
*As the last update (2006): population was some 5200 inhabitants.

Geography

Situated on the westernmost part of the comarca called "La Mesa de Ocaña" (the plateau of Ocaña), its limits are:
*North: Aranjuez (province of Madrid), Ciruelos and Ocaña (province of Toledo)
*East: Ocaña
*South: Villaseca de Yepes and Huerta de Valdecarábanos (Toledo)
*West: Aranjuez and Almonacid (Toledo)

History

Yepes has the first documented human presence in a Celtiberian village, founded ca. 600 BC.

The former "Hippo" or "Hippona" of the Carpetanians, where the Celtiberians defeated the Roman troops of Quintius and Calpurnius, derives its current from the times of the Muslim rule, when it was called "Hepes", which in turn would produce "Hiepes", "Iepes" and finally "Yepes". It is possible that "Hepes" be a mozarabic toponym.

During the reign of Alfonso VII, "Yepes and its castle" are ceded to the "Concello" (Council) of San Nicolás.

Monuments

Plaza Mayor (Main Square)

The plan was originally triangular, with the Church and the Archiepiscopal Palace at the sides, and an administrative building at the base. During the 16th century it served as a place for spectacles. Besides, testimonies of the time reveal that there was a good "mesón" at it.

Later, in the 18th century, the Archiepiscopal Palace was modified in order to create 19 homes for people living in caves and a slaughter house, thus giving the square its current rectangular shape.

Colegiata de San Benito Abad

This church, dedicated to abbot Saint Benito, was designed by Alonso de Covarrubias, master of the Toledo Cathedral. It is a splendid building of white stone, dating from late and beginnings of the Renaissance. It consists of three naves, plus two series of side chapels and a 70-metre tower.

Sources

[http://www.diputoledo.es/global/areas/turismo/muni_datos.php?id_area=11&id_cat=&f=&codine=45202&id_ent=255] - Website of the "Diputación" of the province of Toledo