Last modified: 2020-10-23 by ivan sache
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![[Flag]](../images/e/es-ba-gt.gif)
Flag of Granja de Torrehermosa - Image by Ivan Sache, 15 March 2020
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The municipality of Granja de Torrehermosa (2,014 inhabitants in 2019; 15,170 ha; municipal website) is located on the border with Andalusia (Province of Córdoba), 150 km south-east of Badajoz and 40 km east of Llerena.
Granja de Torrehermosa is named for the Arab word alquería / al-qaza, "a small settlement". When granting the status of villa to la Granja in 1565, King Philip II added "de Torrehermosa" for the sake of differentiation from the 18 other places in Spain called Granja.
Granja de Torrehermosa was already settled in the Neolithic, as evidenced by the sites of Cerca de las Buizas, El Coto and Las Monjas. The Romans exploited mines in the Cerro de la Socorra; several coins were found on that site. The Visigoths left few remains but two columns of the tower; another column appears to be of Byzntine origin.
There is no data on the Christian reconquest, which was achieved, most probably, either by Ferdinand II of León or Ferdinand III the Saint. The Mudéjar tower of the church of the Purísima Concepción and various houses constitute a firm evidence of the Moorish past of the town.
Granja de Torrehermosa was transferred to the Order of Saint James, which incorporated it into the León Province. The village depended on Azuaga, until granted the status of villa on 3 February 1565 by Philip II.
Ivan Sache, 15 March 2020
The flag (photo) of Granja de Torrehermosa, adopted on 30 November 1994 by the Municipal Council and validated on 7 March 1995 by the Assessing Council of Honors and Distinctions of the Government of Extremadura, is prescribed by an Order issued on 18 April 1995 by the Government of Extremadura and published on 4 May 1995 in the official gazette of Extremadura, No. 52, p. 1,785 (text).
The flag is described as follows:
Flag: Rectangular panel, in proportions 2:3, composed of a tierced panel. The triangle at fly, red, the central bend, white, and the triangle at hoist, green. Charged in the center with the municipal coat of arms in full colors.
The flag was inaugurated in August 1996.
White symbolizes the purity of the Guadalupe Virgin.
Red is the color of the cross that decorates the banners of the Order of Saint James and is featured on the municipal coat of arms.
Green represents the Order of Alcántara, also of historical significance for the area.
[Municipal website]
The coat of arms of Granja de Torrehermosa, adopted on 30 March 1954 by the Municipal Council, is prescribed by Decree issued on 18 February 1955 by the Spanish Government and published on 2 March 1955 in the Spanish official gazette, No. 61, p. 1,388 (text). The coat of arms is not described in the Decree.
The coat of arms is "Per pale, 1. Or a castle proper, 2. Argent the tower of the parish church the door charged with a cross of Saint James. An orle of ripe wheat spikes. The shield surmounted by the motto 'FRUMENTARIA UBERTATIS NOBILIS' [Grain fertility of Noble Origin]."
The municipal website provides a decription of the arms, unfortunately undated and uncredited, which ends with another proposal for the coat of arms, "Per pale, 1. Gules the town's tower argent masoned sable, 2a. Azure a Cross of Saint-James gules, 2b. Vert two wheat spikes or in saltire. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown. The shield surmounted by the motto 'FRUMENTARIA UBERTATIS NOBILIS'."
The uncredited author claims that the castle should not be featured in the arms since there is no historical efidence that Granja existed in the 13the century, and, even if so, that Ferdinand the Saint conquerred it from the Moors.
The use of the town's tower and namesake (lit. the Beautiful Tower) is legitimate, as well as the use of the cross of Saint James and of the wheat spike.
On the arms in actual use, the cross of Saint James is not placed on the tower's gate, probably for the sake of legibility, but in a third quarter grafted in base with field argent.
[Municipal website]
The parish church dedicated to Our Lady of the Conception (photo) was first described in 1494 in the records of the Order of Saint James, as having two stone naves, a wooden roof and two gates with oak doors. The records from 1514 state that the building of the church was stil in progress; it was completed during the first half of the 16the century.
The tower is the most interesting component of the building. Built in the late years of the 15the cntury and the first half of the 16the century in Gothic-Mudéjar style, the tower is the legitimate namesake of the town. The tower was registered in October 1932 as an Historical Monument of National Significance and fully restored in 1981 by the Directorate General of Arts.
[Municipal website]
Ivan Sache, 15 March 2020