Ontinyent

Sister cities

• Ronda
• Mark Municipality

History

Evidence of human settlement in the area was traced back the end of the Neolithic period, as shown by evidences from excavations at the Castellar site between the Barranco dels Tarongers and the Barranco del Averno in Bocairent. Sites occupied during the Roman era are short-lived. Small agricultural settlements were located on the outskirts of what would later become the medieval urban core. It seems likely one of these Roman settlements gave rise to the name of the town; the pagus Untinianus. From this name, would arise different versions of the including the Ontinient, Hontinient and Ontinyent. The town of Ontinyent is also documented as having Muslim origins dating back to the 11th century. The poet al-Untinyaní was born there and it is known that the castle of Ontinyent (hisn Untinyân) was a stopover on the way from Murcia to Valencia. Although few structural remains have survived in the city, the windows of Pou Clar or the famous Covetes dels Moros (found in ravines between Ontinyent and Bocairent) show the importance of Islamic civilisation in the area. The caves were probably communal granaries that belonged to the peasant communities of the Andalusian period and had their origin in the tradition of the Berber people who settled in the area. Ontinyent was conquered by the troops of Jaime I in the year 1244 and incorporated into the Kingdom of Valencia. In the 18th century, the administration was castellanized throughout the Kingdom of Valencia and with it the name of the town changed its root "Onti-" to "Onte-". The Castilian form Onteniente became the official form until the end of the 20th century when the original Latin root of the name was reinstated. In the provincial division of 1822 it was assigned to the province of Xátiva and in the division of…

Most-observed species

• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,871
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,640
• Sardinian Warbler

  Curruca melanocephala (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  2,376
• European Serin

  Serinus serinus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,333
• European Goldfinch

  Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,308
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,219
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,048
• Eurasian Blackcap

  Sylvia atricapilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,826

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2024-09-04
  1 km SSE of Alfafara, Spain
• M 3.3 — 2020-11-03
  7 km E of Ibi, Spain
• M 2.6 — 2020-11-01
  5 km NNE of Torrevieja, Spain
• M 2.9 — 2020-06-27
  3 km S of Jacarilla, Spain
• M 3 — 2019-07-13
  0 km E of Bigastro, Spain
• M 3.3 — 2019-03-24
  10 km E of Guardamar del Segura, Spain