Province of Cuenca
Cuenca | |
|---|---|
) Cuenca provincial parliament | |
) Flag ) Coat of arms | |
) Map of Spain with Cuenca highlighted | |
| Coordinates: 40°00′N 2°00′W / 40.000°N 2.000°W | |
| Country | Spain |
| Autonomous community |  Castilla-La Mancha |
| Capital | Cuenca |
| Government | |
| • President | Benjamín Prieto (PP) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 17,141 km2 (6,618 sq mi) |
| Area rank | Ranked 5th |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Total | 218,036 |
| • Rank | Ranked 44th |
| • Density | 13/km2 (33/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Spanish: Conquense |
| Official language(s) | Spanish |
| Parliament | Cortes Generales |
| Website | dipucuenca.es |
Cuenca is one of the five provinces of the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. It is located in the eastern part of this autonomous community and cover over 17,141 square km. It has a population of 203,841 inhabitants- the least populated of its autonomous community. Its capital city is Cuenca and the province is compounded of 238 municipalities.
Geography
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The province is bordered by the provinces of Valencia (including its exclave Rincón de Ademuz), Albacete, Ciudad Real, Toledo, Madrid, Guadalajara, and Teruel. The northeastern side of the province is in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico area.
211,375 people (2007) live in the province. Its capital is Cuenca, where nearly a quarter of the population live, some 52,980 people. There are 238 municipalities in Cuenca.
Other populous towns and municipalities include Tarancón, San Clemente, Quintanar del Rey, Huete, Villanueva de la Jara, Motilla del Palancar, Mota del Cuervo, La Almarcha and Las Pedroñeras.
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History
In 1851 Cuenca lost Requena-Utiel to the neighbouring Valencia Province with which it was developing commercial ties. Nevertheless, Requena-Utiel remained Spanish-speaking (rather than Catalan), while the loss of its most dynamic region left the province of Cuenca relatively underdeveloped economically.