---

The first prehistoric settlements of Petrer date from the Neolithic period, about 5000 years BC, in the districts of El Chorrillo and El Almorcho. Around 2000 a. C. there are also several settlements, mostly agricultural villages, on most of the current municipality, highlighting the site of Catí-Foradà. The Iberian people correspond to sites dated between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, such as those of El Chorrillo, Caprala and the Sierra del Caballo. Likewise, there were also several nuclei in Roman times, one of them being called Villa Petrarium or Villa Petrea (vulgar Latin).



But the development of the urban center of Petrel begins in the Arab village of Bitrir, an important village within the region for the Muslim settlement, as evidenced by the castle built in the second half of the 12th century. This castle, together with those of Villena, Sax and Novelda formed a great defense system for the passage towards Castile and the north of the Alicante province through the Vinalopó passage.



In 1244 the Treaty of Almizra was signed, in which the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon established their borders, Petrel became part of Castile. Subsequently, the Sentencia de Torrellas (1304) and the subsequent Treaty of Elche (1305) were signed, after which Petrer was included in the crown of Aragon, in the Kingdom of Valencia, thus belonging to the counts of Cocentaina, whose descendants sold the town, together with those of Elda and Salinas, to D. Juan Coloma, at the end of the 16th century, then the County of Elda was created, with the approval of Felipe II, to which Petrel belonged until the abolition of the manors in the 19th century .



During the sixteenth century, the bulk of the population of Petrel was of Moorish origin, so the town was considerably depopulated after the expulsion of the Moors in 1609. For the repopulation of the municipality, there were about 100 families from nearby towns such as Castalla, Onil, Biar, Jijona and Muchamiel. King Felipe III thanked the help of Antonio Coloma y Calvillo, lord of the town, in the expulsion, offering him the territories of the entire Sierra del Cid in 1612. The new territories were finally incorporated after a signing of law by the owners of Petrer in 1662, to the detriment of the neighboring towns to the west, especially that of Agost.



During the War of Succession (1700–1713), the town gave its support to Felipe V, forming part of the union of Castalla. When Felipe finally acceded to the throne, he thanked Petrel for his loyalty with various privileges and added new elements to the town's coat of arms.



As a last historical review, during the Spanish Civil War, Petrel was the seat and capital of the Government of the Second Republic, since President Juan Negrín placed the Council of Ministers in the National Schools of Elda and his seat of government and residence on the farm El Poblet de Petrel, from where he traveled by plane along with his government team to France to seek refuge, since the presence in the area of ​​the national side was imminent.



Petrel (in Valencian and officially Petrer) is a municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the inner center of the province of Alicante, in the Vinalopó Medio region. The urban nucleus of Petrel is completely fused with that of Elda, forming the Elda-Petrel conurbation.



Petrer has 34,523 inhabitants (INE 2009), a population that has increased a lot thanks to its industrial development. Its economy is based on the manufacture of all types of footwear as well as a thriving leather industry.

Geography



Petrel is located in the middle basin of the Vinalopó, a river that runs through the western part of its municipal area. It has a surface area of ​​104.2 km², and together with Elda it forms a conurbation of 93,535 inhabitants.



The relief of Petrel, eminently mountainous, is made up of a narrow corridor between the lowlands of Elche and the Villena plateau, located at the bottom of a basin between important foothills, highlighting the Cid, Caballo and Maigmó mountains. The climate, being Mediterranean, is characterized by the scarcity and irregularity of the rains, and pleasant temperatures, with short and slightly cold winters and a long summer season.

Weather



The climate in Petrer is Mediterranean inland. In summer they usually reach 40 ºC. The highest temperature recorded in the municipality was in August 1981. 51 ºC. In winter it is rare for snow, however one of the strongest snowfalls that has been recorded in the Valencian community fell in December 1939 in Petrer. The snow was one meter and three feet thick. They reached 16 ºC below zero.

Economy



The economy of the region's main activity is footwear. Currently, a process seems to be undergoing in which, together with the productive phases of the footwear industry, a growing primary sector (agricultural and mining activities) and a service sector are integrated.



The footwear and leather goods industry have become, over the years, the basic productive fabric. The size of the companies (small and medium), as well as their organization, allow a wide flexibility and adaptation to the demand of different order volumes for shoes, bags and other accessories.



Currently there are about 220 footwear companies, which represents about 45% of the total. The rest of the industrial activities are, in order of importance, the construction companies, leather goods and the food industry which, despite their small number, are fully introduced in the international market.





Gastronomy



Its own traditional gastronomy in which, in addition to rice with rabbit and snails, the fassegures, gazpacho, gachamiga and giraboix stand out. As for its pastries, also important, there is an abundant repertoire of pastries and sweets characteristic of the different popular festivities that are celebrated during the year, and among which the mantecados, brandy rolls, rajadillos, polvorones and suspiros stand out, all of them made for Christmas; the Easter muffins and toñas, also known as monas, and the buñuelos for San José.

Parties



Moors and Christians that are celebrated in honor of the town's patron, San Bonifacio, during the second or third week of May, yes, always from Thursday to Monday. The "Moors and Christians festivals of Petrel" date back to the year 1694.



The patrons in honor of the Virgen del Remedio, which are celebrated in the second week of October, although the main day of the festivities is October 7. During this month every Sunday there is a parade called Carasses.



In November the feast of the Captains is celebrated, which coincides with the Moors and Christians feast, a theatrical performance is held in the castle of the town called "La Rendición", commemorating the surrender of the Arabs who occupied the town, in favor of Christians.



And the first Sunday after Easter, the day of the Flags is celebrated, in honor of the standard bearers of the Moors and Christians festivities.

---