The meadow “La Boyal” is a rural estate that currently belongs to the Communal Neighborhood of Castellar. Its management is run by the City Council along with the Governing Board represented by the General Assembly of Neighbors.
The estate has the extension of 526 hectares. It comprises the smallholdings of El Baldío, Las Lomillas, Malabrigo, Cerro de La Luz, La Moheda and Haza de los Cahujones.
The property of this meadow has been the subject matter of large disputes throughout the history between the neighbors and the masters owner of the territories of Castellar de la Frontera.
Through the realization of paperwork with Ruiz Mateos, who was by then the owner of La Almoraima smallholding and the general secretary of the PSOE, achieved the meadow to come back to Castellar neighbors’ hands.
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A DISPUTE HELD FOR YEARS
After several centuries under Muslim domain, Castellar de la Frontera is conquered in 1434 by Mr. Juan Arias de Saavedra, first Governor and Master of the village of Castellar and all its municipal term.
With the intention of attracting to more villagers to the village, Mr. Juan Arias de Saavedra delivered to his vassals some territories which bordered the fortress called “Echo de la Villa” or “Dehesa de La Boyal”, with the aim to work on them and share the results between them.
Over the years these territories dried up and their production was very little, so by 1549, the citizens asked for and got the change of these for others located in the same municipal term called meadow of “Majarazambús”. Nevertheless, thirty years after, it is again asked for the return to the former meadow “La Boyal”, because by then, “Majarazambús” was very little profitable and it was far away from the village. It was the year 1549.
However, the neighbors have never stopped to fight and ask for what they have understood it was theirs.
The last dispute between neighbors and owners dates from 1973.
In this year, the business La Amoraima included within its property the meadow “La Boyal”, forbidding to hunt to the neighbors in the lands where they had been practicing it since centuries ago. The owners of La Almoraima ignored and didn’t respect the rights neighbors have had until now. This lead to the municipal authorities, along with the village, to mobilize themselves and decided to act in order to reclaim again what it was theirs. As a consequence, a dispute against La Almoraima for recovering la Dehesa began.
It was in 1980, and thanks to the intervention of the ex-president of the Spanish Government D. Felipe González Márquez when, after four centuries of fights for owning these territories, it was given to the City Council and so, to all the neighbors the definitive power to manage and exploit economically these territories.
It was in 1549 when it was written the Concord Writing between Mr. Fernando de Saavedra and his vassals in which it is manifested the occupation of these of “La Boyal” meadow. This document has been the basis of the neighbors of the village for later recognitions of this territory throughout the history.
Despite the existence of this Concord Writing, the ownership of these territories is going to suffer variations throughout the history, alternating period in which the Master was the owner and others in which the village was the owner of “La Boyal”.