Fuentes de Cesna: situation and history

The town of Fuentes de Cesna is located to the southwest of the municipality of Algarinejo, limiting with Loja and Zagra in the province of Granada and with Iznájar in the province of Cordoba. Its altitude is between the 450 and 750 meters. The population oscillates between the 594 inhabitants in its nucleus and around 50 inhabitants
in the rural scattered one.

It seems to be that the name of the town comes from the three great sources that were in Cesna: the Source of the Sewer, the Source of the Seat and the Source of Enmedio.

Of their history, although the data are little, is known that Cesna was conquered prior to the campaign of Loja thanks to a raid by horseback of the Count of Cabra and Vizconde de Iznájar and of alcaide of donceles, after the battle of Lucena, where Boabdil was catched. In 1487 there was confrontations between Loja and Iznájar by the possession of Xesna, Fuentes de Cesna, that was rich in grass to be next to the Pesquera river. According to some information, towards century XV a quite great town denominated Cesna existed, that was inhabited by Arabs dedicated to the jewel commerce. Like the rest of Municipalities, this town was always in limits of the border, between the Castilian and Muslim troops during the conquest of Granada.

Of recent history we can tell that, in 1940, the old town, known now like the "Fuentes Viejas", was buried partly because of a rock loosening caused by a great rain storm that caused to the practical destruction of the numerous town and victimas.

In 1963 and as a result of one second catastrophe similar to the one of 1940, a plan for the construction of a new town in a less dangerous place started up. The location finally chosen was the Hole of the Vines, in the front part of the Mountain range of the Cork oak grove. Towards 1966 the construction of the new town was finished, with 200 houses, a church and a school.