Ademuz

Archaeological finds from the Neolithic, Iberian, and Roman periods show the area was settled long before written records begin. Ademuz first appears in Arabic sources, identified by its castle commanding the Turia river crossing and the natural route between Aragon and Valencia. Muslim forces held the fortress of Al-Dāmūs until 1210, when troops of Peter II of Aragon took it with the help of Hospitaller and Templar knights, though it apparently returned briefly to Muslim hands before James I of Aragon incorporated it permanently into the Kingdom of Valencia, placing it under direct Crown control alongside Castielfabib.

As a royal town, Ademuz sent a representative to the Courts of Valencia. As a border stronghold, it suffered heavily during the mid-century war with Castile, when troops of Peter I of Castile occupied it twice. The Crown of Aragon recognised the town's loyalty with privileges and freedoms. From the early period, the area also formed a commandery of the Order of Montesa, though that order held no real jurisdiction and collected only a portion of the tithe.

A powerful earthquake on 7 June 1656 destroyed the original parish church of San Pedro Intramuros, the town hall, forty houses, and much of the castle walls and towers. The castle still saw use in the nineteenth century, when Carlist forces occupied Ademuz repeatedly during the civil conflicts of that period, and in 1837 the town was the scene of a significant clash between the Serrador faction and the constitutional army.

Over time, the original administrative territory of Ademuz gradually split apart as settlements within it grew: Vallanca, Puebla de San Miguel, and Casas Altas and Casas Bajas all eventually separated into independent municipalities. Despite two proposals — under Joseph I in 1810 and in the liberal reorganisation of 1822 — to reassign Ademuz to the province of Teruel, neither was carried through, and the comarca remained part of Valencia.

The source text provided covers the natural environment of the Rincón de Ademuz comarca rather than the monuments of Ademuz town itself. Two-thirds of the comarca is forested, with Mediterranean species — holm oak, black pine, stone pine, ancient junipers, and evergreen oaks — spread across mountain terrain far from urban centres. Reforestation with native species is ongoing after earlier attempts with non-native varieties failed. The landscape also supports mainly sheep farming, a historically important but now somewhat reduced beekeeping tradition, and a growing cultivation of aromatic plants.

The Bohílgues river has been declared a flora micro-reserve; its course runs through stretches of waterfall and lush riverside vegetation. The Turia riverside hosts the Los Arenales recreational area, which has picnic facilities, paella grills, a bar-restaurant, and a pool fed by the nearby Las Piezas Rotas spring.