Villaconejos facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Villaconejos
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Municipal location within the Community of Madrid.
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| Country |  Spain |
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| Autonomous community | Community of Madrid | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 14.15 sq mi (36.65 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 2,230 ft (680 m) | ||
| Population
(2018)
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| • Total | 3,363 | ||
| • Density | 237.66/sq mi (91.760/km2) | ||
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) | ||
Villaconejos is a town in the Community of Madrid, Spain. For a long time, the town's economy has been based on agriculture. Farmers here grow olives, cereals, and different fruits. One of the most famous fruits from Villaconejos is the melon. These melons are very popular all over Spain. Villaconejos even has a special Melon Museum!
What Does Villaconejos Mean?
The name Villaconejos comes from the Spanish word Conejos. This word means 'rabbits'. People believe the town got its name because there used to be many rabbits in the area. Hunters came to this region because of all the rabbits.
A Look at Villaconejos's Past
The history of Villaconejos started in places like 'El Vedado' (which means "The Reserve"). There was also a small hill called 'Cerro Barbero'. These names are linked to 'hunting' and 'hunting dogs'. Hunting was very common near Villaconejos until the late 1500s. At that time, many trees were cut down, and the number of rabbits went down.
People have written about the many rabbits and famous melons in Villaconejos for a long time. There were so many rabbits that wolves started coming to the area. Sometimes, these wolves even attacked people in the village.
In 1561, a lot of trees were cut down in an area called El Montecillo. This area used to have many oak, pine, and gall trees. It was a very dense forest. But because of the wolf problem, the people of Villaconejos decided to cut down the trees.
Before the trees were cut, rabbits would often eat crops from local farms. They lived in the nearby forests. Because there were so many rabbits, wolves had plenty to eat and their numbers grew very fast. To solve the wolf problem, people cut down many trees. This helped reduce the number of wolves. However, the rabbit population also dropped a lot.
Over time, the hunters who came for the rabbits lost interest in the area. This caused hunting groups to break up. It also slowed down the town's economic growth.
See also
In Spanish: Villaconejos para niños
