Last modified: 2020-11-14 by ivan sache
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Flag of Talaván - Image by "Xavigivax", Wikimedia Commons, 22 March 2020
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The municipality of Talaván (832 inhabitants in 2018: 9,848 ha; municipal website) is located on the left / southern bank of river Tagus, 40 km north-east of Cáceres.
Talaván was first documented in 1137, when King Ferdinand II conquered the town and the Alconétar fortress, and offered them to the Knight Templars as a reward for their support. The Templars erected Alconétar as the capital of a commandery, which included the town of Talaván; due to its privileged location and fertile lands, the commandery was among the richest possessions of the Templars along the Tagus.
After the suppression of the Templars in 1512 by Pope Clement V, the Alconétar commandery was transferred to the Order of Alcántara.
The next record of Talaván dates from 1790, when the town belonged to the Count-Duke of Benavente. At the time, the wealthy town produced wheat, barley, oilive oil, chickpeas, flax, wool, cheese and honey. Fishing and hunting were additional sources of income.
The Talaván boat was once the only means to cross dangerous river Tagus. While voyagers had to pay half a real to the Bishop of Plasencia, the boat's owner, people from Talaván were exempted of the toll.
The boat also served the old chapel of the river, located on the right bank of the Tagus, on the municipal territory of Casas de Millán but owned by Talaván. Subsequently flooded by the Alcántara dam, the ruined chapel can be spotted only when the water level is low.
Ivan Sache, 22 March 2020
The flag (photos) and arms of Talaván, adopted on 29 October 1992, 29 April, 16 July and 17 November 1993 by the Municipal Council and validated on 17 May 1994 by the Assessing Council of Honors and Distinctions of the Government of Extremadura, are prescribed by an Order issued on 24 June 1994 by the Government of Extremadura and published on 7 July 1994 in the official gazette of Extremadura, No. 78, pp. 2,555-2,556 (text).
The symbols are described as follows:
Flag: Rectangular, in proportions 2:3. White with a blue and white wavy stripe running from the hoist's upper angle to the fly's lower angle, superimposed by a yellow boat with a boater. A red cross potent in the fly's upper canton. A green cross flory in the hoist's lower canton.
Coat of arms: Argent a bend wavy azure and argent superimposed by a boat or fimbriated sable with a boater cantonned in chief by a cross potent gules and in base by a cross flory vert. The shield surmounted by a Royal crown closed.
The crosses recall the former lords of the town, the Templars (cross potent) and the Order of Alcántara (cross flory). The blue stripes represent river Tagus, crossed by the Talaván boat.
Ivan Sache, 22 March 2020