Orgaz is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2024 census, the municipality had a population of 2595 inhabitants, but it has since declined.
There are several proposed etymologies for the name "Orgaz", but none are definitively confirmed. According to Jiménez de Gregorio, one possible meaning is "fertile" or "abundant", derived from the Celtic root olca-, meaning "fertile field". Meanwhile, Albaigés suggests a Basque origin, linking the name to a variant of orbaiz, ormaitz or urbiz, meaning "strawberry tree grove". Other theories point to a pre-Roman root such as orc- or urc-, or even the Celtic worg-, to which the Basque-derived suffix -az might have been added. In some medieval documents, the town is referred to as "Orgas".
The municipality of Orgaz is located in the province of Toledo, within the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha, approximately 30 km (19 mi) south of the provincial capital, Toledo, and about 100 km (62 mi) from Madrid. It borders the municipalities of Chueca and Villaminaya to the north, Mascaraque, Mora and Manzaneque to the east, Los Yébenes and Marjaliza to the south, and Mazarambroz, Sonseca and AjofrÃÂn to the west, all within the province of Toledo.
The municipality covers an area of 152.73 kmò (59 sq mi), and lies at an average altitude of approximately 744 metres (2,441 feet) above sea level. While the northern part of Orgaz lies within the relatively flat terrain of the southern sub-plateau of the Iberian Meseta, the southern area, near the border with Los Yébenes and Marjaliza, is marked by the Sierra de Yébenes, which reaches elevations of up to 1,121 metres (3,678 feet).
Orgaz is part of the comarca of Montes de Toledo, whose capital is Los Yébenes. Historically, geographically, and culturally, it also belongs to the region known as La Sisla.
The municipality consists of two population centres: the main town of Orgaz, and the smaller village of Arisgotas, located to the southwest of the municipality. Arisgotas was an independent municipality until 1857 and currently has a population of 47 inhabitants.
This village may have been the ancient Barnices mentioned by Ptolemy in Carpetania. It belonged to the County of OrgazâÂÂa title said to have been granted to El Cid (Rodrigo DÃÂaz de Vivar) upon his marriage to Jimena DÃÂaz in Burgos. The first recorded mention of the port of Orgaz, âÂÂde portugue de OrgazâÂÂ, appears in an agreement dated 1183 between the Archbishop of Toledo, Gonzalo Pérez, and the Master of the Order of Calatrava, Nuño Pérez de Quiñones. During the reign of Ferdinandâ¯III, it fell under the jurisdiction of Toledo.
In 1239 (though some sources indicate 1240), ÃÂlvaro Pérez de Castro died in Orgaz while travelling to Andalusia after meeting Ferdinandâ¯III in Ayllón. ÃÂlvaro Pérez de Castro was lord of the House of Castro, son of Pedro Fernández deâ¯Castro, and greatâÂÂgrandson of Alfonsoâ¯VII, King ofâ¯León. He defeated the emir Ibnâ¯Hud at the Battle of Jerez in 1231 and played a key role in the conquest of Córdoba, which capitulated to Ferdinandâ¯III inâ¯1236.
In 1344, Peterâ¯I granted Orgaz to his tutor MartÃÂnâ¯Fernández, and later, Charlesâ¯V elevated it to a county and donated it to ÃÂlvaro Pérez de Guzmán. Prior to the Battle of Montiel, the army of Henryâ¯II encamped within its municipal boundaries; the land where his tent stood was thereafter exempted from tithes and became known as the âÂÂhaza sin diezmosâÂÂ.
On 26â¯Marchâ¯1813, during the Peninsular War, the Action of Orgaz took place near the village, when two companies of Volunteers of Catalonia and a squadron of the Cazadores de Ubrique cavalry were attacked by French horsemen.
Orgaz is famously associated with the painting The Burial of the Count of Orgaz by El Greco, housed in the church of Santo Tomé in the city of Toledo. The work depicts the legendary burial of Don Gonzalo Ruiz, a nobleman from Toledo who was lord of the town of Orgaz in the 14th century. Although the painting is not physically located in Orgaz, it highlights the historical significance of the town and its nobility.