I heard that Seize, the town from Sora no Woto, was based on a real historical town in Spain called Cuenca, so I decided to look it up. Really, there is a city called Cuenca in Spain and it looks, or rather Seize looks exactly the same.Cuenca is a city with population of 58,000. It was founded by Arabs after they seized the land in 714. The town was under Arab rule until 1177 when it was conquered by Christians after a long period of siege. Cuenca was prospering since then, mainly thanks to textile manufacturing and livestock exploitation. In 18th century, Cuenca fell into economic recession because the town was forbidden to continue the textile manufacturing. It was an order from the king Carlos IV, who wanted to put an end to the city's successes as it strongly competed with the Royal Tapestry Factory. As a result, the city lost a lot of its inhabitants; in addition, it was massively damaged by Napoleon's troops. Only the introduction of timber industry was able to boost the economic state of the town, as well as raise the population - to 10,000 inhabitants. In 1874, during the Third Carlist War, Cuenca suffered great damage again. The beginning of 20th century was marked by poverty in rural areas of Spain, including Cuenca. Desperate and tumultuous people went as far as to discharge their fury at the Church and annihilated many monks, nuns, and clergymen. After WWII, Cuenca fell into extreme poverty and many people migrated to more prosperous regions of Spain or even to foreign countries. The city began to recover in 1960's and has been financially growing since then, particularly thanks to its touristic value. In 1996, Cuenca was registered to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.Now, it's time for comparison between reality and anime.Well, Cuenca has been added to the list of Otaku Holy Lands thanks to Sora no Woto. You can set out on an anime pilgrimage if you live in or visit Spain. You can experience the thrill of following the "steps" of your favorite characters without traveling to Japan.
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