El Ballestero

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El Ballestero
Flag Coat of arms
El Ballestero Location of El Ballestero Show map of Province of Albacete El Ballestero El Ballestero (Castilla-La Mancha) Show map of Castilla-La Mancha El Ballestero El Ballestero (Spain) Show map of Spain
Coordinates: 38°51′N 2°27′W / 38.850°N 2.450°W / 38.850; -2.450
Country	Spain
Autonomous Community	Castile-La Mancha
Province	Albacete
Comarca	Campo de Montiel
Government
• Mayor (since 2017)	Verónica Gómez Gallego (PSOE)
Area
• Total	138.69 km2 (53.55 sq mi)
Elevation	1,029 m (3,376 ft)
Population  (2018)[1]
• Total	409
• Density	2.9/km2 (7.6/sq mi)
Area code	967 38 40

El Ballestero is a municipality in Albacete, Castilla–La Mancha, Spain. It is 68 km west of Albacete, a small town in La Mancha. The municipality was likely founded after the meeting between Alfonso X (the wise) and his son-in-law, Jaime I of Aragón. The goal of the meeting was to settle the ownership of the recently captured territory. Local legend says that this area was settled by crossbowmen ("ballestero" in Spanish) now redundant following the cessation of hostilities. The town was established around a crossroads on the main road between Munera and Robledo.

Like many of the small towns in La Mancha, El Ballestero lost a significant share of its population in the mid-20th century. In the 1949 census, El Ballestero had 1,858 inhabitants, but the population shrank over the following decades; in the peak emigration year, 1964, over 500 left. The emigrants largely moved to large cities and the coast, where employment opportunities had increased in the growing tourist industry. In recent years, many abandoned homes have been purchased by people from Madrid, Valencia and other large cities who have refurbished them as second homes. Over the last 10 years, the number of abandoned houses still in ruins has reduced substantially.^{[citation needed]}