Villafranca de los Caballeros

Villafranca de los Caballeros is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality had a population of 5327 inhabitants.In 1557 king Philip II granted it the charter of town . At the beginning of being populated, it was allowed to be free of taxes for six years. The wording "de los Caballeros" would be added to the name of "Villafranca" because of some customary events from the time of Middle Ages. "It happened every year, the day of St. Martin, that the representatives of all villages and towns belonging to the Order of the Knights of St. John gathered at the place, to deal with the use of community pastures. In the gathering, representatives would answer when asked: ... may speak now the gentleman from <given town>...". And for holding, even if it was only for a day, attending people who was considered to be gentlemen , the town received that surname. So the place became known as "Villafranca de los Caballeros". There is a handful of other towns that are also called Villafranca , but hey, there's only one Villafranca de los Caballeros in all Spain.

Wikipedia