Segovia

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Segovia municipality
View of Segovia with cathedral
View of Segovia with cathedral
coat of arms Map of Spain
Segovia coat of arms
Segovia (Spain)
Finland road sign 311 (1994-2020) .svg
Basic data
Autonomous Community : Castile and León
Province : Segovia
Comarca : Capital y Area Metropolitana
Coordinates 40 ° 57 ′  N , 4 ° 7 ′  W Coordinates: 40 ° 57 ′  N , 4 ° 7 ′  W
Height : 1002  msnm
Area : 163.59 km²
Residents : 51,674 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density : 315.88 inhabitants / km²
Postal code : 40001-40006
Municipality number  ( INE ): 40194
administration
Website : Segovia
Aerial view of Segovia with cathedral and Alcázar

Segovia is a historically and culturally significant city in central Spain with 51,674 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019). It is the administrative seat of the eponymous province of Segovia in Castile and León and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Segovia . In the city there is also a campus of the University of Valladolid and a location of private IE University .

Segovia, together with Toledo and Ávila, is one of the three historical metropolises in the vicinity of the Spanish capital.

Toponym

The name Segovia is derived from the Celtiberian name Segobriga , where Celtiberian brig means "castle". Translated, the name means something like "Siegeshöhe".

Location and climate

The city is located on the northwest side of the Sierra de Guadarrama about 90 km (driving distance) northwest of Madrid on an approximately 1000  m high ledge of rock that extends from east to west. The Eresma River flows north of the historic old town and the Clamores River flows south of the western tip . Both flow together at the foot of the Alcázar, the castle complex in the north-western corner of the old town surrounded by a fortification.

Climate table

Segovia (1005 m)
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
38
 
8th
0
 
 
31
 
10
1
 
 
30th
 
14th
3
 
 
44
 
15th
4th
 
 
66
 
20th
8th
 
 
43
 
26th
12
 
 
17th
 
30th
15th
 
 
20th
 
29
15th
 
 
28
 
24
11
 
 
59
 
18th
8th
 
 
52
 
12
3
 
 
46
 
9
1
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, normal period 1981-2010
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Segovia (1005 m)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 8.2 10.4 13.9 15.1 19.7 25.8 29.7 29.4 24.0 18.0 11.8 8.8 O 17.9
Min. Temperature (° C) 0.3 1.1 3.2 4.2 8.2 12.1 14.6 14.8 11.4 7.9 3.4 1.3 O 6.9
Temperature (° C) 4.3 5.8 8.6 9.7 14.0 19.0 22.2 22.1 17.7 13.0 7.6 5.1 O 12.5
Precipitation ( mm ) 38 31 30th 44 66 43 17th 20th 28 59 52 46 Σ 474
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 4.0 5.4 6.5 7.1 8.1 10.5 11.5 10.6 8.2 5.7 4.2 3.5 O 7.1
Rainy days ( d ) 6.9 6.0 5.9 8.0 10.1 4.8 2.7 3.0 4.7 8.9 8.6 8.2 Σ 77.8
Humidity ( % ) 74 66 59 59 57 48 39 40 50 63 72 75 O 58.5
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
8.2
0.3
10.4
1.1
13.9
3.2
15.1
4.2
19.7
8.2
25.8
12.1
29.7
14.6
29.4
14.8
24.0
11.4
18.0
7.9
11.8
3.4
8.8
1.3
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		38
31
30th
44
66
43
17th
20th
28
59
52
46
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Population development

year 1857 1900 1950 2000 2018
Residents 10,339 14,547 29,568 54.032 51,683

The rural exodus as a result of the mechanization of agriculture led to a significant population growth in the second half of the 20th century. In addition, several small villages in the area were incorporated into the 1970s. However, the city is growing much more slowly than the booming capital region , because the sparsely populated area offers little economic potential other than tourism .

economy

Segovia is the center of an agriculturally used region; Traders and day laborers settled in the city early on; from the latter, craft and service professions gradually developed. Two industrial parks were built in the last decades of the 20th century.

history

Segovia old town with aqueduct
UNESCO world heritage UNESCO World Heritage Emblem
Vista-aerea-del-acueducto-de-Segovia.jpg
Aerial view of the aqueduct
National territory: SpainSpain Spain
Type: Culture
Criteria : i, iii, iv
Surface: 134.28 ha
Reference No .: 311bis
UNESCO region : Europe and North America
History of enrollment
Enrollment: 1985  (session 9)
Extension: 2015

Legend has it that Segovia was founded by Hercules the Egyptian, a great-grandson of Noah , around 1076 BC. Founded. In the first millennium BC The Celtic Vaccaei settled here . Pliny reports of the resistance of this people against the Romans around 80 BC. Segovia appeared as a city in which a Celtic castle must have previously existed, from which the great resistance against the Romans originated. The city was captured anyway. After that, the construction began as a Roman city that has kept its Roman name. The place became an important military base for the Romans on a central route from north to south. From the 1st / 2nd The Roman aqueduct of Segovia dates from the 16th century AD .

In the second half of the 5th century Segovia became part of the Visigoth Empire . The Christianization of the region, which had already begun in Roman times, came to an end. From the 8th to the 11th century, Segovia was owned by the Moorish . The Islamic conquest is reflected - from the perspective of the Reconquista - in the story of San Frutos and his siblings. In 1085 Alfonso VI conquered . the town. It was the royal residence from the 13th to the 15th century; In 1474, Isabella was proclaimed Queen of Castile here .

In 1520 Segovia joined the Comuneros uprising . Despite its violent suppression, the city recorded economic success, so that the population had grown to around 27,000 inhabitants at the end of the 16th century. In the 17th century an economic decline followed, at the end of the century the population had dropped to approx. 8,000 inhabitants.

During the Napoleonic Wars in the Iberian Peninsula , the city was sacked in 1808.

Attractions

  • The historical city center lies within the still partially preserved city ​​wall . Segovia with its churches and numerous monuments and secular buildings is particularly worth seeing and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985 .
  • The castle complex in the west of the old town is one of the main attractions. The Alcázar is a palace fortress that rises above the confluence of the Eresma and Clamores rivers.
  • The late Gothic cathedral in the center of the old town was built between 1525 and 1577 by order of Emperor Charles V. The 67 m spanning crossing dome and the 88 m high slender tower date from the 17th century in their current form.
  • The aqueduct in the east of the old town is approx. 28 m high and 728 m long. It has 118 arcs and comes from the 1st / 2nd centuries. Century AD. Until 1974 it supplied the city with water from the Río Frío river, which is more than 18 km away.
  • The Puerta de San Andrés , built in the 14th century, and the Torre de Lozoya are part of the former city fortifications.
  • The peculiar Renaissance building of the Casa de los Picos dates from the end of the 15th century.
  • There are several Romanesque churches within the old town - most of them have an arcaded south porch ( portico or galería porticada) , whose former function (court hall, meeting place, walkway, etc.) remains unclear. Particularly noteworthy are the churches: San Clemente, San Esteban, San Juan de los Caballeros, San Lorenzo, San Martín, San Millán and Santísima Trinidad , but also the churches of San Andrés, San Justo, San Nicolás, San Quirce and San Sebastián are well worth seeing.

  • Alcázar of Segovia (from the west)

  • Alcázar of Segovia (from the east)

  • Iglesia San Esteban

  • Iglesia San Juan de los Caballeros

  • Iglesia San Martín

  • Torre de Lozoya

  • Puerta San Andrés

  • Casa de los Picos

Surroundings
  • The twelve-sided church of Vera Cruz , about 1 km outside the city, was founded in 1208. Unfortunately, it is not known exactly by whom. Often the Order of the Knights Templar is mentioned, but the Castilian Order of the Holy Sepulcher ( Orden del Santo Sepulcro ) is more likely .
  • The best view of the city is from the Parador , the state hotel chain in Spain, a few kilometers from the city center .
  • Also worth seeing is the Palacio Real of La Granja, about 11 km southeast . The palace was built on the model of the Palace of Versailles and is surrounded by a park, whose fountains and water features are all supplied with water by a lake at a higher level without additional pumps.
  • The Royal Palace of Riofrío is about 14 km southwest of the city .

Museums

A number of museums can be visited in Segovia:

  • Segovia Museum
  • Museum of Contemporary Art 'Esteban Vicente'
  • Museum of the Episcopal Palace
  • Museum of the Art School
  • Cathedral Museum
  • Zuloaga Museum
  • House-Museum of Antonio Machado
  • Museum of the Rodera-Robles Foundation
  • Witchcraft Museum
  • Arms Museum
  • City wall museum
  • Gastronomy Museum
  • Jewish center

Town twinning

Segovia has twinned cities with

sons and daughters of the town

literature

Web links

Commons : Segovia  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Segovia  - travel guide

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).
  2. ^ Segovia - population development
  3. ↑ See the information in: Ganz Segovia, Editorial Escludo de oro, SA, 5th edition, ISBN 84-378-1559-2
  4. ↑ Hans-Peter Burmeister: Central Spain and Madrid , pp. 135f. Dumont, Cologne 2001, ISBN 3-7701-3458-3 .
  5. ^ Museos Segovia . Retrieved September 18, 2014.