Abajas

Abajas parish
Abajas - town view
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Burgos
Comarca :	La Bureba
Coordinates	42 ° 37 ′  N , 3 ° 35 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 37 ′  N , 3 ° 35 ′  W
Height :	840  msnm
Area :	35.07 km²
Residents :	31 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	0.88 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	09141
Municipality number  ( INE ):	09001
administration
Website :	Abajas

Abajas is a place and a northern Spanish rural municipality ( municipio ) with only 31 inhabitants (at January 1, 2019) in the province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon .

Location and climate

The village of Abajas is about 840  m above sea level on the “Corridor of La Bureba ”, a connection between the upper Ebro valley and the landscapes of the Duero, which was already used in the Stone Age . The provincial capital Burgos is about 40 km (driving distance) south; the next larger city, Briviesca , is approx. 35 km to the southeast. The climate in winter is harsh, but in summer it is temperate and warm; Rain (approx. 700 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	319	263	305	48	27

The mechanization of agriculture and the closure of smaller farms have led to a loss of jobs and thus to an exodus of people to the larger cities ( rural exodus ) since the 1950s .

economy

For centuries, the inhabitants of the community lived mainly from agriculture (agriculture, viticulture and small livestock farming) as a self-sufficient living ; only since the middle of the 20th century has it been produced for the national market. Tourism in the form of rental of holiday homes (casas rurales) has also played a certain role in the municipality's income since the 1960s.

history

The surroundings of the place were already known to the people of the Stone Age and Antiquity as a widely used connection route; Celts from the Autrigone tribe settled here, but neither they nor the Romans or the Visigoths left any traces. In the 8th and early 9th centuries, the area was under Islamic influence, but the area was neither permanently settled nor defended due to the unusually harsh climate. At the end of the 9th century, the Castilian Count Diego Rodríguez Porcelos received from King Alfons III. of Asturias the order to repopulate ( repoblación ) the depopulated area. The first mention of the place name can be found in a document from the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla .

Attractions

Iglesia Santa María la Mayor

• The Iglesia Santa María la Mayor stands at the highest point in the town. It is essentially Romanesque , but a side aisle was added on the north side in the 16th century . The apse , structured by pillars, shows a few old as well as several renewed consoles below the eaves as well as a block frieze running around halfway up the three window tympana. The Romanesque portal, which is covered by an archivolt decorated in deep relief , also has a tympanum covered by a multi-pass arch ; it is located on the south side and is protected by a small porch ( portico ) . The nave (nature) is barrel vaulted ; the apse shows the usual dome vault . The bell tower (campanario) can be reached via an external staircase; the bells hang in the arched openings.
• About 500 m from the village is the intermittent source of a small stream that was channeled at the beginning.

Web links

Commons : Abajas  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Abajas - Photos + Info (wikiburgos, Spanish)

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. ↑ Abajas - climate tables
3. ↑ Abajas - population development
4. ↑ Abajas - Story
5. ↑ Abajas Church