Alaejos
| Alaejos municipality | |||
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.jpg) Alaejos - San Pedro Church and Town Hall (left)
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| coat of arms | Map of Spain | ||
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| Basic data | |||
| Autonomous Community : |
 Castile and León
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| Province : | Valladolid | ||
| Comarca : | Tierra de Medina | ||
| Coordinates | 41 ° 18 ′ N , 5 ° 13 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 745 msnm | ||
| Area : | 102.49 km² | ||
| Residents : | 1,369 (Jan 1, 2019) | ||
| Population density : | 13.36 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Postal code : | 47510 | ||
| Municipality number ( INE ): | 47004 | ||
| administration | |||
| Website : | Alaejos | ||
Alaejos is a place and a Spanish municipality (municipio) with 1,369 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Valladolid in the region of Castile and León .
location
The place Alaejos is located in the Iberian Meseta just 62 km (driving distance) southwest of Valladolid or just 28 km west of Medina del Campo at an altitude of about 745 m above sea level. d. M. The place has a motorway connection to the Autovía de Castilla ( A-62 ). The climate in winter is cold, but in summer it is warm to hot; the sparse rain (approx. 370 mm / year) falls over the whole year.
Population development
| year | 1857 | 1900 | 1950 | 2001 | 2012 |
| Residents | 3,646 | 3,561 | 3,610 | 1,550 | 1,468 |
The continual population decline in the 20th century is largely due to the mechanization of agriculture .
economy
For centuries, the inhabitants lived mainly as a self-sufficient living from agriculture, which also included a little cattle-raising (sheep, goats, chickens) and viticulture. Because of the great distance to the cities of Valladolid and Salamanca , the marketing of surpluses was hardly possible. Merchants, traders, craftsmen and service providers of all kinds have settled in the small town itself.
history
After the recapture ( reconquista ) of the areas in the north of the Iberian Peninsula in the 10th and 11th centuries Alaejos belonged to the Kingdom of León and possibly formed a kind of frontier fortress under the control of the Moors areas further south. After previous attempts, León finally united with the Kingdom of Castile in 1230 . Despite the destruction during the Comuneros uprising (1520–1522), the small town experienced its heyday in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Attractions
- The center of the town is the Plaza Mayor with the brick town hall built in the 16th century on a natural stone base.
- The three-aisled hall church of San Pedro , consecrated to the Apostle Peter , stands right next to it. The church, built entirely of brick, was built in the 16th century and has a high four- story bell tower with a stepped-back tower and a double lantern , which is ascribed to the 17th century. The three-nave interior of the church is complicated vaults of stucco covered; in the side aisles are lavishly designed baroque altars covered with gold leaf. The highlight is the polygonal broken reredos of the high altar, divided into fields, with numerous figures from around 1580.
- The Iglesia de Santa María , which is located a few hundred meters to the northeast and has a very similar exterior, also belongs to the 16th century . Its interior also has three aisles, but is basilically structured in height. The baroque main altar, which occupies the back wall of the domed apse, presents fields with figures framed by fluted columns; The side altars in the side aisles are also elaborately designed.
- Several houses from the 16th to 18th centuries ( Casa del Inquisidor, Casa del Marqués de Gastañaga, Casa de los Regidores, Casa del Obispo ) have heraldic shields made of stone.
- On the southern outskirts are the sparse ruins of the Castillo de Alaejos , which was built around the middle of the 15th century by order of Alonso de Fonseca I , who also initiated the construction of the Castillo de Coca .
literature
- José Ojeda Nieto: Alaejos. Un Pueblo de Castilla en el Siglo XVII. Diputación de Valladolid, Valladolid 2009, ISBN 978-8478521319 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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).
- ↑ Alaejos - map with altitude information
- ↑ Alaejos - climate tables
- ↑ Alaejos - Iglesia de San Pedro