Barca (Soria)

Barca municipality
Barca - court pillar ( rollo )
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Soria
Comarca :	Comarca de Almazán
Coordinates	41 ° 27 ′  N , 2 ° 37 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 27 ′  N , 2 ° 37 ′  W
Height :	965  msnm
Area :	45.05 km²
Residents :	98 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	2.18 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	42210
Municipality number  ( INE ):	42030

Barca refers to a place and a municipality ( municipio ) with 98 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the south of the province of Soria in the autonomous community of Castile-León . The hamlet of Ciadueña , which has only about ten inhabitants, also belongs to the municipality . The Catholic parish belongs to the Diocese of Osma-Soria .

location

The place Barca is located in the plateau interspersed with rocks and hills in the south of the province of Soria at an altitude of approx. 960 meters above sea level. d. M. The distance to the northern provincial capital Soria is approx. 47 kilometers (driving distance). The small but historically significant town of Almazán is only about ten kilometers to the northeast.

Population development

year	1960	1970	1981	1991	2001	2010
Residents	413	273	208	157	137	112

In the first half of the 20th century, the community consistently had between 550 and 620 inhabitants. The increasing mechanization of agriculture and the resulting loss of jobs have contributed to a large extent to the significant decline in the population in recent decades.

economy

For centuries the community lived exclusively from growing grain ( barley and wheat ), which was mainly operated for self-sufficiency ; livestock farming ( sheep , goats , chickens ) also took place to a small extent. The place Barca served as a mercantile, handicraft and cultural center for the hamlets and farmsteads in its area, which have now mostly disappeared. Today agriculture still plays the most important role, but there is also marginal income from tourism (rental of holiday homes).

history

After the Arab-Moorish conquest , large areas in the north of the Iberian Peninsula were depopulated . In the 10th century began under the Castilian Count Gonzalo Téllez in the second half of the 11th century under Alfonso VI. Complete reconquest ( reconquista ) of Old Castile , which culminated in the capture of the city of Toledo, about 250 kilometers further south-west, in 1085. During this time Barca was repopulated or repopulated ( repoblación ) by settlers from the Christian north .

Attractions

• The jewel of the place is the parish church of Santa Cristina , which dates back to the end of the 12th century and was completely restored a few years ago, with its Romanesque south porch ( portico or galeria porticada ) with some - but only very poorly preserved - figures that are interpreted as atlases or prophets ; In addition, there are several capitals with leaf shapes resting on double columns . The porch portal was widened in the 17th or 18th century; The current west tower also dates from this time. The actual church building - with the exception of the later added tower above the apse , the buttresses serving to stabilize the outer walls and the unadorned Romanesque portal - is built entirely from rubble stones ( mampostería ).
• In the square in front of the church there is a six meter high court pillar ( rollo or picota ) from the 16th or 17th century, as it can still be found in many - formerly important - places of Castile on a stepped round base . The upper end of the round pillar consists of a round stone with heads and a ribbed conical stone with a cross.

Web links

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

• Barca, Church - Photos + Info (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).