Barcience

Barcience community
Barcience - Castillo
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Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile-La Mancha
Province :	Toledo
Comarca :	Torrijos
Coordinates	39 ° 59 ′  N , 4 ° 14 ′  W Coordinates: 39 ° 59 ′  N , 4 ° 14 ′  W
Height :	515  msnm
Area :	18.98 km²
Residents :	872 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	45.94 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	45525
Municipality number  ( INE ):	45018
administration
Website :	Barcience

Barcience - Castillo

Barcience is a place and a central Spanish municipality ( municipio ) with 872 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Toledo in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha .

Location and climate

The place Barcience is a good 25 km (driving distance) northwest of Toledo in the historical province of La Mancha at an altitude of about 555  m ; to Madrid it is a good 86 km in a north-easterly direction. The climate in winter is harsh, but in summer it is dry and warm; the sparse rain (approx. 380 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter months.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	257	277	378	111	806

After a population decline in the second half of the 20th century due to the mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of small farms, the place has benefited from good transport links to the greater Madrid area since the beginning of the 21st century.

economy

The area around Barcience was and is essentially agricultural (wheat); Wine and olive cultivation is also practiced to a small extent . For centuries, the population lived largely on a self-sufficient basis , because sales (e.g. of cheese, sausage and ham) on the regional markets were difficult because of the great distances.

history

Although very few prehistoric , Celtic , Roman , Visigoth and Moorish finds have been made, the historical presence of settlers and soldiers in the area is likely. In 1085 the area was named by Alfonso VI. Recaptured from the hands of the Moors ( reconquista ) , but shortly afterwards threatened again by the Berber Almoravids . It was not until Alfonso VII (reigned 1126–1157) that the La Mancha region finally became Christian around 1130. The area was given to the Santiagoorden ; later it belonged to the manor (señorio) of the Counts of Cifuentes. Barcience was on the pilgrimage route from the Levant ( Valencia ) via Ávila and Salamanca and on to Santiago de Compostela .

Attractions

• The small, single-aisled Iglesia de Santa María la Blanca stands a little outside the town and dates from the 18th and 19th centuries. Century. The brick-built horseshoe arch of the portal is remarkable .
• Despite undetectable military activity, the castle (castillo) built by the Counts of Cifuentes in the 15th century is in ruins. The most important component is the keep (torre del homenaje) with a well-preserved approx. 3 m high stone relief of a walking lion framed by Alfiz .

Web links

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

• Barcience - 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).
2. ↑ Barcience - climate tables
3. ↑ Barcience - population development
4. ↑ Barcience - Iglesia
5. ↑ Barcience - Castillo