Belorado

Belorado municipality
Belorado - Plaza Mayor and Iglesia San Pedro
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Burgos
Comarca :	Montes de Oca
Coordinates	42 ° 25 ′  N , 3 ° 11 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 25 ′  N , 3 ° 11 ′  W
Height :	772  msnm
Area :	133.41 km²
Residents :	1,781 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	13.35 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	09250
Municipality number  ( INE ):	09048
administration
Website :	Belorado

Belorado is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) with about 1,781 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) on the Way of St. James in the east of the Spanish province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile-León . The municipality belongs to the poorly populated region of the Serranía Celtibérica .

Location and climate

The place Belorado is located on the Río Tirón at the foot of the Montes de Ayago about 47 km (driving distance) east of Burgos at an altitude of about 770  m . The center of Briviesca, recognized as Conjunto histórico-artístico , is about 25 km north. The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 630 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2018
Residents	2,656	2,298	2,969	2,093	1,816

Despite the mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting lower demand for labor, the number of inhabitants has remained relatively stable for a long time. The hamlets (pedanías) Eterna, Puras de Villafranca y Quintanaloranco, Avellanosa de Rioja and San Miguel de Pedroso also belong to the municipality .

economy

Belorado's economic base was based on its location on a transit and trade route. In addition to interstate trade, the exchange between the farmers of the plain and the ranchers of the nearby mountains took place here. The location on the Way of St. James also contributed to the economic prosperity of the place.

history

The origin of the place goes back possibly to the Celtiberian tribe of the Autrigonians . Later Belorado was Roman inhabited, but only gained importance in the Middle Ages than to the border town between Navarre and Castile was and Alfonso I right letter ( fuero ) got authority.

The basis for its development was u. a. the location of Belorados at the transition from the Ebro Valley to the Meseta . To control this area, the castle was built on a hill near the place at the beginning of the Reconquista . The population, who originally settled closer to the river, then moved to the protection of the fortification. Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar , known as "El Cid", received this castle from Ferdinand I , the first Castilian king, as a wedding present for his marriage to Jimena Díaz .

In the 10th century Fernán González , the first independent count of the county of Castile , thanked the town for helping it free from Navarre captivity by giving it the right to hold a market on Mondays. This custom has endured to this day and brings life to the Plaza Mayor in Belorado at the beginning of the week .

In 1116 Alfonso I granted the above-mentioned customary right to the place, which included, among other things, the holding of an annual fair (feria) . It is the oldest documented feria in Spain , which further promoted the trading activities of the Judería (Jewish quarter, located below the castle), which was already important at the time , and thus further promoted the prosperity of the entire city.

The city continued to grow, and at the beginning of the 13th century the city council was allowed to legitimize its documents with a seal due to a royal privilege of Alfonso VIII . Further royal donations were made by Alfonso the Wise , who made important donations during his stay in the city.

Peter the Cruel thanked the inhabitants of the city for the support they had given during the war; after his death, the new dynasty under Heinrich von Trastamara punished the city ​​for this support with the withdrawal of privileges such as the revocation of the status of "royal city". The Judería it ordered taxes and services that each time were humiliating and the exodus of the Jews prepared out of town.

The Catholic Monarchs finally transported to the expulsion of the Jews at the same time the ruin of the city. Despite the decree, some wealthy families who converted to Christianity remained . The offspring of one of these families was Simón Ruiz , who was born here and who later became the banker of Philip II.

While the development of the city was influenced by the various kings in the Middle Ages, Belorado came under the rule of the Crown Fields of Castile ( Condestables de Castilla) in the transition to modern times . Important noble families lived here. a. made a name as conquistadores during the conquest of America, in the humanities (e.g. teacher of the daughters of Philip II) or in the natural sciences (expedition led by Hipólito Ruiz to study American flora ).

From 1822 to 1833 the place and its surrounding area belonged to the newly created province of Logroño , that is, to the Rioja .

Attractions

San Pedro Church

• St. Mary's Church (Iglesia de Santa María) , with a high-quality altarpiece from the 16th century in the Jacob's Chapel
• Peter's Church (Iglesia de San Pedro) , 17th century
• Ermita of Our Lady of Bethlehem (Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Belén) , the only evidence of the old pilgrim hospice , reconstructed in the 18th century
• Franciscan monastery (Convento de San Francisco) , founded in 1250, where St. Bernardine of Siena stayed overnight during his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela , today converted into a residential building
• Poor Clare Monastery (Convento de Nuestra Señora de Bretonera) , 16th century, active monastery
• Main Square (Plaza Mayor) , typical Spanish main square with arcaded houses
• Ruins of the castle (important border fortress to Navarre in the Middle Ages ) and old city wall (muralla)
• Hermit Cave of St. Caprasius of Agen (Cuevas de San Caprasio) , according to legend, the sanctuary of the saint

literature

• Cordula Rabe: Spanish Way of St. James. From the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela. All stages - with variants and height profiles. Bergverlag Rother, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-7633-4330-0 ( Rother hiking guide ). * Míllan Bravo Lozano: Practical pilgrim guide. The Camino de Santiago. Editorial Everest, Léon 1994, ISBN 84-241-3835-X .
• Míllan Bravo Lozano: Practical pilgrim guide. The Camino de Santiago. Editorial Everest, Léon 1994, ISBN 84-241-3835-X .
• López Bernal, Hipólito. Apuntes históricos de Belorado . Estepa: Imp. De Antonio Hermoso, 1907 (Spanish).

Web links

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

• Belorado, information about the Camino Francés
• Belorado - Photos
• Belorado, San Pedro Church - photo

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. ↑ Belorado - climate tables
3. ^ Belorado - population development
4. ↑ The assumption is based on archaeological finds of steles, friendship tokens ( tessera ) s and coins that are assigned to this tribe.
5. ↑ The presence of the Juderías was often an indicator of trade activities and, until the Jews were expelled from Spain, mostly their center in a city.

Navigation bar St. James " Camino Francés "

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