Benavente (Zamora)

Benavente municipality
Benavente - town view
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and Leon
Province :	Zamora
Comarca :	Benavente y Los Valles
Coordinates	42 ° 0 ′  N , 5 ° 41 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 0 ′  N , 5 ° 41 ′  W
Height :	720  msnm
Area :	45.12 km²
Residents :	17,935 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	397.5 inhabitants / km²
Founding:	1167
Postal code :	49600
Municipality number  ( INE ):	49021
administration
Website :	Benavente

Benavente is a northwestern Spanish city and a municipality ( municipio ) with 17,935 inhabitants (at January 1, 2019) in the province of Zamora in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon . Benavente is located on a branch of the Camino de Santiago that comes from the south ( Sevilla , Mérida , Cáceres , Salamanca , Zamora ) and joins the main route in León or Astorga .

Location and climate

Benavente lies on a slight hill above the plain of the Órbigo river at an altitude of about 720  m . The distance to the provincial capital Zamora is about 70 km (driving distance) in a southerly direction; Valladolid is about 100 km southeast. The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 435 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	4,545	4,959	9,909	16,763	18,237

The significant increase in population since the beginning of the 20th century is mainly due to immigration from the rural regions of the surrounding area (rural exodus).

economy

The area around the city is largely agricultural, with agriculture dominating (grain, pumpkins, peppers, etc.); also the wine for a long time plays a significant role in the economic life of the community one - growers market their wines under the appellation ( denominación ) Valles de Benavente . The city itself functions as a regional service center for trade, banks, health and training systems as well as for handicrafts and small industry - it has been designated an industrial area (polígono industrial) .

history

Even in antiquity, today's place, which is sometimes identified with the ancient Brigaecium , was at the intersection of two important streets - the Via de la Plata , which connected Hispalis (now Seville ) with Asturica Augusta (now Astorga ), and an important east West connection from Colonia Caesaraugusta (today Saragossa ) to Vicus (today Vigo ). Under the brief rule of the Suebi , the place was possibly called Ventosa ; later he called himself Malgrat . Visigoths and Moors left no archaeologically usable traces on the municipal area and in its immediate vicinity.

El Greco - Juan Alfonso de Pimentel y Herrera (around 1600)

Diego Velazquez - El Conde de Benavente (1648)

After the Moors retreated, Ferdinand II of León pursued a policy of repopulation ( repoblación ) and in 1164 gave the place special privileges ( fueros ) , which were confirmed and expanded again three years later. In 1230, with the "Agreement of Benavente", the two kingdoms of Castile and León were finally united . In 1398 Heinrich III. of Castile the county of Benavente and gave it into the hands of Juan Alonso Pimentel , the founder of the Pimentel dynasty, which later became very important in Spain. Henry IV of Castile converted the county into a duchy in 1473 and Rodrigo Afonso Pimentel became the first Duke of Benavente .

On January 2, 1492, the troops of the Catholic Kings ( Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragón ) entered the last Moorish bastion of Granada without a fight and their grandson Charles V ruled an ever-growing world empire from 1516 to 1556, in which “the sun did not go down ". In 1554, Benavente was visited by the Infante Philip and his son Don Carlos . In the 17th century, two of the Dukes of Benavente had their portraits by El Greco and Velazquez , respectively , while the place suffered epidemics and famine.

Attractions

Santa María del Azogue Church

Santa María del Azogue Church

• The oldest and most important building in the city is the church of Santa María del Azogue , which began in the 12th century but was only completed around 100 years later . The three-aisled building with transept and five apses (a great rarity!) In the Romanesque style suggests that it was probably not a normal parish church; rather, a collegiate church is to be assumed, which is also indicated by the other name of the church Santa María la Mayor . The nave already shows Gothic forms with bundled pillars and rib vaults inside. The bell tower (campanario) above the northern arm of the transept is remarkable , the undivided upper floor of which shows a variable arrangement of the acoustic arcades; on the ground floor there is a Romanesque portal with archivolts of different designs .

Tympanum of the Iglesia de San Juan del Mercado

Iglesia de San Juan del Mercado

• The second important church of Benavente (Iglesia de San Juan del Mercado) was built around the same time and also has three aisles, but only three apsidial . The three naves are not vaulted, but are spanned by a wooden roof structure. The two portals of the church are noteworthy, of which the one on the south side shows a tympanum field with the biblical scene of the Adoration of the Magi ; to the right of it sits Joseph , resting his head on one arm and sleeping. The star, followed by the “wise men from the east”, hovers over the enthroned Mother of God Mary with the baby Jesus on her lap in the Sedes sapientiae type .

Artesonado ceiling in the "snail tower"

Torre del Caracol

• Even if the mighty three-storey tower (Torre del Caracol) of the Castillo de Mota belongs to a hotel ( Parador ) today, it is another striking building in the city. Its architecture belongs to the late Gothic or early Renaissance , which is indicated above all by the interior loggias with their segmental arches ; Inside there is an octagonal, colored and tapering artesonado ceiling with a multitude of intertwined geometric braided ribbon motifs .
• Other churches and hermit chapels as well as mansions from the 17th to the 20th centuries are located in and around the village.
• The pilgrims' hospital (Hospital de peregrinos de La Piedad) , donated by the 2nd Duke of Benavente and his wife in the first half of the 16th century, is another historic building in the city - above all, its portal adorned with coat of arms with the figure of a Pietà above it and its pillared column Inner courtyard (patio) deserve attention.

Surroundings

• The Cistercian monastery of Santa María de Moreruela , which has only survived as an imposing ruin, is located about 20 km south of the city.

Personalities

• Toribio de Benavente , also called Motolinía (1482–1569), Franciscan and author of the Historia de los Indios de la Nueva España was born in Benavente.

Web links

Commons : Benavente (Zamora)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Romanesque in Benavente - photos + information (arteguias, 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. ↑ Benavente - climate tables
3. ↑ Benavente - population development
4. ↑ Benavente History
5. ↑ Benavente History
6. ↑ Benavente - Church of Santa María del Azogue
7. ↑ Benavente - Church of San Juan del Mercado