Berlanga de Duero

Berlanga de Duero municipality
Berlanga de Duero - townscape with collegiate church
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Soria
Comarca :	Comunidad de Villa y Tierra de Berlanga
Coordinates	41 ° 28 ′  N , 2 ° 52 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 28 ′  N , 2 ° 52 ′  W
Height :	936  msnm
Area :	220.18 km²
Residents :	856 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	3.89 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	42360
Municipality number  ( INE ):	42035
administration
Website :	Berlanga de Duero

Berlanga de Duero castle ruins

Berlanga de Duero is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) with 856 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the northern Spanish province of Soria in the autonomous community of Castile and León, consisting of the main town and some hamlets (pedanías) and individual farmsteads . The entire place was declared a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the category Conjunto histórico-artístico in 1981 ; it is on the Camino del Cid .

Location and climate

Berlanga de Duero is located on a hill above the Río Escalote about 25 km (driving distance) southeast of Burgo de Osma at an altitude of about 935  m . The provincial capital Soria is about 40 km northeast. Also worth seeing is the neighboring municipality of Caltojar, 13 km to the southeast . The climate in winter is temperate to warm; the small amounts of precipitation (approx. 485 mm / year) fall - with the exception of the rather poorly rainy summer months - distributed over the whole year .;

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	1,895	2.159	2,362	1,148	902

The continuous population decline since the 1950s is mainly due to the mechanization of agriculture and the associated loss of jobs.

economy

Farming, growing vegetables and raising cattle were probably already practiced in Celtic times for self-sufficiency ; the Romans brought viticulture to the region. In the Middle Ages, small traders, craftsmen and service providers of all kinds settled in the village. Since the second half of the 20th century, tourism within Spain has played a not insignificant role in the economic life of the municipality.

history

There was probably a Celtic settlement here as early as pre-Roman times. The Romans called the place Augusta Valeránica , from which the name Berlanga is said to have developed. A fortress ( alcazaba ) was built in the Moorish era . After the Reconquista , the place belonged to the possession of the crown, which however handed it over to Juan Fernández de Tovar in 1370. In 1480 the daughter María de Tovar y Vivero, who was entitled to inherit, married the second Duke of Frías Íñigo Fernández de Velasco y Mendoza , so that the important family dynasty of Velasco y Tovar arose, which was founded in 1529 by Charles V (r. 1520–1556 ) was awarded the title of margrave (marques) . In the 16th century, the couple built both their new castle (Palacio nuevo de los Marqueses de Berlanga) and the collegiate church (Colegiata de Santa María del Mercado) .

Attractions

Berlanga de Duero - Colegiata de Santa María del Mercado

place

• The old castle (Castillo viejo) was built before the two houses were connected; it is a fortress in the form of the late Middle Ages, surrounded by a wall. The curtains of the actual core building, which is windowless on the outside, stretch between protruding round towers in the corners . The only and angled access was via the square keep (Torre del homenaje) at the end of the steeply sloping forecourt.
• The three-aisled collegiate church ( Colegiata de Santa María del Mercado ) is a late Gothic hall church with high star vaults , which was completed in 1530 after only four years of construction under the direction of the architect Juan de Rasines . The church is home to a large part of the nave engaging coro , an imposing Baroque altarpiece in chur engined esque style and the highly revered in the town and its vicinity Romanesque statue of Our Lady of Mercado.
• The remains of the south wall of the new castle, built in the early Herrera style at the beginning of the 16th century, appear austere and forbidding. Large parts of the palace were destroyed during the Spanish War of Independence in 1812.
• The Convento de las Monjas Concepcionistas is a foundation of Dona Juana Enríquez, the first Margravine of Berlanga. The Romanesque tympanum comes from an older church.
• The Hospital de San Antonio , built around the middle of the 16th century, also goes back to a foundation of the margrave family. Immediately next to it is the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de las Torres, newly built in 1732 .
• A late Gothic court column from around 1500, where court sessions were held and wrongdoers were punished, stands in the outskirts of the town.
• A hermitage outside the village was taken over by Franciscan brothers in the 17th century . The convent of Santa María de Paredes Albas, which was established at this time, was closed in the 19th century; the buildings served as a school for some time until it was closed at the beginning of the 20th century, and since then they have been in a state of disrepair.

and display information about the image

View of the late medieval castle ruins, the outer wall ring and the facade of the new castle (palacio nuevo)

Surroundings

• The ruins of the late medieval stone bridge over the Río Escalote are located approx. 2 km north of the village.
• Three hermit churches (ermitas) are also in the vicinity of the place.
• One of the largest baroque churches in the region can be found in the village of Brías , just under 13 km southwest - the Iglesia de San Juan Bautista , built in the late 17th century .
• Approx. 9 km southeast of Berlanga de Duero, near Casillas de Berlanga, is the 11th century Mozarabic hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga , which is worth seeing for its frescoes and palmette pillars. Other Romanesque churches are also located within the comarca (see web link).

Personalities

• Tomás de Berlanga (around 1487–1551) was a Dominican and later became the fourth bishop of Panama . As a result of a lull, his ship was drifted away during a voyage in the Pacific; so he and the ship's crew involuntarily became discoverers of the Galapagos Islands .

Web links

Commons : Berlanga de Duero  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Historic buildings in Berlanga de Duero - photo + info (arteguias, Spanish)
• Romanesque churches in the area of ​​Berlanga - photo + info (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. ↑ Berlanga de Duero - climate tables
3. ^ Berlanga de Duero - population development
4. ↑ Berlanga de Duero - History
5. ↑ Berlanga de Duero - Sights ( Memento of the original from October 27, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ Berlanga de Duero - Court Column
7. ↑ Tierras de Berlanga - Sights
8. ↑ Berlanga de Duero - Church of Brías