Buitrago del Lozoya

Buitrago del Lozoya municipality
	Buitrago del Lozoya - town view
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Madrid
Comarca :	Sierra Norte
Coordinates	41 ° 0 ′ N , 3 ° 38 ′ W Coordinates: 41 ° 0 ′ N , 3 ° 38 ′ W
Height :	975 msnm
Area :	26.5 km²
Residents :	1,884 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	71.09 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	28730
Municipality number ( INE ):	28027
administration
Website :	Buitrago del Lozoya

Buitrago del Lozoya is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) with 1,884 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the north of the autonomous community of Madrid in central Spain . The old town center was classified as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the category Conjunto histórico-artístico in 1993 because of its historical buildings .

Location and climate

Buitrago del Lozoya is located on a rocky outcrop, surrounded on three sides by the Río Lozoya, in the southern slopes of the Sierra de Guadarrama at an altitude of about 975 m, about 75 km (driving distance) north of the city of Madrid . The climate is harsh in winter, but temperate to warm in summer; Rain (approx. 435 mm / year) falls over the year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	825	643	963	1,471	1,854

In the second half of the 20th century, comparatively low land prices and rents led to an influx of people from rural areas, but also from the city of Madrid.

economy

For centuries, the residents of the village lived as self-sufficient farmers from the surrounding area; Traders, craftsmen and service providers of all kinds also settled in the village. Income from day tourism and rental of holiday homes has been added since the 1960s.

history

Sometimes the place is with in Livy mentioned Litabrum linked, but both Celtic and from Roman and Islamic missing time so far archaeologically recyclable products. In the 10th century and especially after the reconquest ( reconquista ) of Toledo (1085) the area was repopulated by Christians from the north, but also from the south of the Iberian Peninsula ( mudéjares ) . In 1095 Buitrago received from Alfonso VI. assigned a coat of arms showing a bull in front of a holm oak . The small town remained free from foreign landlords for a long time, but in 1368 it came under the manor (señorio) of the then important Mendoza family .

Attractions

City wall and church

Castle (castillo)

The old town of Buitrago is surrounded by a completely preserved medieval wall ring (murallas) , which also encloses the originally Moorish castle district ( alcázar ) .
The towers of the castle (castillo) date from the 15th century in their current form. Its masonry, consisting of rubble stones with intermediate layers of brick , attests to the Mudejar tradition, which was still alive at the time .
The Romanesque -looking bell tower of the nearby standing church of Santa María del Castillo in the 14th century shows similar masonry techniques. The rest of the building consists entirely of quarry stone masonry . The interior of the church has a single nave and is spanned by a modern wooden ceiling construction.
The Museo Picasso with works (drawings, ceramics, etc.) from the collection of the Picasso friend Eugenio Arias Herranz, who was born in Buitrago, is located in the town's former town hall .
A single arched late medieval bridge (Puente del Arrabal) crosses the Río Lozoya.
Somewhat hidden in the village there is a claw stand (potro de herrar) for fixing the workhorses when caring for their hooves.

Surroundings

The Casa del Bosque , built in the early 17th century but now ruined, stands on a hill in the middle of a pine forest about 1 km southeast of Buitrago.