Cacabelos

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Cacabelos municipality
coat of arms Map of Spain
Coat of arms of Cacabelos
Cacabelos (Spain)
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Basic data
Autonomous Community : Castile LeonCastile and León Castile and León
Province : Leon
Comarca : Bandera de El Bierzo.svg El Bierzo
Coordinates 42 ° 36 ′  N , 6 ° 43 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 36 ′  N , 6 ° 43 ′  W
Height : 464  msnm
Area : 32.66 km²
Residents : 5,118 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density : 156.71 inhabitants / km²
Postal code : 24540
Municipality number  ( INE ): 24030
administration
Mayor : José Manuel Sánchez García
Website : www.cacabelos.org

Cacabelos is a place on the Camino de Santiago in the autonomous region of Castile and León . The towns of Quilós , Pieros , Arborbuena , Villabuena , San Clemente (Bierzo) are administratively associated .

history

Vineyards and landscape of the Bierzo near Cacabelos

The earliest evidence of human presence in Cacabelos dates back to the Paleolithic , as shown by archaeological findings in the terraces of the Río Cúa. The next evidence (objects made of metal, ceramics) come from the Bronze and Iron Ages and refer to the Castro culture , represented here by Castro Vizcaíno and Castro Ventosa.

The ancient authors Florus and Orosius report on the war against the Asturians in the years 25 to 19 BC. It ended with the capture of the city of Bergida. The subsequent process of Romanization is perfectly reflected by the emergence of the now Roman settlement Bergidum Flavium. The city is mentioned by Ptolemy and Antonini in the Itinerarium and is said to have been at the height of the current cemetery. From here the Romans administered and controlled the exploitation of the numerous Bercian gold deposits, one of them in the municipal area on the lake of Villabuena.

In the fifth century the Suebi settled in the northwest, in the following century the area was annexed by the Visigoths . The Suebi priest describes Bergido as belonging to the Dioszöse Astorga, the coins of the Visigoth king Sisebut were minted in Bergido and finally the Bercian hermit Valerius reports in his autobiography of a Visigoth settlement in what is today the municipality of Cacabelos. Bergido did not initially disappear after the Moorish invasion in the 7th century, but lived on as Ventosa. However, it later fell into disrepair and was eventually completely abandoned.

Cacabelos is mentioned for the first time in the 10th century in a deed of gift from King Vermudos II in favor of the Carracedo monastery. In 1108, the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela , Diego Gelmírez , had the town rebuilt and the church of Santa María built, of which the old apse still exists today . The building activity provoked a heated argument with the Bishop of Astorga , in whose diocese the place was located. The dispute ended in 1138 with the donation of Cacabelos to Gelmirez, which gave the place a special position: The place was not only subject to archbishopric jurisdiction, but was also the only place far and wide to belong to a distant diocese until 1890. In the 11th century Villabuena with a royal palace and Pieros, whose church was consecrated by Bishop Osmundo in 1086, are also mentioned.

Cacabelo, located on the Way of St. James on a bridge, grew continuously in the Middle Ages - judging by its churches: Santa María de la Plaza, Santa María de la Edrada and Santa María "circa pontem". There were also five pilgrims' hospices: San Lázaro, Santiago, Santa Catalina, Alfonso Cabirto, Inés Domínguez. The place prospered due to successful agriculture, the accommodation business with the pilgrims and the influx of Franconian pilgrims. Evidence of a flourishing commercial activity was - as documented for Cababelos - a local Jewish community.

In 1291 Sancho IV. Cababelos confessed to a fifteen-day fair (Feria) to hold, which was traditionally held in May and is. Later one held more Ferias from San Miguel and San Bartolomé. The Cistercian Wilhelmskloster (Monasterio de San Guillermo) was built in Villabuena in the 13th century ; Quilós and Arborbuena, which were first mentioned in this century, belonged to the dominion of the women's monastery.

With the beginning of the modern era , Cacabelos was incorporated into the Margraviate (Marquesado de) Villafranca. This happened through the inheritance of Conde de Lemos, to whom Archbishop Rodrigo de Luna had given the place in 1458. The towns of Quilós, Arborbuena and Villabuena were also sold to the Marquesado by the Abbess of San Guillermo. Shortly afterwards, San Guillermo also lost its independence and was subordinate to the monastery of San Miguel de las Dueñas. At that time Cacabelos was a place of a few thousand inhabitants with several churches, Quilós, Pieros or Villabuena were small hamlets, which together rarely exceeded the number of 100 inhabitants.

The 19th century began with the Spanish War of Independence at the beginning of January 1809, the English and French cross arms at Cacabelos and the Napoleonic General Colbert dies in the battle. With the elimination of manorial jurisdiction, Cacabelos Municipio , the Quilós, Arborbuena and Pieros are co-administered. The municipal area is 19.5 km², in 1857 there are 2,214 inhabitants, 1,410 of them in Cacabelos itself. Agriculture, in particular viticulture, trade fairs and trade activities make the place one of the most dynamic settlements in the area.

A phylloxera plague destroyed most of the vineyards and, in addition to a severe recession, also resulted in a decline in the population (1900: 2.180 Ew.). It was not until the 20th century that the lost areas were regained with the help of American vines, and important presses and a wine cooperative were able to establish themselves. In the rhythm of the economic recovery, the population grew and the infrastructure improved: parks and squares were designed, the public school and high school, health center, retirement home, sports hall and swimming pool were opened. In the 1990s, a pilgrims' hostel was built around the church.

economy

With its numerous wineries, Cacabelos is a center of the Denominación de Origen Bierzo .

Worth seeing

  • Saint Roch Chapel (Ermita San Roque), Plaza San Lazaro, with a statue of the saint as a pilgrim
  • Church of Nuestra Señora de la Quinta Angustia, 18th century, with a reredos showing St. Anthony playing cards with the baby Jesus
  • Archaeological museum with Celtic and Roman exhibits.

Fiestas

  • Nuestra Señora de la Quinta Angustia (Patronage Festival), at Easter
  • Saint Isidore
  • Saint Roch
  • Wine festival

Web links

Commons : Cacabelos  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

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).

literature

  • Míllan Bravo Lozano: Practical pilgrim guide. The Camino de Santiago. Editorial Everest, Léon 1994, ISBN 84-241-3835-X .
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Navigation bar St. James " Camino Francés "

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