Caltojar

Caltojar municipality
Caltojar - the townscape
coat of arms	Map of Spain
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Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Soria
Comarca :	Villa y Tierra de Berlanga
Coordinates	41 ° 24 ′  N , 2 ° 46 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 24 ′  N , 2 ° 46 ′  W
Height :	960  msnm
Area :	84.36 km²
Residents :	52 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	0.62 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	42367
Municipality number  ( INE ):	42048
administration
Website :	Caltojar

Caltojar is a place and a small northern Spanish municipality ( municipio ) with only 52 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Soria in the autonomous community of Castile-León . The municipality also includes the former villages of Bordecorex and Casillas de Berlanga , both of which only have about ten inhabitants each.

location

The place Caltojar is on the Río Escalote about 70 km (driving distance) southwest of the provincial capital Soria and about 41 km southeast of the city of Burgo de Osma at an altitude of about 960 m above sea level. d. The climate in winter is cool, but in summer it is quite warm; the rather low rainfall (approx. 485 mm / year) falls - with the exception of the rather poor summer months - distributed over the whole year.

Population development

year	1900	1950	2000	2016
Residents	715	800	124	63

The significant population decline in the 20th century is mainly due to the mechanization of agriculture and the associated loss of jobs.

economy

Due to the altitude, the agricultural yields are rather low; That is why livestock and dairy farming have always played an important role. Since the 1960s, income from the rental of holiday homes (casas rurales) has been added as a source of income.

history

Not much is known about the history of the small town. During the Islamic period , the area was depopulated and guarded by watchtowers ( atalayas ) against Christian attacks. In the 11th and 12th centuries it was repopulated ( repoblación ) by immigrants from the Christian north, but also from southern Spain . The Romanesque church was built around 1200, when the place had already reached a certain population. At the end of the 20th century, the hamlets of Bordecorex and Casillas de Berlanga were incorporated.

Attractions

Caltojar

Portal of the Iglesia San Miguel

• The church of San Miguel Arcángel , dedicated to the Archangel Michael, from the late 12th and early 13th centuries is well preserved; the exterior of the apse is extraordinarily rich with a double round arch frieze below the eaves . The tower of the church was added at a later time - probably also for reasons of stability. The special treasure of the church, however, is the archivolt portal on the south side, which has been stepped back several times and which shows a statue of the Archangel Michael above a hanging keystone in the middle . The outer arch shows a serrated frieze. The Romanesque north portal of the church was bricked up at some point; however, the unadorned archivolt arches were preserved. The three-aisled interior surprises with its open spatial effect - four pillars with protruding half-columns support the groined vaults of the central nave and the two aisles, supported by belt arches . Only two capitals show figurative ornamentation; the others are largely unadorned. In the 17th century the church received a baroque altarpiece , which loosens the architectural rigor of the church a little.

Atalayas

Atalaya La Viruela

In the municipality of Caltojar are the remains of three Islamic watchtowers from the 10th century, which can be explored on a two to three-hour hike:

• At Atalaya Ojaraca , about four kilometers from the village, half of the tower shaft has broken away, but its height (1119 meters) and its dimensions (height 7.50 meters; diameter 5.10 meters; wall thickness 1.20 meters) are still impressive .
• The Atalaya La Viruela is only about two kilometers from Caltojar. It is still preserved up to a height of nine meters; its dimensions are otherwise comparable to those of the Atalaya Ojaraca . Today a spiral staircase leads up to the approximately 2.50 meter high entrance.
• From the third watchtower ( Atalaya La Corona ) only rubble stones are preserved.

Bordecorex - fortified church

Bordecorex

• The incorporated hamlet of Bordecorex with its ten inhabitants has a single-nave, almost windowless Romanesque church with an apse structured by pilaster strips and adorned by an arched frieze running below the eaves . The consoles below the eaves of the nave are also varied. The entire valley can be seen from afar from the wide viewing hatches above the bell storey in the stocky-looking, completely undivided west tower, which was built from precisely carved stone material. The high cemetery wall on the south side of the church reinforces the defensive character of the church.

San Baudelio de Berlanga - Fresco depicting the entry of Christ into Jerusalem

Casillas de Berlanga

• Almost 2 km southeast of the hamlet , which also has only about ten inhabitants, is the hermit church ( ermita ) San Baudelio de Berlanga , which surprises inside with a Mozarabic palmette pillar . The remains of Romanesque frescoes can be seen here, but some of the most interesting motifs (elephant, camel, etc.) were removed between 1922 and 1925 and are now in the most important museums in the USA ( The Cloisters (New York), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Indianapolis Museum of Art ). Others can be seen in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

• 

  Ermita San Baudelio

• 

  Palmette pillars

• 

  Pillars of the grandstand

• 

  Elephant with castle

Surroundings

Other Romanesque churches are also located within the comarca (see web link).

Web links

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

• Romanesque churches in the vicinity of Berlanga - photo + info (Spanish)
• Atalayas etc. in the area of ​​Bordecorex etc. - Photo + Info (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. ↑ Caltojar - map with altitude information
3. ↑ Caltojar - climate tables
4. ↑ Caltojar - population development
5. ↑ Caltojar Church
6. ↑ Caltojar Church
7. ↑ Bordecorex - Church
8. ↑ Bordecorex - Church ( Memento of the original from July 7, 2013 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.