Calzada de Valdunciel

Calzada de Valdunciel parish
Calzada de Valdunciel - Iglesia de Santa Elena
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and Leon
Province :	Salamanca
Comarca :	La Armuña
Coordinates	41 ° 5 ′  N , 5 ° 42 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 5 ′  N , 5 ° 42 ′  W
Height :	800  msnm
Area :	20.03 km²
Residents :	703 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	35.1 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	37797
Municipality number  ( INE ):	37073
administration
Website :	Calzada de Valdunciel

Calzada de Valdunciel is a place and a western Spanish municipality ( municipio ) with 703 inhabitants (at January 1, 2019) in the province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon . The place was located on the ancient trade route Via de la Plata , which now forms a branch of the Camino de Santiago that comes from the south ( Seville , Mérida , Cáceres , Salamanca ) and joins the main route at León or Astorga .

Location and climate

The place Calzada de Valdunciel is located in the Castilian plateau (meseta) approx. 14 km (driving distance) north of the provincial capital Salamanca at an altitude of approx. 800  m . The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 395 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	885	921	1,016	659	666

The significant population decline since the 1950s is mainly due to the mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of small farms and the associated loss of jobs.

economy

The fertile but dry soils in the area provided the basis for the cultivation of wheat and other crops for the inhabitants, who in earlier times lived mainly as self-sufficient . Traders, craftsmen and service providers of all kinds gradually settled in the town itself.

history

Celtic and Visigoth finds have not yet been made; However, several Roman milestones (miliaria) and a grave monument were discovered in the municipality . The region was overrun by the Arabs and their Moorish auxiliaries in the 8th century ; However, there is no archaeological evidence. The area around Calzada was at the end of the 11th century by the Castilian - Leonese troops of Alfonso VI. (ruled 1065–1109) recaptured from the hands of the Moors ( reconquista ) and successively repopulated by Christians from the north and by refugees from Al-Andalus ( repoblación ) .

Calzada - Roman milestones

Attractions

• The Fuente Buena is the remains of an ancient funerary monument; a reclining female figure can still be seen.
• The broken remains of several Roman milestones found in the municipality are exhibited in a square at the exit of the village, which were misappropriated in the Middle Ages and used as bridge piers .
• The Iglesia de Santa Elena was built in the 16th century on the site of a previous medieval building, of which small remains have been preserved. The triumphal arched vestibule of the entrance portal was added in the 18th century. Nave (nature) and vestibule are covered wood; the late Baroque altarpiece (retablo) in the style of Churriguerism also dates from the 18th century.

Web links

Commons : Calzada de Valdunciel  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Calzada de Valdunciel, sights - photos + information (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. ↑ Calzada de Valdunciel - Climate tables
3. ↑ Calzada de Valdunciel - population development
4. ↑ Calzada de Valdunciel - Church