Canales de la Sierra

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Canales de la Sierra
Canales de la Sierra - the townscape
Canales de la Sierra - the townscape
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Canales de la Sierra (Spain)
Finland road sign 311 (1994-2020) .svg
Basic data
Autonomous Community : La RiojaLa Rioja La Rioja
Comarca : Anguiano
Coordinates 42 ° 8 ′  N , 3 ° 1 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 8 ′  N , 3 ° 1 ′  W
Height : 1027  msnm
Area : 54.44 km²
Residents : 91 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density : 1.67 inhabitants / km²
Postal code : 26326
Municipality number  ( INE ): 26038
administration
Website : Canales de la Sierra

Canales de la Sierra is a remote, small mountain village and a municipality ( municipio ) belonging to the poorly populated region of the Serranía Celtibérica with 91 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the southwest of the autonomous community of La Rioja in Spain . Since 1986, the entire place has been recognized as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the Conjunto histórico-artístico category .

location

The place Canales de la Sierra is located near the border with the province of Burgos on the upper reaches of the Río Najerilla at an altitude of about 1030  m in the forest and water-rich Sierra de la Demanda Nature Park . The distance to the provincial capital Logroño (approx. 82 km to the northeast) is about the same as to Burgos (approx. 87 km northwest) or to Soria (approx. 97 km southeast). The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 850 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year 1857 1900 1950 2001 2018
Residents 980 802 504 87 85

As a result of the mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting lower demand for labor, the number of inhabitants has declined sharply since the beginning of the 20th century.

economy

The small mountain village was and is largely shaped by agriculture, especially cattle breeding (milk, cheese). In earlier times, the place served as a handicraft and market center for a few - now mostly abandoned - smaller farmhouses and hamlets in the area. Tourism (hiking and holiday apartments) has played an important role as a source of income for the community since the middle of the 20th century.

history

Perhaps also due to the remote location of the place, nothing precise is known about its history - a local tradition leads the place back to Fernán González , the founder of Castile . After all, the presence of four church buildings in the area of ​​the municipality suggests a certain historical-religious significance.

Attractions

Ermita de San Cristóbal (east side)
  • The town's greatest attraction is the Romanesque church Ermita de San Cristóbal , located on a hill, with a small south porch ( portico ) and a square apse slightly loosened up by mostly windowless blind arcades . The entire church building - just like the tower in the northeast corner - is made of precisely hewn stones, which indicates a construction period in the late 12th century. The three arcades and the archivolt portal on the south side are very elaborately designed: the portal shows foliage resting on a narrow beaded rod in the outer arch and a wavy meandering leaf rod in the inner arch. Two set columns, one of which is turned inward ( Solomon's column ) and also the two capitals as well as the fighter plates above show rich decor. The three arcades rest on double columns; Capitals and fighter plates are extraordinarily richly decorated with foliage and figures. The actual church portal also impresses with its balanced proportions and creative stonemasonry with alternating bulge profiles and six-pointed star bars .

  • Ermita de San Cristóbal (south side)

  • Portal of the vestibule

  • Arcades of the vestibule

  • Portal of the Church

Judgment column and walls made of rubble stones
  • The parish church of Santa María is an imposing building from the end of the 16th century with a very high quality portal on the south side. Inside the rectangular apse there is a baroque altarpiece (retablo) with twisted columns and the image of the Assumption of Mary accompanied by putti .
  • Somewhat hidden in the village there is a court column (rollo or picota) as it is preserved in many Castilian places. On a stepped pedestal stands a column shaft composed of four drums, on which a plate rests, which seems to reach out in the four cardinal directions. A cross rises on a cone above.
  • Several of the 16th and 18th century mostly of rubble and simple half-timbered houses built of the place wearing stone coats of arms (Blasones) .
  • A stone bridge leads over the Río Najerilla , from which several irrigation channels formerly branched off, from which the place owes its name.
Surroundings
  • Three hermit chapels (ermitas) are located in the near and far area of ​​the village - San Antonio (1634) is on the outskirts, San Juan (1767) about 4 km south and the Ermita de La Soledad (16th century) is in absolute forest solitude 8 km north.

Web links

Commons : Canales de la Sierra  - 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).
  2. ↑ Canales de la Sierra - population development