Carrascosa de Abajo

Carrascosa de Abajo municipality
Carrascosa de Abajo - Iglesia de San Pedro
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Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Soria
Comarca :	Comarca de Caracena
Coordinates	41 ° 25 ′  N , 3 ° 5 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 25 ′  N , 3 ° 5 ′  W
Height :	1023  msnm
Area :	23.55 km²
Residents :	21 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	0.89 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	42231
Municipality number  ( INE ):	42053
administration
Website :	Carrascosa de Abajo

Carrascosa de Abajo refers to an almost deserted place and a municipality ( municipio ) with only 21 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the southwest of the province of Soria in the autonomous community of Castile-León . The hamlet of Pozuelo , which has been abandoned for years, also belongs to the municipality . The Catholic parish belongs to the Diocese of Osma-Soria .

Location and climate

The place Carrascosa de Abajo is not far from the Río Caracena , which swells after prolonged or heavy rainfall, in the mountainous landscape in the southwest of the province of Soria at an altitude of approx. 1020  m . The distance to the northeastern provincial capital Soria is approx. 78 km (driving distance). The historically and culturally significant small towns of El Burgo de Osma and San Esteban de Gormaz are only about 21 km to the north and 23 km to the northwest. The mountain village of Caracena, which is well worth seeing , is only about 5 km south. The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 500 mm / year) falls over the year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	301	337	327	39	23

The increasing mechanization of agriculture and the resulting loss of jobs contributed to a large extent to the significant decline in the population in the second half of the 20th century.

economy

For centuries the community lived exclusively from growing grain ( barley and wheat ), which was mainly operated for self-sufficiency ; livestock farming ( sheep , goats , chickens ) also took place to a small extent. The neighboring town of Caracena in particular served as a mercantile, artisanal and cultural center for the villages, hamlets and farmsteads in its vicinity, which have now mostly disappeared. Today agriculture still plays the most important role, but there is also marginal income from tourism (rental of holiday homes).

history

After the Arab-Moorish conquest , large areas in the north of the Iberian Peninsula were depopulated . In the 10th century began under the Castilian Count Gonzalo Téllez in the second half of the 11th century under Alfonso VI. Complete reconquest ( reconquista ) of Old Castile , which culminated in the capture of the city of Toledo, about 200 kilometers further south-west, in 1085. During this time, Carrascosa was repopulated ( repoblación ) by settlers from the Christian north .

Attractions

Stump of a windmill

• The local parish church (Iglesia de San Pedro) is an unadorned building from the 17th century , with the exception of the corner stones made of rubble stones (mampostería) , which was built in place of a dilapidated Romanesque church, from which only the stone baptismal font and a carved one remain Marienfigur are preserved. The west side is raised by a bell gable (espadaña) ; the entrance is - as usual in the region - on the south side.
• In the vicinity of the place there is a medieval bridge and the remains of a windmill and several round pigeon houses (palomares) with sloping roofs. In addition, there are some cellars ( bodegas ) dug backwards into the rock interspersed with earth , in which there was an almost constant temperature of around 10 to 15 ° C in summer and winter.
• A watchtower ( atalaya ) from Moorish times is also in a very poor state of preservation.
• There is a stalactite cave (Cueva de los Niños) near the entrance to the village .

Web links

Commons : Carrascosa de Abajo  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Carrascosa de Abajo, church and place - photo video
• Carrascosa de Abajo, history, architecture and nature - 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. ↑ Carrascosa de Abajo - climate tables
3. ↑ Carrascosa de Abajo - population development