Coria

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Coria (disambiguation) .

Coria municipality
Coria - town view with cathedral and castle tower
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Extremadura
Province :	Cáceres
Comarca :	Vegas del Alagón
Coordinates	39 ° 59 ′  N , 6 ° 32 ′  W Coordinates: 39 ° 59 ′  N , 6 ° 32 ′  W
Height :	270  msnm
Area :	103.46 km²
Residents :	12,478 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	120.61 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	10800
Municipality number  ( INE ):	10067
administration
Website :	Coria

Coria is a historically significant western Spanish city ​​and municipality ( municipio ) with 12,478 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Cáceres in the autonomous region of Extremadura . The city has been a bishopric since 1152 . The old town center was classified as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the category Conjunto histórico-artístico in 1993 .

location

Coria is located on a strategically important hill above the Río Alagón at an altitude of approx. 260 to 280  m . The city of Plasencia is about 37 km (driving distance) east and the provincial capital Cáceres is about 74 km south. The climate is rather dry and warm; Rain (approx. 520 mm / year) falls almost without exception in the autumn and winter months.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	1,635	3,142	5,368	12,540	12,729

The increase in the population of the place is mainly due to the immigration of former agricultural workers and smallholders affected by the mechanization of agriculture.

economy

As early as the Middle Ages, agriculture and animal husbandry formed the basis of livelihood for a largely self-sufficient population. In addition, the small town served to a large extent as a handicraft and trading center for the surrounding villages. In the meantime, two industrial zones (polígonos industriales) have been designated in which small businesses have settled; in addition, the small town functions as a health, training, administrative and service center for the Comarca Vegas de Alagón .

history

The banks of the Río Alagón have been a passage and hunting area for humans and animals since prehistory and early history. The first tribe to settle on the hill and known by name were the Vettones , who called the place Caura and in the 2nd and 3rd . 1st century BC Were subjugated by the Romans. On the orders of the consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius , the settlement was renamed Castrum Caecilium Cauriensis or Caurium for short ; it belonged to the province of Lusitania . The city was already a bishopric under the Visigoths , but the Muslim invaders, who renamed the place Qüriya, put an end to it.

Castle ( castillo )

King Alfonso VI von León recaptured the place in 1079, but around 1113 it fell back into the hands of the Berber Almoravids . Another Christian reconquest ( reconquista ) took place in 1142 under Alfonso VII. At this time, the Moorish geographer Al-Idrisi († 1166) described the area as fertile (grapes and figs) and the fortress walls as strong. The strategically important place was re-conquered by the Moors ( Almohads ) in 1174 and around 1190 before finally falling to Castile around 1200 . In the Middle Ages the city changed landlords ( señor ) several times until it finally came to the house of the Dukes of Alba .

On November 1, 1755, the Lisbon earthquake also caused severe damage in Coria - the course of the Río Alagón shifted several hundred meters and the spire of the cathedral collapsed; many people died and many houses were damaged.

Attractions

• The history of the almost completely preserved city walls ( murallas ) of Coria goes back to the late Roman period, but their current state largely dates from the late Middle Ages.
• The castle ( castillo ) with its approximately 30 meter high keep ( torre de homenaje ) built on a square floor plan was built in the years 1472–78 on the orders of the Dukes of Alba.

cathedral

• The single-nave Cathedral of Santa María de la Asunción replaced a previous building in the 15th century, the simple cloister (claustro) of which has still been preserved, but its current appearance largely dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. The upper floor of the bell tower (campanario) with its dome and lantern was renovated in the 18th century under the direction of the architect Manuel de Lara Churriguera . The apse-free building has two portals - a late Gothic north portal with later additions and a smaller Plateresque double portal in the west with scenes from the area around the birth of Christ . The nave has no side chapels and is covered by a late Gothic star vault . The furnishings are among the richest that a Spanish cathedral has to offer - there are baroque carved altars and tombs as well as an abundance of statues and paintings. For Central Europeans the large inner choir ( coro ) , which takes up a large part of the nave and makes it impossible for many believers to see what is happening at the altar , is surprising ; It contains a late Gothic choir stalls (sillería) that are well worth seeing .
• The cathedral museum is located in the former cloister. a. shown the tablecloth of the Lord's Supper .

• 

  Bell tower and north portal

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  North portal

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  West facade

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  West portal (detail)

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  Inner choir (coro)

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  Main altar

• The elongated bishop's palace (palacio episcopal) has a portal worth seeing with a stone bishop's coat of arms ; the upper floor is provided with balcony windows. The building now serves as a hotel.
• The local Franciscan convent (Convento de la Madre de Dios) was founded in the 13th century; However, today's buildings date from the 14th to 16th centuries and their furnishings are baroque. The Renaissance cloister is well worth seeing , in which a small museum is housed with pictures and figures - including a work by Pedro Machuca .
• The Iglesia de Santiago has a late baroque bell gable (espadaña) ; it is also a work by Manuel de Lara Churriguera.
• Other buildings are the prison (carcel real) , the town hall (ayuntamiento) in the Plaza Mayor , the Palace of the Dukes of Alba, a medieval bridge, the Hospital San Nicolas de Bari and the like. v. a.

Surroundings

• The comparatively large hermit church (Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Argeme) stands on the outskirts of the Puebla de Argeme district, about 5 km to the east, and dates from the 17th century; its late baroque altarpiece (retablo) is a work of the 18th century. The statue of the Virgen de Argeme is carried once a year during a procession through the streets of the village.

Web links

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

• Coria, history and sights - photos + information (Spanish)
• Coria, castle and cathedral - photos + information (Spanish)
• Coria Cathedral - Photos + Info (Wikipedia, 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. ^ Coria - map with altitude information
3. ↑ Coria - climate tables
4. ↑ Coria - population development
5. ^ Coria - Economy
6. ↑ Coria - Cathedral
7. ↑ Coria - Cathedral
8. ^ Coria - Cathedral Museum