Cuéllar (Segovia)

Cuéllar municipality
	Cuéllar - Castillo
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Segovia
Comarca :	Tierra de Pinares
Coordinates	41 ° 24 ′ N , 4 ° 19 ′ W Coordinates: 41 ° 24 ′ N , 4 ° 19 ′ W
Height :	860 msnm
Area :	273.33 km²
Residents :	9,583 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	35.06 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	40200
Municipality number ( INE ):	40063
administration
Website :	Cuéllar

Cuéllar is a small town and a municipality (municipio) with 9,583 inhabitants (as of 2019) in the province of Segovia in the autonomous community of Castile-León in central Spain . The city is known for its numerous historical buildings from the late Middle Ages and the early modern period, which have led to its recognition as a national cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the conjunto histórico-artístico category.

Location and climate

The place Cuéllar lies on an approximately 60 m high clay and stone plateau in the otherwise largely flat Castilian Meseta about halfway between the cities of Valladolid and Segovia at an altitude of about 830 to 870 m . The climate is temperate to warm; With the exception of the dry summer months, rain (approx. 430 mm / year) falls over the year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	3,617	4.064	6,743	9,044	9,524

The mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting loss of jobs in the countryside have led to a continuous increase in urban population since the middle of the 19th century. The municipality also includes 9 hamlets (pedanias) , but most of them are already deserted ( despoblado ) ; the largest is Torregutiérrez with about 80 inhabitants.

economy

Cuéllar and its surrounding area are traditionally oriented towards agriculture and were a center of textile manufacture in the Middle Ages and the early modern period ; Small traders, craftsmen and service providers of all kinds settled in the place. Today, in addition to agriculture and viticulture, tourism - mainly in the form of renting out holiday apartments (casas rurales) - plays a not insignificant economic role.

history

Bronze Age and Iron Age ( Celtic ) sites were discovered in the municipality , but there are no archaeologically usable traces of the Romans , Visigoths and even the Arabs and Moors . The 10th century was marked by armed conflicts between the Kingdom of León, allied with the county of Castile , and the Moors; after the battle of Simancas , the Christians were able to extend their sphere of influence to the banks of the Duero . However, the situation cleared up definitively in favor of the Christians after the reconquest ( reconquista ) of Segovia and Toledo in the year 1085th

A founding date of Cuéllar is not known, but the Comunidad de Villa y Tierra de Cuéllar was set up in the 12th century and an assembly of estates ( cortes ) met here as early as 1184 . King Alfonso X. of Castile (r. 1252–1284) promoted the place considerably and made it a center of cattle breeding and the wool and cloth production. In 1297 another meeting of the estates took place in Cuéllar at the invitation of the queen's mother Maria de Molina . In 1354 the city saw the marriage between Peter I of Castile and Juana de Castro. In 1444 Cuéllar came into the possession of Álvaro de Luna , one of the most powerful men of the time, and in 1455 the Cortes were again convened in Cuéllar by Henry IV of Castile . Nine years later (1464) the king enfeoffed his favorite Beltrán de la Cueva , whom he had made " Duke of Alburquerque ", with the city, whose castle-like palace still belongs to his descendants.

Attractions

Half-timbered buildings in Cuéllar

Convento de Santa Clara

Iglesia de Torregutiérrez

The Castillo , first mentioned in 1306, rises at the highest point of the place. On the outside it gives the impression of a medieval castle ( moat , round towers , battlements, etc.), but inside it was expanded in parts like a palace after its transfer to Beltrán de la Cueva. Today the rooms serve as a museum.

The remains of the former city walls (murallas) and above all the Puerta de San Martín also deserve attention.

There are several half-timbered houses in the old town.

The main City Palace Cuéllar is the Palacio Pedro I .

The choir area , built in the 13th century, as well as the south side and the facade of the Iglesia de San Andrés are among the masterpieces of the Mudejar style in the province of Segovia. Most of the interior of the church was baroque in the 18th century.

Only the magnificent apse of the Iglesia de San Esteban has been preserved in its original form.

The Iglesia de Santa María de la Cuesta has a Romanesque apse, a high, ornamentless bell tower (campanario) in the Mudejar style. The baroque nave still hides a Romanesque font (pila) .

Only the bell tower of the Iglesia de Santa Marina , which already existed in the 13th century, is preserved.

The church of the former Franciscan monastery (Monasterio de San Francisco) , built around 1500, is also just a ruin.

The three-story choir area of the Iglesia de San Martín is of particular interest. Parts of the Mudejar architecture have also been preserved inside.

The 15th / 16th The Gothic Iglesia de San Pedro , built in the 19th century, is largely made of natural stone; The apse solution with several deep blind arcades is interesting . The nave is star vaulted and served as a flour mill in the 19th century.

The Iglesia de El Salvador was built around 1300. The Mudéjar apse was later stabilized with wide buttresses .

From the Iglesia de Santiago , only the Mudejar apse outside and inside is well preserved.

The late Gothic-Baroque nave of the Convento de Santa Clara with its numerous altar retables (retablos) is a gem.

The town hall, built in the 18th century, has an inner courtyard with a surrounding half-timbered gallery .

Surroundings

The Santuario de Nuestra Señora del Henar , about five kilometers northwest of the village, is an important regional pilgrimage site. The church and cloister (claustro) are worth seeing .
The church in the hamlet of Torregutiérrez is also worth a visit.
The Puente de Barrancales is a historic pedestrian bridge.