Monasterio de la Sierra

Municipality of Monasterio de la Sierra
Monasterio de la Sierra - Church and townscape
coat of arms	Map of Spain
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Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Burgos
Comarca :	Sierra de la Demanda (Comarca)
Coordinates	42 ° 3 ′  N , 3 ° 12 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 3 ′  N , 3 ° 12 ′  W
Height :	1160  msnm
Area :	5.89 km²
Residents :	44 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	7.47 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	09613
Municipality number  ( INE ):	09223
administration
Website :	Monasterio de la Sierra

Monasterio de la Sierra is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) belonging to the poorly populated region of Serranía Celtibérica with a total of only 44 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the northern Spanish province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile and León .

Location and climate

The place Monasterio de la Sierra lies above the Río Arlanza on the western edge of the Sierra de la Demanda at an altitude of about 1160  m . The provincial capital, Burgos, is a good 70 km to the northwest; the small town of Salas de los Infantes is only about 14 km southwest. The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 550 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2018
Residents	279	270	284	40	44

The significant population decline since the 1950s is mainly due to the mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting lack of jobs in the countryside and especially in the mountain regions.

economy

The basis of the self-sufficiency economy has always been cattle breeding ( sheep and goats ); agriculture ( barley and wheat ) only played a subordinate role. A long-life cheese was made from the milk of the animals, which could sometimes be sold in the markets of distant cities. The same applies to sheep's wool , which, however, was also required for the manufacture of one's own clothing; ropes, etc. were woven from the goat hair. In the meantime, day and weekend tourism and the rental of holiday homes (casas rurales) play an important role in the economic life of the municipality.

history

There are no finds from the Celtic , Roman , Visigothic and even Islamic-Moorish times. The area originally used as summer pasture was probably recaptured ( reconquista ) by Count Diego Rodríguez Porcelos at the end of the 9th century ; their repopulation ( repoblación ) was mainly carried out by Christians from the Basque Country .

Attractions

Blacksmith with claw stand (potro de herrar)

• The local parish church (Iglesia de San Pedro) is dedicated to the Apostle Peter and dates from the 16th / 17th centuries. Century. It has only one nave, but has several carved figures from the 16th to 19th centuries. Century. There are three medieval sarcophagi on the outside wall of the church .
• The Ermita de San Cosme y San Damián is located on the northern outskirts.
• On the outskirts there is a forge with a wooden claw stand (potro de herrar) .

Surroundings

• The Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de los Lirios de Alveinte (or just Convento de Alveinte ), which gave the place its name, was a Franciscan monastery founded in 1440 ; it fell victim to the dissolution of the monasteries under Juan Álvarez Mendizábal in 1835 . It is located approx. 4 km (as the crow flies) west of the village in the valley of the Río Arlanza, but can only be reached on an approx. 12 km long circular hiking trail around the 1358 m high Monte San Vicente .
• A rock formation called El Castillejo rises on a nearby hilltop.

Web links

Commons : Monasterio de la Sierra  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Monasterio de la Sierra - Photos + Info (wikiburgos, 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. ↑ Monasterio de la Sierra - population development
3. ↑ Monasterio de la Sierra - Church
4. ↑ Hike to the Convento de Alveinte
5. ↑ Hike to Castillejo