Montemayor del Río
| Montemayor del Río municipality | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Montemayor del Río - town view with church and castle
|
|||
| coat of arms | Map of Spain | ||
|
|
||
| Basic data | |||
| Autonomous Community : | Castile and Leon | ||
| Province : | Salamanca | ||
| Comarca : | Sierra de Béjar | ||
| Coordinates | 40 ° 21 ′ N , 5 ° 54 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 677 msnm | ||
| Area : | 15.30 km² | ||
| Residents : | 263 (Jan. 1, 2019) | ||
| Population density : | 17.19 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Postal code : | 37727 | ||
| Municipality number ( INE ): | 37201 | ||
| administration | |||
| Website : | Montemayor del Río | ||
Montemayor del Río is a place and a municipality ( municipio ) with 263 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the south of the Spanish province of Salamanca in the autonomous region of Castile-León . The place is classified as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the conjunto histórico-artístico category.
location
The place Montemayor del Río is about 18 kilometers southwest of Béjar on the river Cuerpo de Hombre at an altitude of about 675 meters above sea level. d. The surrounding area is rather mountainous to hilly and is characterized by cattle breeding and agriculture. The city of Salamanca is approximately 89 kilometers to the north; Closer is the city of Plasencia, only 68 kilometers southwest in the Extremadura region .
Population development
| year | 1960 | 1970 | 1981 | 1991 | 2000 | 2014 | 2018 |
| Residents | 810 | 561 | 447 | 356 | 377 | 299 | 266 |
In the 19th century the place had mostly between 700 and 1000 inhabitants; The mechanization of agriculture in the 20th century led to a loss of jobs in the countryside and to a continued migration from rural regions to medium-sized and large cities.
history
Probably the first to have a permanent settlement in the area of today's municipality were members of the Celtic tribe of the Vettones (around 400 BC). Around 138 BC The region was conquered by the Romans , but neither Roman nor Visigoth and Moorish- Islamic finds have been made so far. In the late 11th century it was by Alfonso VI. recaptured by León ( reconquista ) and repopulated with Christians from the north ( repoblación ); many villages were fortified with castles and city walls, but no further Moorish incursions took place. In 1282 Montemayor belonged to the manor ( señorio ) of the Infante Pedro de Castilla , who died the following year, so that his inheritance fell to his only legitimate son Sancho, who held it until his death in 1312 - afterwards the territory of the Leonese Crown too.
Attractions
- The main attraction of Montemayor is the imposing castle from the 14th / 15th centuries. Century, whose small portal is flanked by two small semicircular defense towers. Its otherwise open inner courtyard is surrounded by small exhibition and administration rooms in which the Centro de Interpretación del Medievo is housed. The flat roofs of the rooms on the ground floor offer a beautiful view of the town.
- The parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is a single-nave building from the 13th / 14th centuries. Century, which is spanned by an open roof truss ; the polygonally broken apse , on the other hand, is vaulted with ribs . The apse contains an altar retable from 1552 with panels depicting the life of Mary, in which the birth and death of Christ are embedded as marginal episodes. The carved wooden frame shows Renaissance forms .
- A former court pillar ( rollo or picota ) from the late Renaissance stands today in the middle of a well basin in the center of the village. It can also be seen as a symbol of the independence of the place; the town hall ( casa consistorial ) is located in the vicinity .
- A hermit chapel ( Ermita de San Antonío ) and a stone wayside cross on a stepped round base are located in the immediate vicinity of the arch bridge over the Río Cuerpo de Hombre - such ensembles have been preserved several times in the rural regions of Spain (e.g. in Plasencia ).
Web links
- Montemayor del Río, place - photos + information (Spanish)
- Montemayor del Río, castle - photos + info (spanish)
- Montemayor del Río, church - photos + info (Spanish)
- Montemayor del Río, hermit chapel and bridge - photos + information (Spanish)
- Montemayor del Río, Pillar of Judgment - Photos + information (Spanish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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).