Palenzuela

Palenzuela municipality
	Palenzuela - town view
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Palencia
Comarca :	El Cerrato
Coordinates	42 ° 6 ′ N , 4 ° 8 ′ W Coordinates: 42 ° 6 ′ N , 4 ° 8 ′ W
Height :	800 msnm
Area :	77.2 km²
Residents :	206 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	2.67 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	34257
Municipality number ( INE ):	34121
administration
Website :	Palenzuela

Palenzuela - Iglesia de Santa Eulalia

Palenzuela is a place and a northern Spanish municipality (municipio) with only 206 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile-León .

Location and climate

The place Palenzuela lies on a hill above the Río Arlanza in the old Castilian Meseta at an altitude of approx. 800 m . The provincial capital Palencia is about 41 km (driving distance) to the southwest; the cities of Burgos and Valladolid are approx. 54 km to the northeast and 80 km to the south-west, respectively. The climate in winter is cool, in summer, despite the altitude, it is temperate to warm; Precipitation (approx. 500 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2018
Residents	1,120	1,177	1,280	318	211

The significant population decline that has been observed since the middle of the 20th century is essentially due to the mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of small farms and the resulting loss of jobs ( rural exodus ).

economy

In earlier times, the residents of the place and the entire region lived almost without exception as self-sufficient on the yields of their fields and house gardens; viticulture and cattle breeding were also practiced. Centuries ago, small traders, craftsmen and service providers of all kinds settled in the town itself, but they have since given up their business. Today Palenzuela is part of the Arlanza (DO) wine-growing region .

history

The origins of the place possibly lead back to the Celtic tribe of the Vaccaei - at least a Celtiberian necropolis was found nearby . From the 2nd century BC The Roman influence became stronger and stronger; the place name Pallantia has been handed down by several ancient historians. However , there are no traces from the Visigothic period . The place only becomes more historically comprehensible with the construction of a Moorish castle in the early 9th century; towards the end of the century the Asturian King Alfonso III conquered . as part of the Reconquista the region. In the following years the Moorish area of influence was shifted more and more to the south. In the 15th century, the administrative area of the Merindad de Cerrato emerged with Palenzuela as the main town.

Attractions

Palenzuela - Iglesia de San Juan Bautista

The ruins of the Castillo de Palenzuela are the oldest surviving evidence of local history. It was probably in the early 9th century in from the Moors and the Berbers preferred Stampflehmtechnik built. The numerous scaffold holes that can still be recognized are indications of this.
The Iglesia de San Juan Bautista was built between the 14th and 17th centuries on the site of a previous building; the long construction time is explained by the collapse of the bell tower (campanario) , in which large parts of the nave (nave) were also destroyed. Today the church is a three-aisled hall church with star vaults . Several baroque carved altars are worth seeing .
The late Gothic church of Santa Eulalia is dedicated to the early Christian martyr and saint Eulalia of Mérida ; it served as a parish church until the 19th century. Their structural condition was, however, questionable and so the parish was merged with that of San Juan Bautista in 1844 and the entire church furniture was moved there. The vaults collapsed towards the end of the century.
In front of the city gates was the - today largely ruined - Franciscan convent (Convento de San Francisco) , in which a meeting of the Cortes was held in 1425 .

Web links

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

Palenzuela, sights - short 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] Palenzuela - climate tables

[3] Palenzuela - population development

[4] Palenzuela - History

[5] Palenzuela - Castle

[6] Palenzuela - Castle

[7] Palenzuela - Church of San Juan Bautista

[8] Palenzuela - Church of Santa Eulalia

[9] Palenzuela - Church of Santa Eulalia

[10] Palenzuela - Convento de San Francisco