Riofrío (Avila)

Riofrío municipality
Riofrío - town view
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and Leon
Province :	Ávila
Comarca :	Valle de Amblés
Coordinates	40 ° 33 ′  N , 4 ° 47 ′  W Coordinates: 40 ° 33 ′  N , 4 ° 47 ′  W
Height :	1190  msnm
Area :	65.53 km²
Residents :	215 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	3.28 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	05190
Municipality number  ( INE ):	05195
administration
Website :	Riofrío

Riofrío is a place and a Spanish municipality ( municipio ) with 215 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the center of the province of Avila in the autonomous community of Castile and León .

location

The place Riofrío is located on the Río Fortes in the Valle de Amblés on the slopes of the Sierra de Yemas , part of the Iberian Divisional Mountains at an altitude of about 1190 m above sea level. d. M. The city of Ávila is just under 20 km (driving distance) to the northeast. The climate in winter is cool, in summer it is quite warm despite the altitude; the low amounts of precipitation (approx. 440 mm / year) fall - with the exception of the almost rainless summer months - distributed over the whole year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	826	1,120	1,080	315	223

The significant population decline since the 1950s is mainly due to the mechanization of agriculture and the associated loss of jobs.

economy

Agriculture (especially livestock) has traditionally played the largest role in the community's formerly self-sufficient economy. Some plots on the hillside are terraced. Income from tourism in the form of renting out holiday homes ( casas rurales ) was added in the last decades of the 20th century.

history

In the first millennium BC The Valle de Amblés belonged to the settlement area of ​​the Celtic Vettons . Roman , Visigoth and even Arabic-Moorish traces are missing. In the 11th and 12th centuries, the high valley was probably recaptured by the Christians more or less without a fight ( reconquista ) and then repopulated ( repoblación ) .

Attractions

Stone slab footbridge over the Río Guijo

• The unadorned parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción probably dates from the 12th / 13th centuries. Century and is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary ; it is considered the oldest church in the Valle de Amblés. The nave houses three baroque carved altars.
• On the outskirts there is a claw stand (potro de herrar) made of granite stones .
• A stone slab footbridge made of heavy granite stones crosses the Guijo stream .

Web links

Commons : Riofrío, Ávila  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Ríofrio, sights - photos + 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. ↑ Riofrío - Map with altitude information
3. ↑ Riofrío - climate tables
4. ^ Riofrío - population development