Sahagún
| Sahagún municipality | |||
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_S_Tirso_2_1_0_Abside_DSC_6313.png) Sahagún - Iglesia San Tirso
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| coat of arms | Map of Spain | ||
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| Basic data | |||
| Autonomous Community : |
 Castile and León
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| Province : | Leon | ||
| Comarca : | Tierra de Sahagún | ||
| Coordinates | 42 ° 22 ′ N , 5 ° 2 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 822 msnm | ||
| Area : | 123.64 km² | ||
| Residents : | 2,493 (Jan 1, 2019) | ||
| Population density : | 20.16 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Postal code : | 24320 | ||
| Municipality number ( INE ): | 24139 | ||
| administration | |||
| Website : | Sahagún | ||
Sahagún is a small town and capital of a municipality ( municipio ) with 2,493 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) on the Camino de Santiago in the province of León in the autonomous community of Castile and León . The place name is a polished and contracted form of Sanctus Facundus , which came to its current form via Santfagund and a consonant change in Spanish - f to h.
Geographical location
Sahagún lies at an altitude of about 820 meters above sea level. d. M. at a medieval bridge over the Río Cea on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in the south of the old Castilian province of León . The provincial capital León is about 58 km (driving distance) to the northwest; the small town of Carrión de los Condes , also located on the Way of St. James, is just under 39 km to the east. The climate in winter is quite cold, but in summer it is warm to hot; the sparse rainfall (approx. 520 mm / year) falls throughout the year.
history
Sahagún is believed to be the successor to the Roman settlement of Camala . In the 3rd century, the Christian martyrs Facundus and Primitivus were martyred here, who, according to later tradition, were the sons of the Roman centurion Marcelo and his wife Nonia, both also martyrs and venerated in León (Church of San Marcelo, Pl. Santo Domingo) should. In 872 a monastery was founded in honor of the two martyrs, but it was destroyed again in 873; after the reconstruction, another destruction by Almansor took place at the end of the 10th century.
The most important group within the monastery were Mozarab monks who had fled from Moorish Cordoba . Alfonso VI von Castile , who was brought up here and later also buried, made it the "Spanish Cluny " in 1068 and from here implemented his church reform and the Roman liturgy .
Numerous ecclesiastical dignitaries throughout Spanish history come from the Sahagún monastery. For example, Bernard de Sedirac was abbot of the monastery before he was appointed bishop of the newly conquered city of Toledo in 1085 .
In 1085, a market town was founded on the basis of an already existing small settlement , which, with royal privileges , was very attractive to pilgrims: Gascon, Bretons, Germans, English, Burgundians, Normans, Toulouse, Provençals, Lombards are settled as called new place. In 1085 the bridge over the Rio Cea was also built, which is still in use and leads to the meadow of 40,000 lances . The place was fortified so that a mighty wall around the various quarters of the Castilians, Franks , Moors and Jews is described for the 12th century .
Thanks to royal gifts from Alfonso VI. and his successors became Sahagún, the most powerful abbey on the Camino Francés , which minted its own coins. Their possessions ( including the jurisdiction ) stretched from Guadarrama to the Cantabrian Sea , and the abbey also included 50 to 100 dependent priories , an important scriptorium and a large pilgrimage hostel . Contemporary witnesses report 60 beds, a grain supply of 2000 Fanegas wheat = 111,000 l = 111 m³ and the Cuba de Sahagún , the famous huge wine barrel of Sahagún.
The decline of the monastery began at the latest when the Catholic kings decided to promote the monastery of San Benito in Valladolid , Sahagún became dependent on this monastery and lost importance and privileges. Peasant uprisings contributed to the decline. Despite the decline, there was a university teaching institution until the 18th century. Two fires and secularization put an end to the revival and left the monastery in ruins that only reflect a dull reflection of its past.
Population development
| year | 1842 | 1900 | 1950 | 2000 | 2016 |
| Residents | 2,403 | 2,760 | 3,498 | 3.112 | 2,645 |
From the first census in Spain in 1842 to 1930, the population of the municipality, which still includes around ten small villages and hamlets, has remained constant between around 2,500 and 3,000 people. This was followed by an increase to around 3,700 inhabitants, but meanwhile the population development has leveled off again at the previous level.
Attractions
In addition to the ruins of the former monastery, you can see excellent examples of Mudejar brick architecture in Sahagún . One of the reasons for this accumulation is the lack of natural stone in the region. The low weight of the bricks made high crossing towers possible. Other characteristics of Mudejar architecture can also be observed here, such as round, pointed or horseshoe-shaped blind arches, towers with several decorative window zones, brick patterns (diamonds etc.) and, in the interior, artesonado coffered ceilings and ornamented tiles ( azulejos ).
Iglesia San Tirso
The Romanesque church of the late 12th century has three naves, the naves end in semicircular apses . Above the crossing stands the magnificent bell tower ( campanario ) with its three-story window zone. The change from natural stone to brick can be clearly seen in the central apse. San Tirso is the earliest (preserved) brick building in the region.
San Lorenzo Church
The Church is first mentioned in a document from 1110; but it certainly concerns a previous building. Today's basilica church was built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries in the Gothic-Mudejar style: its four-storey crossing tower is perhaps even more imposing than that of San Tirso . The three naves separated by arcades end in tiered apses. The old Morisko and Jewish quarters used to meet at the location of the church .
Monastery church of the Virgen Peregrina
The church of "Virgin as a pilgrim" was built from 1257 and belonged to the former Franciscan - Convention . The name refers to the Virgin Mary dressed as a pilgrim who is said to have appeared here. Her figure, “La Roldana”, had its place in this church for a long time and is now in the Museum of the Madre Benedictinas .
Some characteristics of the Mudejar can be seen in the outer shape : a brick building with blind arches that are designed in the shape of a horseshoe, plus brick friezes as architectural decoration. In the 18th century a two-story gallery was added to the southern outer wall.
Inside, the church presents itself with a nave, divided into five bays , simple Franciscan. In the choir, the so-called Roman embrace is shown in a domed vaulted ceiling , symbolizing the brotherhood between Franciscans and Benedictines.
In the 14th century chapels and thus Gothic elements were added. The funerary chapel of Don Diego Gómez de Sandoval protrudes from these chapels, the walls of which are decorated with Mudejar plaster work. It is located in the last third of the northern wall.
economy
Agriculture has always played the most important role for the population of the region; Due to the favorable location on the Way of St. James, handicrafts and trade developed. In the second half of the 20th century the tourism sector became very important as a source of income for the place.
Personalities
- Bernardino de Sahagún , father of modern anthropology
- Pedro Ponce de León , pioneer of deaf-mute education
literature
- Míllan Bravo Lozano: Practical pilgrim guide. The Camino de Santiago. Editorial Everest, Léon 1994, ISBN 84-241-3835-X .
- Helmut Domke: Spain's north, the way to Santiago. 5th edition. Prestel-Verlag, Munich 1985, ISBN 3-7913-0280-9 .
- Werner Schäfke : Northwest Spain. 3. Edition. Dumont Buchverlag, Cologne 1989, ISBN 3-7701-1589-9 .
- Heinz Schomann: Art Monuments of the Iberian Peninsula, Part 2 - Central Spain. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1997 DNB 997648082 .
- Ulrich Wegner: The Spanish Way of St. James. Dumont, Cologne 1995, ISBN 3-7701-3415-X .
Web links
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).
- ↑ Sahagún - Map with altitude information
- ↑ Sahagún - Climate tables
- ^ Sahagún - population development
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