Samaniego (Álava)

Samaniego municipality
Place view
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Basque Country
Province :	Álava
Comarca :	Cuadrilla de Laguardia-Rioja Alavesa
Coordinates	42 ° 34 ′  N , 2 ° 41 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 34 ′  N , 2 ° 41 ′  W
Height :	572  msnm
Area :	10.64 km²
Residents :	316 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	29.7 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	01307
Municipality number  ( INE ):	01052
administration
Website :	Samaniego

Samaniego is a town in northern Spain and a municipality ( municipio ) with 316 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Álava in the autonomous community of the Basque Country in northern Spain . The place belongs to the Rioja wine-growing region .

Location and climate

The place Samaniego is located on a hill at an altitude of about 570  m in the southeast of the province of Álava near the border with the autonomous community of La Rioja . The closest major city is Logroño , about 26 km (by car) to the south ; the lovely small town of Laguardia , to which Samaniego belonged until the 17th century, is about 10 km to the east. The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 655 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2018
Residents	624	401	365	312	319

The phylloxera crisis in viticulture, the increasing mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of small farms have led to increased unemployment since the middle of the 19th century and, as a result, many families to migrate to the larger cities ( rural exodus ). The town reached its lowest level of population at 226 in 1981.

economy

In the early centuries, the residents lived as self-sufficiency mainly from the agricultural products of the surrounding area, which also included wine. The increasing importance of viticulture and wine tourism in the Rioja has had a positive effect on employment again in recent decades.

history

Celts , Romans , Visigoths and Moors - despite the proximity to the Ebro Valley - left no archaeologically usable traces on the municipal area. The place probably first arose in the course of recapturing ( reconquista ) and resettlement ( repoblación ) of the occupied territories from the Moors in the 10th and 11th centuries. In 1461, the disputed region between Castile and Navarre was conquered by Henry IV of Castile and finally annexed to the Spanish crown in 1512 by the troops of Ferdinand of Aragon . In 1668 the Spanish King Charles II granted the place self-government.

Attractions

Feldsteinhütte

• The parish church (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción) is a defensive-looking building from the 15th century due to the unadorned west facade and the high windows. The single nave interior contains an imposing late baroque altarpiece (retablo) in the style of Churriguerism .
• Several city ​​palaces (palacios) adorned with coats of arms and equipped with balconies bear witness to the prosperity of some local residents in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Surroundings

• At the entrance to the village is the extremely unadorned and spartan looking Ermita de la Virgen del Valle ; it was completed in 1691. The interior contains three altarpieces.
• The Ermita del Cristo from the 18th century is a similarly barren building with a small bell gable (espadaña) above the unadorned south portal.
• A few preserved stone huts in the vineyards are a reminder of the need to guard the grapes shortly before the harvest in earlier times.
• The Dolmen de Layaza is one of several megalithic tombs in the area.

Web links

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

• Samaniego, sights - photos + information (Spanish)
• Samaniego, Tourism - Photos + Info (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. ↑ Samaniego - population development
3. ↑ Samaniego - story
4. ↑ Samaniego - Dolmen de Layaza