San Felices de los Gallegos

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San Felices de los Gallegos municipality
San Felices de los Gallegos - Keep (Torre del Homenaje)
San Felices de los Gallegos - Keep ( Torre del Homenaje )
coat of arms Map of Spain
Coat of arms of San Felices de los Gallegos
San Felices de los Gallegos (Spain)
Finland road sign 311 (1994-2020) .svg
Basic data
Autonomous Community : Castile and Leon
Province : Salamanca
Comarca : El Abadengo
Coordinates 40 ° 51 ′  N , 6 ° 42 ′  W Coordinates: 40 ° 51 ′  N , 6 ° 42 ′  W
Height : 667  msnm
Area : 81.43 km²
Residents : 395 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density : 4.85 inhabitants / km²
Postal code : 37270
Municipality number  ( INE ): 37285
administration
Website : www.sanfelicesdelosgallegos.es

San Felices de los Gallegos is a northwestern Spanish municipality ( municipio ) in the province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon .

location

San Felices de los Gallegos is located in the west of the province of Salamanca near the border with Portugal at an altitude of about 670 meters above sea level. d. M. in the south of the rocky landscape of the Arribes del Duero Natural Park . The provincial capital Salamanca is about 106 kilometers (driving distance) in an easterly direction; the historically and architecturally significant city of Ciudad Rodrigo is 37 kilometers south-east.

Population development

year 1950 1960 1970 1981 1991 2000 2018
Residents 1598 1501 1109 761 671 645 413

In the first half of the 20th century, the place had between 1500 and 1750 inhabitants. As a result of job losses due to the mechanization of agriculture , the population has since fallen to its current low.

economy

Agriculture (agriculture, viticulture and cattle breeding) traditionally plays the largest role in the economic life of the municipality. Income from tourism in the form of renting out holiday homes ( casas rurales ) has increased over the last few decades.

history

Before the arrival of the Romans in the 2nd century BC Tribal groups of the Celtic tribe of the Vettons settled here ; in the time of Roman rule the area belonged to the province of Lusitania . After the largely bloodless recapture ( reconquista ) from the hands of the Moors and the repopulation ( repoblación ) of the almost deserted mountain region in the 11th and 12th centuries, the area was disputed for centuries between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Kingdom of León (later the Kingdom of Castile ) . However, the Castilian kings handed the area over to individual landlords ( señores ) around 1340 , who from then on took over the border security until the Catholic kings Ferdinand and Isabella transferred it to the dukes of Alba in the 15th century .

Attractions

Gate tower
  • The keep ( torre de homenaje ) on the outskirts reminds - like the one in the neighboring town of Sobradillo - of the time of the border conflicts with Portugal. It comes from the 14th / 15th centuries. Century; of the castle ( castillo ) that once belonged to it , only the foundation walls are visible. The former entrance to the tower is about three meters high and could only be reached with the help of ladders; today's staircase is a later addition. The medieval building with its crenellated wreath and four semicircular and uncovered watch towers now serves as a kind of cultural center.
  • The parish church ( Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción ) is a building from the 13th century, of which only a few original parts have survived. The late Romanesque archivolt portal on the south side is framed by a late Gothic alfiz with a curved keel arch . The bell tower on the west side was added in the 16th century; the choir flank tower on the southeast side seems to have been built later. In a fire in 1887, the entire interior of the three-aisled church was destroyed and then partially replaced by objects from other churches.
  • Opposite the church is a transverse gate tower with a bell storey, the portal of which leads into the town's main street.
  • The church of the Augustinian convent can be visited on request.
  • The upper floor of the town hall ( ayuntamiento ) rests on the facade on six round pillars.
  • The Museo del Cantero uses exhibits and picture panels to provide information about the origin and processing of the granite rock in the area .
  • The Museo del Aceite, inaugurated in 2002, is located in an old oil mill and is dedicated to the various work steps involved in the production of olive oil .
  • An already badly damaged stone sculpture of an Iberian bull or boar ( Burro de San Antón ) was found near today's cemetery.
  • Several hermit churches ( Ermita del Rosario , Ermita del Divino Cordero , Ermita de Jesús el Nazareno , Ermita de los Remedios ) are in the vicinity of the place. In front of the Ermita del Divino Cordero with its atrium and a beautiful bell gable is a small square with a stone cross.

Web links

Commons : San Felices de los Gallegos  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

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).