San Martín de Valdeiglesias

San Martín de Valdeiglesias municipality
San Martín de Valdeiglesias - town view
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Madrid
Comarca :	Cuenca del Alberche
Coordinates	40 ° 22 ′  N , 4 ° 24 ′  W Coordinates: 40 ° 22 ′  N , 4 ° 24 ′  W
Height :	681  msnm
Area :	115.9 km²
Residents :	8,459 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	72.99 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	28680
Municipality number  ( INE ):	28133
administration
Website :	Ayuntamiento de San Martín de Valdeiglesias www.sanmartindevaldeiglesias.es/ Ayuntamiento de San Martín de Valdeiglesias

San Martín de Valdeiglesias is a centrally Spanish municipality ( municipio ) in the Autonomous Region of Madrid . The old town center was classified as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in 1974 in the Conjunto histórico-artístico category.

location

San Martín de Valdeiglesias is located around 75 kilometers west of Madrid near the border with the province of Avila . It is about 55 kilometers to the north-west to the city of Avila itself.

Population development

year	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2010
Residents	3,994	4,254	4,786	5,428	6,089	8,190

As a result of the proximity to Madrid and the comparatively low property and rental prices, the number of residents has increased significantly in recent decades.

economy

In the Middle Ages , San Martín de Valdeiglesias was a rural community that was large enough to serve as an artisanal and mercantile center (market) for the individual farms and small villages in the area. Wine, olive and vegetable cultivation has been practiced in the surrounding area since medieval times. There are two wineries ( bodegas ) in the village . Already Miguel de Cervantes mentions the wines of the region in several of his works. Even the tourism in the listed building, the center is an important source of income of the city.

history

There is no trace of the Celtiberians , Romans and Visigoths in the area around San Martín de Valdeiglesias. In Islamic times, the area was depopulated and was only after the reconquest ( reconquista ) of Toledo by Alfonso VI. repopulated ( repoblación ) in 1085 . In the 13th century a small settlement seems to have formed around an already existing hermitage ( ermita ), which belonged to the manor of the monastery of Santa María de Valdeiglesias . In 1430 an uprising of the villagers evidently developed against the tutelage of the abbey, because in the following years Don Álvaro de Luna , the educator and advisor of King John II , is named as the landlord ( señor ).

Attractions

Castillo de Coracera - keep ( torre de homenaje ) with round stair towers

San Martín Obispo Church

• Main attraction of the place is the Castillo de la Coracera , a late medieval castle square with round corner towers and one - also accompanied by round towers - pentagonal keep ( Torre de homenaje ). It was built on the site of an older castle from the 13th century and was repeatedly restored into the 20th century. Today it houses a wine museum ( Museo de los Vinos de Madrid ).
• The three-aisled church of San Martín Obispo goes back to the 13th century; However, it was redesigned several times and especially in the 17th century by the master builder Pedro de Tolosa in the unadorned Herrera style .

Ermita del Rosario

Surroundings

• In the vicinity of San Martín de Valdeiglesias there are several small hermitages - the most beautiful is the Ermita del Rosario . Others are the Ermita Ecce Homo , the Ermita del Sangre and the Ermita de la Virgen Nueva .
• The ruins of the monastery of Santa María de Valdeiglesias rise just outside the neighboring village of Pelayos de la Presa, about eight kilometers away .
• Several Celtiberian bull sculptures from the 2nd century BC. BC ( Toros de Guisando ) frame a path or mark a cult site in the neighboring community of El Tiemblo, about six kilometers to the west .

Web links

Commons : San Martín de Valdeiglesias  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• San Martín de Valdeiglesias, historical buildings - 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).