San Millán de Lara

San Millán de Lara municipality
San Millán de Lara - Iglesia de San Millán
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Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Burgos
Comarca :	Sierra de la Demanda (Comarca)
Coordinates	42 ° 8 ′  N , 3 ° 21 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 8 ′  N , 3 ° 21 ′  W
Height :	1070  msnm
Area :	33.62 km²
Residents :	76 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	2.26 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	09640
Municipality number  ( INE ):	09340
administration
Website :	San Millán de Lara

San Millán de Lara is a small mountain town and a municipality ( municipio ) belonging to the poorly populated region of the Serranía Celtibérica with only 76 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the northern Spanish province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile-León . The monastery church of San Millán is one of the outstanding Romanesque church buildings in northern Spain and is recognized as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) .

Location and climate

Located on the Arroyo de San Millán , San Millán de Lara is in the heart of the Sierra de la Demanda at an altitude of about 1070  m . The closest city is the Salas de los Infantes , about 27 km (driving distance) southeast ; the provincial capital, Burgos, is just 46 km to the northwest. 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	626	545	361	77	79

The significant population decline since the 1950s is mainly due to the mechanization of agriculture , the abandonment of small farms and the resulting lack of jobs in the countryside and especially in the mountain regions. The hamlet of Iglesiapinta , which is about 3 km away and still has around 30 inhabitants, also belongs to the community .

economy

The inhabitants of San Millán de Lara have been self-sufficient for centuries by raising livestock ( sheep and goats ) and a little agriculture ( barley and wheat ). A long-life cheese was made from the milk of the animals, which could sometimes be sold in the markets of distant cities. The same applies to sheep's wool , which, however, was also required for the manufacture of one's own clothing; ponchos etc. were woven from the goat hair. In the meantime, day and weekend tourism and the rental of holiday homes (casas rurales) play an important role in the economic life of the place.

history

Celtic , Roman , Visigoth and even Islamic-Moorish traces are missing. The high mountain region was probably already before its recapture ( reconquista ) visited by nomadic shepherds and their flocks. It is also the time of repopulation ( repoblación ). From the 11th to the 14th centuries, the place belonged to the historically significant community of Alfoz de Lara .

Attractions

Iglesia de San Millán de Lara from the southeast

• The St. San Millán Monastery, consecrated to Aemilianus von Cogolla , was probably founded by Mozarabs as early as the 10th century , but was completely rebuilt in the Romanesque style in the 2nd half of the 12th century . From the otherwise unadorned exterior of the monastery church stand out the narrow apse window accompanied by small columns and the two archivolt portals protruding slightly from the wall . The three-aisled interior is spanned by an open roof structure . In the basement of the bell tower (campanario) built on the mountain slope there is a door with a multi-pass arch that leads into a room that may have been used by hermits .
• A court column (rollo or picota) stands on a stepped square base in front of the church as a sign of civil independence.
• A few meters further on, a medieval stone bridge crosses the local stream.

Web links

Commons : San Millán de Lara  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Pineda de la Sierra - Photos + Info (wikiburgos, 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. ↑ San Millán de Lara - climate tables
3. ↑ San Millán de Lara - population development
4. ↑ San Millán de Lara - Church
5. ↑ San Millán de Lara - Court Column