Toro (Spain)

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Toro parish
The collegiate church (colegiata) of Toro
The collegiate church ( colegiata ) of Toro
coat of arms Map of Spain
Toro Coat of Arms
Toro (Spain) (Spain)
Finland road sign 311 (1994-2020) .svg
Basic data
Autonomous Community : Castile and Leon
Province : Zamora
Comarca : Alfoz de Toro
Coordinates 41 ° 31 ′  N , 5 ° 24 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 31 ′  N , 5 ° 24 ′  W
Height : 706  msnm
Area : 324.79 km²
Residents : 8,713 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density : 26.83 inhabitants / km²
Postal code : 49800
Municipality number  ( INE ): 49219
administration
Website : Toro

Toro is a small Spanish town and capital of a municipality ( municipio ) in the province of Zamora in the autonomous community of Castile and León with 8,713 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019), who call themselves Toresanos .

location

The small town of Toro is located on a plateau above the Duero River at an altitude of about 705 m above sea level. d. M. The distance to Zamora is almost 40 km (driving distance) in a westerly direction; Valladolid , the capital of the neighboring province, is a good 66 km northeast. The climate in winter is quite cold, but in summer it is warm to hot; the sparse rainfall (approx. 375 mm / year) falls throughout the year.

Population development

year 1857 1900 1950 2000 2016
Residents 8,684 8,379 10,019 9,325 9.115

The population of the small town has remained largely constant over the past 150 years.

economy

The area around the city is largely agricultural ; the city itself functioned as a regional service center for trade, handicrafts and services of all kinds. Viticulture has long played an important role; Toro has its own designation of origin ( denominación ) for wine (see: Toro (wine-growing region) ).

history

The oldest archaeological finds go back to the Celtiberian and Roman times. The area was inhabited by the Vaccaei as early as pre-Roman times ; the Greek historian Polybios mentions place names such as Helmántica (Salamanca) and Arbucala ; the latter was changed into "Toro" by the Romans in Albucela , in the Middle Ages . In the 8th century the place was conquered by the Moors . After the reconquista of Spain by the Christians, the fertile area was repopulated with settlers from Asturias , Navarre and the Basque Country from the end of the 9th century .

Ferdinand III. of Castile was crowned king at Toro in 1230; his wife Elisabeth von Schwaben died here five years later. In the assemblies of the estates ( cortes ), the 1369 under Heinrich II. , 1397 under Heinrich III. and took place under Juan II in 1426 and 1442 , Toro had voting rights. In 1476 the city was the scene of the Battle of Toro - this arose from the conflict over the crown of Castile between Juana la Beltrenaja and Isabella of Castile . In 1505 the meeting of the estates was called in Toro, at which King Ferdinand read out Queen Isabella's will . Joan the Mad was proclaimed Queen and the "Laws of Toro" were published.

After that, the city began to decline politically and economically until it was named provincial capital in the 17th century due to its importance for agriculture and especially for viticulture - a status that it lost again in 1833 due to the reorganization of Spain.

Attractions

Gothic main portal of the Colegiata - parts of the colored version have been preserved.

Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor

The collegiate church Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor is particularly worth seeing , the construction of which began as early as 1160 under Alfonso VII , but lasted until around 1240 (possibly even towards the end of the 13th century). During the reign of the Catholic kings it was elevated to a collegiate church. The church consists of three naves and a transept; the crossing is crowned by an extraordinary ribbed dome. The church contains Romanesque and early Gothic style elements: the tympanum-free Romanesque portal on the north side shows a Moorish-looking multi - pass arch . The Gothic west portal, the “Portal of Majesty”, is decorated with figures depicting angels, kings, prophets, patriarchs, virgins and bishops; It is noteworthy that the depiction of the Last Judgment , which used to be usually found in the tympanum field , was replaced by a coronation of Mary . Instead, the Last Judgment has moved into the extreme archivolt . In the sacristy there is the painting “Mary with the fly”, a Flemish painting from the 16th century.

San Lorenzo el Real - Interior

San Lorenzo el Real church

The Iglesia de San Lorenzo el Real is a 12th century Mudejar style church . The single-nave interior of the church, which was originally built entirely from brick - with the exception of parts of the foundation area - impresses with its simple elegance, to which an open roof structure in the Moorish style also contributes. In the apse there are still remains of frescoes.

San Salvador de los Caballeros church

The three-aisled Mudejar church Iglesia de San Salvador de los Caballeros - partially plastered - was formerly owned by the Knights Templar and now houses a museum of sacred art that is well worth seeing.

Others

  • The town hall ( ayuntamiento ) from the 18th century is located in the Plaza Mayor . It is built in the baroque and classical style.
  • In the Plaza Mayor there is also the Gothic Church of the Holy Sepulcher ( Iglesia del Santo Sepulcro ), which belonged to the Knightly Order of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem .
  • Not far away is the clock tower ( torre de reloj ), which also served as the city gate. It was built in the 18th century.
Ermita de Santa Maria de la Vega
  • The Real Monasterio de Santi Spiritus is located just outside the city center . It was founded in 1307 by the Portuguese Teresa Gil and inhabited by Dominican women. Today the monastery serves as a museum, only a few nuns still live in it. The alabaster tomb of the Portuguese Queen Beatrix, who died around 1420, is of particular importance .
  • Only the portal with the 83 known laws stands from the Palazio de los Leyes . Inside the palace, on January 11, 1505, the will of Isabella the Catholic, who had died in November of the previous year, was read out by her widowed husband Ferdinand II of Aragon . The rest of the building was destroyed in a fire in 1923.
  • The church of the former Premonstratensian monastery ( Monasterio de Santa Sofía (Toro) ) combines stylistic elements of the Gothic , Renaissance and Mudejar styles.
  • The Arco de Postigo is next to the Arco de Reloj another gate in the old city wall.
  • The Puerta de Cooredera is a city gate of the newer wall and was built in 1602.
  • At the Plaza de Agustín stands the Alcázar ( castle ), which was built in the 10th century and is often referred to as a “ prison ” ( carcel ).
  • Other interesting churches are the Santissima Trinidad and San Sebastián des os Caballeros , which were built in the 13th century and rebuilt in the 16th century.
  • There are also some old palaces in the city, some of which can be visited.
  • Just outside the city is the hermit church of the Ermita Santa Maria de la Vega de Toro - also a Mudejar brick building from the 12th century.
View of Toro
Toro - view of the Duero

Culture

Festivals

Toro itself advertises the Carnival and Fiesta San Agustín, which takes place at the end of August. There are three times more guests than residents in the city for the fiesta. In the evening there is a colorful parade with colorful, glowing floats, music and groups of feet. There is also the Semana Santa , the Romería del Cristo de las Batallas, which takes place in May, and the Virgen del Canto festival in September.

music

The Banda de Musica la Lira is known far beyond the city limits ; the orchestra has existed since 1890. It has already played with the famous conductor Jesús López Cobos , who comes from Toro and was already music director of the Spanish National Orchestra and the German Opera in Berlin.

Personalities

Twin cities

Web links

Commons : Toro  - 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).
  2. Toro - Altitude Map
  3. Toro - Climate Tables
  4. Toro - Population Development