Trift paths in Spain
The drift paths in Spain are a dense network of cattle paths that are traditionally used in the context of migrant pasture management, the transhumance .
In individual cases, their length is up to 800 km, the sum of all Spanish routes is about 125,000 km. With 450,000 hectares , they take up around 1% of the Spanish land area.
initial situation
Trift paths are cattle paths to pasture or between different pasture areas.
The climatic conditions on the Iberian Peninsula make year-round local or regional grazing difficult: areas with moderate winters such as Extremadura lack green fodder and water in summer due to high temperatures and drought; In the summer, forage-rich pasture regions such as the Cantabrian Mountains , however, have very cold winters.
Accordingly, the cattle farmers drove their animals very early to the climatically more suitable regions. In Spain, a distinction is made between two types of cattle drift: "transterminance" for distances of up to 100 km, "transhumance" for distances of more than 100 km.
At the time of the Reconquista , military campaigns during the summer months also made farming difficult in the contested areas. The only way to use these zones for agricultural purposes was also the traveling pasture, which no longer grazed this area during the main summer battle season. After the Reconquista, the ownership structure of the conquered areas, especially in the south (few owners, large areas) and the shortage of workers as a result of the armed conflict led to an expansion of migratory grazing, especially with merino sheep . The Mesta , founded for this purpose, represented these sheep farmers .
Way types
Depending on their use, the cattle paths differ in length and width. The same routes are given different names in different regions.
| designation | Width in Varas castellanas (Castilian cubit) |
Width in meters |
|---|---|---|
| Cañada Real | 90 | 75.22 |
| Cordel | 45 | 37.71 |
| Vereda | 25th | 20.89 |
| Colada | less than 25 | less than 20 |
These widths were stipulated by law and are still the basis of the law on the protection of drift paths. However, there were also different dimensions: in the 18th century, the width of the Vereda Mayor del Valle de Alcudia (part of the Cañada Real Soriana Oriental ) when it entered the Alcudia Valley was sometimes between 300 and 800 m.
Cañadas Reales
The Cañadas Reales are the longest and widest Spanish drift paths. They were protected with special royal privileges in the Middle Ages and played an important role in the Spanish wool economy and export. Because of their ecological importance, their protection was reintroduced into modern Spanish law in 1995.
Other names for the Cañadas Reales are:
- in Andalusia : Veredas de Carne (cattle / meat route)
- in Aragon : Cabañeras
- in Castile : Cordones, Cuerdas, Galianas or Cabañíles
- in Catalonia : Carreradas
Of the nine main royal cañadas, the Royal Sorian cañadas is the longest. It leads from the province of Soria to the province of Seville and measures around 800 km in total.
Complementary facilities
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In addition to the cattle paths described, additional facilities belong or have been part of the migrant pasture economy in Spain.
- Descansaderos / Majadas - resting places / pens , widening the path or temporarily fenced in place to rest and stay overnight
- Contaderos - counting stations; narrow passages or places with devices for counting the animals, bridges were also used
- Abrevaderos - cattle watering , existing, as appropriate, a fountain with trough or seasonal in Wegvorlauf streams, rivers or ponds
- Mojones / Hitos - boundary stones as waymarking and demarcation to the neighboring country
- Puertos reales (literally: royal passports) - toll stations for collecting royal taxes on transhumance
- Puentes - bridges
- Chozos - round conical shepherds' huts, accommodation for shepherds outside their home community
- Casas de esquileo - shear stations
- Lavaderos de lana - wool washing houses
- Sociedades ganaderas - ranchers ' associations
- Ermitas mesteñas - Houses of the Mesta
- Ventas de trashumancia - cattle selling places
- Carteles indicadores de vía pecuaria - overview boards of the trift paths