Villahán

Villahán municipality
Villahán - Plaza Mayor
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Palencia
Comarca :	El Cerrato
Coordinates	42 ° 3 ′  N , 4 ° 8 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 3 ′  N , 4 ° 8 ′  W
Height :	795  msnm
Area :	31.02 km²
Residents :	106 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	3.42 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	34257
Municipality number  ( INE ):	34210
administration
Website :	Villahán

Villahán is a place and a northern Spanish municipality (municipio) with only 106 inhabitants (at January 1, 2019) in the province of Palencia of the Autonomous Community of Castile and Leon .

Location and climate

The place Villahán is about 10 km south of the Río Arlanza in the old Castilian Meseta at an altitude of about 795  m . The provincial capital Palencia is a good 42 km (driving distance) to the west; the cities of Burgos and Valladolid are approx. 60 km to the north-east and almost 80 km to the south-west. The climate in winter is cool, in summer, despite the altitude, it is temperate to warm; Precipitation (approx. 485 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2018
Residents	631	614	595	140	104

The significant population decline that has been observed since the middle of the 20th century is essentially due to the mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of small farms and the resulting loss of jobs ( rural exodus ).

economy

In earlier times, the residents of the place and the entire region lived almost without exception as self-sufficient on the yields of their fields and house gardens; also viticulture and livestock were operated. Centuries ago, small traders, craftsmen and service providers of all kinds settled in the town itself, but they gave up their business due to the enormous decline in population. Villahán is now part of the Arlanza (DO) wine-growing region .

history

Villahán - Iglesia de San Andrés

The name of the place suggests the existence of a Gallo-Roman estate (villa rustica) , which has not yet been discovered . There is no written or archaeological evidence from the Visigothic and even from the Moorish times. In the late 9th century, the area was under the leadership of the Asturian King Alfons III. recaptured. Later, the history of the place was closely linked to that of Palenzuela, just 9 km to the north . In the 15th century, the administrative area of ​​the Merindad de Cerrato emerged with Palenzuela as the main town.

Attractions

The Iglesia de San Andrés , made of precisely hewn stones, was built in the second half of the 16th century. The bell tower (campanario) protrudes from the center of the unadorned wall of the church. Three unadorned portals lead into the three-aisled interior of the church supported by pillars; the altars (retablos) , made in the classicist Baroque style , date from the 18th century.

Web links

Commons : Villahán  - 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. ↑ Villahán - climate tables
3. ↑ Villahán - Population Development
4. ↑ Villahán - History
5. ↑ Villahán - Church