Villalcázar de Sirga

Villalcázar de Sirga municipality
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Palencia
Coordinates	42 ° 19 ′ N , 4 ° 33 ′ W Coordinates: 42 ° 19 ′ N , 4 ° 33 ′ W
Height :	809 msnm
Area :	25.41 km²
Residents :	172 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	6.77 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	34449
Municipality number ( INE ):	34215
administration
Mayor :	Moisés Payo Nevares

Villalcázar de Sirga is a municipality on the Way of St. James in the autonomous community of Castile-León / Spain . It is located at an altitude of 830 m and has 172 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019).

Villalcázar de Sirga

The place name includes villa - village, hamlet; Alcázar - roughly: castle (from Arabic al-qasr, the house) and Sirga - path, footpath; which when put together results in the 'village at the castle on the way (to Santiago)'.

history

In 1069 Villasirga was first mentioned as a pilgrimage station on the Way of St. James . The village came into the possession of the Order of the Knights Templar through a donation and remained there until the order was dissolved in 1312, after which it was transferred to the Order of the Knights of Santiago . An important place and Marian center in the Middle Ages, a total of three churches existed here, at the latest from the 18th century the importance of the place began to decline and shrink to its present size. The richly decorated church of Santa María la Blanca, from the 13th century, shows the transition from Romanesque to Gothic . An earthquake destroyed the south aisle in 1888 (rebuilt in reduced form) and shifted the geometry of the south portal.

Portal of the Church of Santa Maria, more images on Commons

In the early 13th century, a figure of Mary is said to have brought about miraculous healings, which Alfonso X , the wise, inspired to sing the Marian songs " Cantigas de Santa Maria ", which he either initiated or even worked on himself. The figure of the Virgin is now in the Santiago Chapel from the 16th century, which also contains three Gothic sarcophagi , one of them with the bones of Infante Don Felipe, brother of Alfonso X, who died in 1247. The figure of Mary attracted numerous people after its miracles became known Pilgrims, so the route of the Way of St. James was shifted within a short time to the disadvantage of Arconada .

Web links

Commons : Villalcázar de Sirga - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ 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).

Navigation bar St. James " Camino Francés "

← Previous location: Villarmentero de Campos 5.5 km | Villalcázar de Sirga | Next town: Carrión de los Condes 6 km →

[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).