Villalpando (Spain)

Villalpando municipality
	Villalpando - Puerta de la Villa
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Zamora
Comarca :	Tierra de Campos
Coordinates	41 ° 52 ′ N , 5 ° 25 ′ W Coordinates: 41 ° 52 ′ N , 5 ° 25 ′ W
Height :	690 msnm
Area :	126.92 km²
Residents :	1,475 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	11.62 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	49630
Municipality number ( INE ):	49250
administration
Website :	Villalpando

Villalpando is a small town and capital of a municipality ( municipio ) with 1,475 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Zamora in the autonomous community of Castile and León . The city was and is of great historical and cultural importance.

location

The small town of Villalpando is located by the Río Valderaduey at an altitude of about 690 m above sea level. d. M. The provincial capital Zamora is about 52 km (driving distance) to the southwest; the small town of Toro is just under 50 km to the south. The climate in winter is quite cold, but in summer it is warm to hot; the scant rainfalls (approx. 400 mm / year) fall throughout the year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2016
Residents	3.223	3.165	2,777	1,731	1,528

The sharp population decline is mainly due to the mechanization of agriculture and the associated loss of jobs.

economy

Agriculture has always played the most important role for the population of the region; the small town was formerly an important market town and a center for handicrafts, trade and services of all kinds.

history

For a long time, Villalpando was regarded as Intercatia , the capital of the Celtic Vaccaeans who settled in the area, as passed down by ancient authors - a hypothesis that has since become obsolete. The area was later settled by Romans and Visigoths . Conquered by the Moors in the 8th century , the area north of the Duero was recaptured by Asturian-Leonese armies as early as the 9th century ( reconquista ) . In a document produced during the reign of Ramiros II (r. 931–951), the place name Villa Alpández can be found for the first time . At the end of the 10th century, the Moorish military leader Almansor temporarily wiped out the Christian successes, but in the 11th century the Kingdom of León expanded its territory again to the Duero border. In the year 1211 King Alfonso IX handed over . (r. 1188–1230) the city already fortified by the Knights Templar under his predecessors ; in the year of his death, the Kingdom of León was united with the Kingdom of Castile . In the 14th century the city fell to the Duke of Frías as a fief . From 1526 to 1528, the sons of the French King Francis I were temporarily held hostage in the city's Alcázar.

Attractions

Iglesia de Santa María de Antigua

The city's landmark is the Puerta de la Villa (or Puerta de San Andrés ), a city gate with stone heraldic shields built in the 14th century from broken stone and stone . The laterally projecting round towers with loopholes and battlements are impressive .

The choir of the three-aisled Iglesia de Santa María de Antigua was built in the Mudejar style entirely from stacked brick - blind arcades from the 13th century . Unfortunately, the rest of the church has been in ruins since 1933.

The Church of San Nicolás de Bari was built in the 12th century, but was rebuilt in the Mudejar style in the 13th century. In the 18th century, the old artesonado ceiling of the nave was replaced by a vault. Most of the church collapsed in 1989, but it was reconstructed in 1992–1996.

The single nave Iglesia de San Pedro was also built in the 12th century; It is also ruinous - all windows and doors are walled up.

The rectangular Plaza Mayor ( approx. 2000 m²) in the center underscores the former size and importance of the city. Sometimes bullfights still take place on it.

The Convento de San Antonio de Padua , built in 1633, still belongs to the Order of the Poor Clares . A renaissance portal adorned with coat of arms, but generally rather inconspicuous , leads into a large inner courtyard.