Villatoro

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Villatoro municipality
Villatoro - Verraco figures in the church square
Villatoro - Verraco figures in the church square
coat of arms Map of Spain
Coat of arms of Villatoro
Villatoro (Spain)
Finland road sign 311 (1994-2020) .svg
Basic data
Autonomous Community : Castile and Leon
Province : Ávila
Comarca : Valle de Amblés
Coordinates 40 ° 33 ′  N , 5 ° 7 ′  W Coordinates: 40 ° 33 ′  N , 5 ° 7 ′  W
Height : 1183  msnm
Area : 56.02 km²
Residents : 162 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density : 2.89 inhabitants / km²
Postal code : 05560
Municipality number  ( INE ): 05263
administration
Website : Villatoro

Villatoro is a place and a central Spanish municipality ( municipio ) with 162 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the province of Ávila in the autonomous community of Castile-León .

location

The place Villatoro is located in the far west of the Valle de Amblés in the center of the province Ávila on the north side of the Iberian Divisional Mountains (Sierra de la Serrota) at an altitude of about 1180 m above sea level. d. M. The city of Avila is about 42 km (driving distance) to the northeast. The delightful small town of Piedrahíta is about 22 km southwest. The Río Adaja , a tributary of the Duero, rises near the southwestern border of the municipality . The climate in winter is cool, in summer it is quite warm despite the altitude; the low amounts of precipitation (approx. 465 mm / year) fall - with the exception of the almost rainless summer months - distributed over the whole year.

Population development

year 1857 1900 1950 2000 2017
Residents 550 950 668 235 178

The continuous population decline since the beginning of the 20th century is mainly due to the mechanization of agriculture and the associated loss of jobs.

economy

Agriculture (especially cattle breeding) traditionally plays the largest role in the municipality's economic life. Income from tourism in the form of renting out holiday homes ( casas rurales ) has been added since the last decades of the 20th century.

history

From the 4th millennium BC The remains of the burial chambers of two neighboring megalithic dolmens come from the 4th century BC . In the first millennium BC The place probably belonged to the settlement area of ​​the Celtic Vettons . Roman , Visigoth and even Arabic-Moorish traces are missing. After the recapture ( reconquista ) of the areas from the hands of the Moors and the subsequent repopulation ( repoblación ) in the 11th and 12th centuries, the place received a castle (castillo) , of which the remains of the keep (torre del homenaje) at the highest Place of the place. The book with the year 1503 appearing in the city coat of arms reminds of the writing of a catalog of rights by the then landlord (señor) of the place, Fernán Gómez Dávila.

Attractions

Iglesia de San Miguel Arcángel
Monasterio de Nuestra Señora del Risco
  • Two granite animal sculptures belonging to the Verracos group were found in the vicinity of the village . It is unclear when these were set up on the square in front of the local church.
  • The round keep (torre del homenaje) of the former castle with its wreath of horizontal loopholes and some windows that was added later dominates the place.
  • The late Gothic parish church of San Miguel Arcángel with its squat bell tower in the northwest corner and its two entrance portals on the west and south side dates from the 15th and 16th centuries. Century; it is the largest and most important church in the parishes of the Valle de Amblés. Originally, a second tower was even planned in the southwest corner of the facade, but this was not built. The nave of the church, closed by an artesonado wooden ceiling, has three aisles; With its wide arches it is almost reminiscent of a hall church . The choir area is ribbed . The church houses a main altar in the late Baroque style of Churriguerism as well as numerous smaller altars.
Surroundings

Web links

Commons : Villatoro  - 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. ^ Villatoro - Map with altitude information
  3. ↑ Villatoro - climate tables
  4. ^ Villatoro - population development
  5. ↑ Villatoro - Church