Villatuelda

Villatuelda municipality
Villatuelda - Iglesia San Mamés
coat of arms	Map of Spain
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Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Burgos
Comarca :	Ribera del Duero
Coordinates	41 ° 49 ′  N , 3 ° 53 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 49 ′  N , 3 ° 53 ′  W
Height :	915  msnm
Area :	15.3 km²
Residents :	41 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	2.68 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	09310
Municipality number  ( INE ):	09464
administration
Website :	Villatuelda

Villatuelda is the name of a place and a municipality (municipio) with only 41 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the south of the Spanish province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile and León .

Location and climate

The place Villatuelda is located on the south bank of the Río Esgueva in the Iberian Meseta a good 74 km (driving distance) southwest of the provincial capital Burgos at an altitude of approx. 915  m . The next larger city is Aranda de Duero (approx. 28 km southeast). The climate is temperate to warm; the rather sparse rain (approx. 475 mm / year) falls - with the exception of the summer months - over the year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2017
Residents	396	537	324	70	37

In 1927 the municipality of Terradillos de Esgueva was spun off. The mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of small farms have led to a lack of jobs and a migration of a large part of the population to the cities since the 1950s ( rural exodus ).

economy

The region has been shaped almost exclusively by agriculture for centuries; the livestock has little meaning. Tourism (rental of holiday apartments) is also of minor importance. The municipality belongs to the Ribera del Duero wine region .

history

Finds from the Celtic , Roman , Visigothic and even from the Islamic - Moorish period have not yet been made in the municipality. The Moors left the area under Christian pressure ( reconquista ) as early as the 10th century. The first written mention of the place name Villa de Teodla comes from the year 962, but at the end of the 10th century the armies of Almansor penetrated again to the north of the Iberian Peninsula . Since 1038 the place and its church have been under the influence of the Santo Domingo de Silos monastery . In 1154, King Alfonso VII placed both under the monastery of San Juan in Burgos. Since the 15th century at the latest, secular landlords took over the place.

Villatuelda - Church

Attractions

• The St. Iglesia San Mamés , consecrated to Mamas of Cappadocia , impresses with its mighty bell gable (espadaña) , which contrasts with the polygonal broken apse and the later built-in late-Gothic south portal covered by a keel arch. The vault in the nave (nature) and in the apse clearly show the transition from the Romanic to Gothic . The furnishings include a Romanesque baptismal font and an altarpiece (retablo) with scenes from the life and martyrdom of St. Mums.
• A lined so-called "Roman spring" (fuente romano) is located in the middle of the village just under 2 m below the ground level.
• The appearance of the “Roman Bridge” near the village originates mainly from the Middle Ages and early modern times.
• On some roadsides in the vicinity of the village you can still find the bricked-in entrances to former rock cellars (bodegas) .

literature

• Antonio Adeliño Vélez: Villatuelda, historia, arte y leyenda. Self-published in 1998.

Web links

Commons : Villatuelda  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Villatuelda, sights etc. - photos + information (Spanish)

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. ^ Villatuelda - population development
3. ↑ Villatuelda - History
4. ↑ Villatuelda - Church
5. ↑ Villatuelda - Roman source
6. ↑ Villatuelda - stone bridge