Viloria de Rioja

Viloria de Rioja municipality
	Viloria de Rioja - house in place
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Burgos
Comarca :	Montes de Oca
Coordinates	42 ° 26 ′ N , 3 ° 6 ′ W Coordinates: 42 ° 26 ′ N , 3 ° 6 ′ W
Height :	801 msnm
Area :	6.95 km²
Residents :	41 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	5.9 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	31241
Municipality number ( INE ):	09424
administration
Website :	Viloria de Rioja

Viloria de Rioja is a place and a northern Spanish municipality with only 41 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) on the Way of St. James ( Camino Francés ) in the east of the province of Burgos in the autonomous region of Castile-León . The municipality belongs to the poorly populated Serranía Celtibérica .

Location and climate

The place Viloria de Rioja is located on the Río San Julián north of the Sierra de la Demanda on the border with the autonomous region of La Rioja at an altitude of approx. 800 m ; to the provincial capital Burgos it is about 55 km (driving distance) to the west, the city of Logroño is about 60 km to the east. The climate in winter is harsh, but in summer it is rather dry and warm; Rain (approx. 630 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2018
Residents	234	231	215	71	42

The mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of small farms led to a significant decline in population in the second half of the 20th century.

economy

Agriculture, which also included a little cattle breeding (e.g. pigs, chickens), has always played the most important role for the population of the region; Crafts, trade and service industries developed on a small scale in the village itself. Several houses in the village are now rented out as holiday apartments (casas rurales) .

history

Finds from the Celtic , Roman , Visigothic and even from the Islamic-Moorish period have not yet been made in the municipality. It is believed that the establishment of the place as well as that of the other villages in the area goes back to the instigation of the second Count of Castile , Diego Rodríguez Porcelos (r. 873-885), who - after the displacement of the Moors - strongly around the Resettlement ( repoblación ) of the area endeavored. The place name appears for the first time in a document from the year 1028. From 1035 to 1054 the place belonged to the sphere of influence of the Kingdom of Navarre .

Attractions

The single-aisled Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Asunción is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary . It consists of two parts - the original building made of bricks in the Mudéjar style and a timber-framed western extension with a southern porch ( portico ) .

In the destroyed but renovated in the 20th century Casa de Santo Domingo is said to have been born in 1019 Domingo de la Calzada .

literature

Cordula Rabe: Spanish Way of St. James. From the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela. All stages - with variants and height profiles. Bergverlag Rother, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-7633-4330-0 ( Rother hiking guide ).
Míllan Bravo Lozano: Practical pilgrim guide. The Camino de Santiago. Editorial Everest, Léon 1994, ISBN 84-241-3835-X .