Vizcaínos

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Vizcaínos municipality
Vizcaínos - the townscape with Iglesia de San Martín de Tours
Vizcaínos - the townscape with Iglesia de San Martín de Tours
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Vizcaínos (Spain)
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Basic data
Autonomous Community : Castile and León
Province : Burgos
Comarca : Sierra de la Demanda
Coordinates 42 ° 6 ′  N , 3 ° 16 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 6 ′  N , 3 ° 16 ′  W
Height : 1019  msnm
Area : 11.48 km²
Residents : 46 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density : 4.01 inhabitants / km²
Postal code : 09613
Municipality number  ( INE ): 09478
administration
Website : Vizcaínos

Vizcaínos (or Vizcaínos de la Sierra ) is a small municipality ( municipio ) with 46 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019) in the northern Spanish province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile-León . The church of San Martín de Tours is one of the outstanding Romanesque church buildings in northern Spain and is recognized as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ).

Location and climate

Vizcaínos is located in the heart of the Sierra de la Demanda at an altitude of about 1020  m . The provincial capital, Burgos, is about 60 km to the northwest; the nearest town is the Salas de los Infantes, about 18 km south . Several streams arise in the surrounding mountains, which merge in the vicinity of Vizcaínos to the Río Pedroso , a tributary of the Río Arlanza . The climate in winter is harsh, but in summer it is temperate and warm; the rain, which is sufficient for Spanish conditions (approx. 590 mm / year), falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year 1857 1900 1950 2000 2017
Residents 192 212 115 67 41

The mechanization of agriculture and the resulting loss of jobs have led to a large part of the population moving to the cities ( rural exodus ) since the 1950s . Today the municipality belongs to the poorly populated Serranía Celtibérica .

economy

Like the inhabitants of most of the mountain villages in northern Spain, the Vizcaínos also lived for centuries as a self-sufficient source of livestock ( sheep and goats ) and a little agriculture ( barley and wheat ). A long-life cheese was made from the milk of the animals, which could sometimes be sold in the markets of distant cities. The same applies to sheep's wool, which, however, was also required for the manufacture of one's own clothing; ropes, etc. were woven from the goat hair.

In the meantime, day and weekend tourism and the rental of holiday homes (casas rurales) play an important role in the economic life of the place.

history

The first written mention of the place under the name Beskafinos (= "Basque") comes from the year 974; it is the time of the repopulation ( repoblación ) of - after the conquest (conquista) by the Moors - largely deserted areas in the north of the Iberian Peninsula . In the Middle Ages the place belonged temporarily to the monastery of San Cosme y San Damián in Covarrubias , and later to the monasteries of San Pedro de Arlanza and Santo Domingo de Silos .

Attractions

Church of San Martin de Tours
  • The Romanesque parish church (Iglesia de San Martín de Tours) , which dates from the 12th century, impresses with its soaring west tower and its south porch (galería porticada) . While the nave is built from rubble stones , the apse , the bell tower (campanario) and the vestibule are made of precisely hewn stones, which makes a slightly later dating of both parts likely. The vestibule has only three openings - a central portal and two side arcades , the profiled round arches of which are supported by double columns with excellently preserved Romanesque capitals . Below the eaves of the vestibule and church run two figural console friezes with human heads and depictions of animals. The two tower floors, separated from each other by cornices and opened by double arcades, differ mainly in the overhanging arches on the upper floor resting on columns . The actual entrance portal is protected by the vestibule; it protrudes slightly from the outer wall of the church and consists of several profiled archivolt arches that rest on ornamented fighter plates , which in turn are supported by perfectly preserved capitals. The interior of the church is barrel vaulted ; it contains - in addition to the two columns with capitals reused ( spoils dormant) Altar - a shell-like ribbed and umzogenes of a sheet tendrils Fries-Roman font (pila bautismal) and a Altarretabel (retablo) from the Renaissance on the south wall.
  • The hermit church (Ermita de San Jorge) , located about 500 m outside the village, dates from the 15th century.

Web links

Commons : Vizcaínos  - 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. ↑ Vizcaínos - climate tables
  3. ^ Vizcaínos - population development
  4. ↑ Vizcaínos - History
  5. ^ Vizcaínos - Church
  6. ^ Vizcaínos - Church