Zamora (Spain)

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Zamora municipality
Zamora - Romanesque cathedral over the Duero
Zamora - Romanesque cathedral over the Duero
coat of arms Map of Spain
Zamora coat of arms
Zamora (Spain) (Spain)
Finland road sign 311 (1994-2020) .svg
Basic data
Autonomous Community : Castile LeonCastile and León Castile and León
Province : Zamora
Comarca : Tierra del Pan
Coordinates 41 ° 30 ′  N , 5 ° 45 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 30 ′  N , 5 ° 45 ′  W
Height : 635  msnm
Area : 149.28 km²
Residents : 61,406 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density : 411.35 inhabitants / km²
Postal code : 49001 - 49028
Municipality number  ( INE ): 49275
administration
Website : Zamora

Zamora is the capital of the province of Zamora of the same name and the capital of a municipality (municipio) with 61,406 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2019 ) in the autonomous Spanish region of Castile-León . Zamora is located on a branch of the Camino de Santiago that comes from the south ( Seville , Mérida , Cáceres and Salamanca ) and joins the main route in León or Astorga . The historic center is recognized as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the Conjunto histórico-artístico category .

Location and climate

The city of Zamora is located on the Meseta a good 250 km (driving distance) northwest of Madrid at an altitude of about 635  m on a rocky hill above the Duero River . The border with Portugal at Miranda do Douro is only about 55 km away. The winter temperatures are quite cool, whereas in summer it is warm to hot; the sparse rainfalls (approx. 360 mm / year) fall over the whole year.

Population development

year 1857 1900 1950 2000 2017
Residents 13,025 16,287 38,320 65,225 62,389

The strong increase in population in the 20th century is mainly due to immigration from the surrounding countryside ( rural exodus ). The hamlet (pedanía) Carrascal , which has a good 100 inhabitants, also belongs to the municipality .

economy

The agriculture has always been the livelihood for the people of the region; the city was an important market town and is now a regional center for handicrafts, trade and services of all kinds. Zamora is known for the manufacture of leather goods and textiles . Tourism within Spain is also of a certain importance.

history

Facade of the cathedral

A Bronze Age settlement can already be proven in the area of ​​the city . In ancient times the place was called Ocelum or Ocelodurum a city of the Vettonen ; later he was part of the Roman province of Lusitania and was a stop on the under Emperor Augustus built Roman road from Mérida ( Emerita Augusta ) to Astorga ( Asturica Augusta ) , which later under the name " Silver Street was known."

As part of the Islamic conquest , the city was mainly settled by Berbers , but they had to vacate the country again around 900. Located in an area in the no man's land between al-Andalus and the Christian rulership, which was devastated for strategic reasons, the city changed owners and residents several times in the 9th century. Provided with a city wall by Alfonso II (r. 791–842), the city received after the conquest by Alfonso III. (r. 866–910) in 893 it was a fortress and became a bishopric of the diocese of Zamora around the year 900 ; the first bishop was Attila of Zamora . The attempt of the Umayyad prince and self-proclaimed Mahdi Ibn al-Qitt to recapture the city for the Muslims in 901 failed.

The city was destroyed in 981 by the Moors under the leadership of Almansor . In the 11th century it was rebuilt by Ferdinand I (r. 1035-1065) and a repopulation ( repoblación ) was initiated. After his death, the city became the residence of his daughter Urraca . The city experienced its heyday in the 12th and early 13th centuries, but this came to an end with the shift of political, cultural and economic interests towards Andalusia - it sank back to the rank of a provincial town, but on the other hand many medieval churches (all first of all the cathedral) have been preserved.

Sights and culture

San Cipriano Church
Abastos market
Duero Bridge

Churches

Verraco de Toro
  • The Romanesque cathedral (Catedral de San Salvador) dates from the 12th century and is the episcopal church of the diocese of Zamora.

Other Romanesque churches:

outside

More Attractions

see also: List of cultural monuments in Zamora

Museums

Others

Town twinning

Zamora has twinned cities with

sons and daughters of the town

literature

Web links

Commons : Zamora  - 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. ↑ Zamora - climate tables
  3. ↑ Zamora - population development
  4. ↑ Zamora History