Calatañazor
Encyclopedia
Calatañazor is a municipality located in the province of Soria
, Castile and León
, Spain
. According to the 2010 census
(INE
), the municipality has a population of 70 inhabitants. The municipality is named after the tiny fortified city on top of a hill. Also situated in the municipality are the hamlets Aldehuela and Abioncillo.
Abioncillo used to be abandoned like many forsaken hamlets in Spain, but in the eighties was turned around by a few dedicated teachers into an educational center.
In the valley between Calatañazor and Abioncillo the 'Battle of Calatañazor
' took place in the year 1002. The valley is still named 'La valle de la sangre' (the valley of blood). Almanzor, the ruler of Muslim Al-Andalus
is by some historians said to have died in this battle. There is a statue of him in Calatañazor.
A certain kind of juniper-tree, the Juniperus thurifera
(Spanish juniper), grows in a juniper wood in the nature reserve El Sabinar de Calatañazor. Some of those trees are the biggest to be found on the whole of the Iberic peninsula. Further are to be found an underground river, the Abión, which comes above ground at the Fuentona de Muriel, a natural heritage site. The fuentona is visited very often, also by advanced cavedivers. The locals call this fuentona, which looks like a lake, El Ojo de la Mar (They eye of the sea). Also (above ground) a cave, 'La Cueva Maja', with 4000 year old drawings are found in the vicinity of Abioncillo.
Both in the center of Abioncillo and Calatañazor a many centuries old elm is to be found, once, in Celtiberic times an important symbol.
The name Calatañazor comes from the Arab 'Qalat al-Nusur' which can either mean 'Castle of azure' or 'Castle of vultures'.
Soria (province)
Soria is a province of central Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. Most of the province is in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico areaIt is bordered by the provinces of La Rioja, Zaragoza, Guadalajara, Segovia, and Burgos....
, Castile and León
Castile and León
Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. According to the 2010 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
(INE
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain)
The National Institute of Statistics is the official organisation in Spain that collects statistics about demography, economy, and Spanish society. Every 10 years, this organisation conducts a national census. The last census took place in 2001....
), the municipality has a population of 70 inhabitants. The municipality is named after the tiny fortified city on top of a hill. Also situated in the municipality are the hamlets Aldehuela and Abioncillo.
Abioncillo used to be abandoned like many forsaken hamlets in Spain, but in the eighties was turned around by a few dedicated teachers into an educational center.
In the valley between Calatañazor and Abioncillo the 'Battle of Calatañazor
Battle of Calatañazor
The Battle of Calatañazor was a legendary battle of the Reconquista that supposedly took place in July 1002 at Calatañazor between an army of invading Saracens under Almanzor and a force of Christian allies led by Alfonso V of León, Sancho III of Navarre, and Sancho García of Castile...
' took place in the year 1002. The valley is still named 'La valle de la sangre' (the valley of blood). Almanzor, the ruler of Muslim Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
is by some historians said to have died in this battle. There is a statue of him in Calatañazor.
A certain kind of juniper-tree, the Juniperus thurifera
Juniperus thurifera
Juniperus thurifera is a species of juniper native to the mountains of the western Mediterranean region, from southern France across eastern and central Spain to Morocco and locally in northern Algeria....
(Spanish juniper), grows in a juniper wood in the nature reserve El Sabinar de Calatañazor. Some of those trees are the biggest to be found on the whole of the Iberic peninsula. Further are to be found an underground river, the Abión, which comes above ground at the Fuentona de Muriel, a natural heritage site. The fuentona is visited very often, also by advanced cavedivers. The locals call this fuentona, which looks like a lake, El Ojo de la Mar (They eye of the sea). Also (above ground) a cave, 'La Cueva Maja', with 4000 year old drawings are found in the vicinity of Abioncillo.
Both in the center of Abioncillo and Calatañazor a many centuries old elm is to be found, once, in Celtiberic times an important symbol.
The name Calatañazor comes from the Arab 'Qalat al-Nusur' which can either mean 'Castle of azure' or 'Castle of vultures'.