Santa María la Real de Nieva
Encyclopedia
Santa María la Real de Nieva is a municipality located in the province of Segovia
, Castile and León
, Spain
, about 30 km (18 mi) northwest of Segovia
town. According to the 2010 census
(INE
), the municipality has a population of 1,193 inhabitants.
, during the reign of Alfonso VI of León and Castile. Santa María la Real de Nieva village was founded in 1395 by King Henry III
, by the mediation of his wife Catherine of Lancaster
. The town’s founding was due to the finding of a buried wooden sculpture of Mary
three years before, probably hidden since muslem invasion
, in a piece of open ground where the village is now. This fact was considered a miracle, and the Queen ordered the building of a sanctuary and a village around it, to the worship of this Virgin’s image, called Soterraña, an old Spanish word that means 'subterranean'. The Crown proclaimed some privileges to foster the settlement in the village on 1395 and 1407, like tax and conscription exemptions.
During her stay in Santa María la Real de Nieva, Queen Blanche I of Navarre
died on April 1, 1441, and she was buried at its church.
On October 28, 1473, King Henry IV
called a meeting of the Courts of Castile at Santa Maria’s monastery.
On 1520 during the revolt of the Comuneros, Rodrigo Ronquillo, chief of royal troops in the area, set his headquarters in Santa Maria la Real de Nieva, and lost a battle near the town.
In the 1834 territorial reorganization of Spain, Santa María la Real de Nieva became one of the five legal district
s in Province of Segovia.
Santa María la Real de Nieva’s municipality grew by the adding of the surrounding villages; Ochando and Pascuales (1965); Aragoneses, Balisa, Hoyuelos, Laguna Rodrigo, Miguel Ibañez, Pinilla-Ambroz, Tabladillo, and Villoslada (1969); Jemenuño, Santovenia, and Paradinas (1970).
in the municipality:
Segovia (province)
Segovia is a province of central/northern Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Burgos, Soria, Guadalajara, Madrid, Ávila, and Valladolid....
, 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...
, about 30 km (18 mi) northwest of Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
town. 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 1,193 inhabitants.
Villages
This municipality includes 14 villages:- Aragoneses
- Balisa
- Hoyuelos
- Jemenuño
- Laguna Rodrigo
- Miguel Ibáñez
- Ochando
- Paradinas
- Pascuales
- Pinilla-Ambroz
- Santa María la Real de Nieva
- Santovenia
- Tabladillo
- Villoslada
History
All its villages, except Santa María la Real de Nieva village, were repopulated in the 11th century after the region’s ReconquistaReconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
, during the reign of Alfonso VI of León and Castile. Santa María la Real de Nieva village was founded in 1395 by King Henry III
Henry III of Castile
Henry III KG , sometimes known as Henry the Sufferer or Henry the Infirm , was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon, and succeeded him as King of the Castilian Crown in 1390....
, by the mediation of his wife Catherine of Lancaster
Catherine of Lancaster
-Coat of arms:The following are Armorials of the House of Lancaster under her father, John of Gaunt.-References:* Anthony Goodman: "Katherine of Lancaster" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 30 , p. 890-891....
. The town’s founding was due to the finding of a buried wooden sculpture of Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
three years before, probably hidden since muslem invasion
Umayyad conquest of Hispania
The Umayyad conquest of Hispania is the initial Islamic Ummayad Caliphate's conquest, between 711 and 718, of the Christian Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania, centered in the Iberian Peninsula, which was known to them under the Arabic name al-Andalus....
, in a piece of open ground where the village is now. This fact was considered a miracle, and the Queen ordered the building of a sanctuary and a village around it, to the worship of this Virgin’s image, called Soterraña, an old Spanish word that means 'subterranean'. The Crown proclaimed some privileges to foster the settlement in the village on 1395 and 1407, like tax and conscription exemptions.
During her stay in Santa María la Real de Nieva, Queen Blanche I of Navarre
Blanche I of Navarre
Blanche I was Queen of Navarre from 1425 to 1441. She became queen regnant upon the death of her father King Charles III of Navarre...
died on April 1, 1441, and she was buried at its church.
On October 28, 1473, King Henry IV
Henry IV of Castile
Henry IV , King of the Crown of Castile, nicknamed the Impotent , was the last of the weak late medieval kings of Castile...
called a meeting of the Courts of Castile at Santa Maria’s monastery.
On 1520 during the revolt of the Comuneros, Rodrigo Ronquillo, chief of royal troops in the area, set his headquarters in Santa Maria la Real de Nieva, and lost a battle near the town.
In the 1834 territorial reorganization of Spain, Santa María la Real de Nieva became one of the five legal district
Legal district
A legal district or judicial district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court has jurisdiction.-Courts in Germany:In Germany, ordinary Gerichtsbarkeit courts are the smallest districts of those courts. There are superior court districts, which usually have several legal districts...
s in Province of Segovia.
Santa María la Real de Nieva’s municipality grew by the adding of the surrounding villages; Ochando and Pascuales (1965); Aragoneses, Balisa, Hoyuelos, Laguna Rodrigo, Miguel Ibañez, Pinilla-Ambroz, Tabladillo, and Villoslada (1969); Jemenuño, Santovenia, and Paradinas (1970).
Monuments
There are three national monumentsBien de Interés Cultural
A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the Spanish heritage register. This category dates from 1985 when it replaced the former heritage category of Monumento nacional in order to extend protection to a wider range of cultural property...
in the municipality:
- Monastery of Our Lady of SoterrañaNuestra Señora de la SoterrañaNuestra Señora de la Soterraña is a Gothic church and monastery located at Santa María la Real de Nieva, Province of Segovia, Spain. It was built between late 14th century and early 15th century....
, in Santa Maria la Real de Nieva town, is a 15th century GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
building notable by its cloister and facade. - Chapel of Saint Michael, in Villoslada, is a small RomanesqueRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
temple built between 12th and 13th centuries. - Church of Our Lady of Assumption, in Paradinas, is a 16th century Gothic building with some neoclasicalNeoclassical architectureNeoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
elements.