Pineda de la Sierra
Pineda de la Sierra is a small municipality ( municipio ) with 98 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2013) in the northern Spanish province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile -Leon. The San Esteban church is one of the most outstanding Romanesque churches in northern Spain and is recognized as a cultural ( Bien de Interès Cultural ).
Location
Pineda de la Sierra is located at the headwaters of the Río Arlanzón in the heart of the Sierra de la Demanda at an altitude of about 1200 meters above sea level. d. M. The nearest town is about 35 km ( driving distance ) south to Salas de los Infantes; the provincial capital of Burgos is just 50 km away in a northwesterly direction.
Demographics
Had the place in the 19th century, partly still about 400 inhabitants, they were in the 1950s still 338; currently there are only about 100
Economy
As the inhabitants of most mountain towns in northern Spain, including the Pinediños lived for centuries by a self-catering from livestock (sheep and goats) and a little agriculture (barley and wheat). From the milk of animals a tough cheese was made, who was sometimes sell in the markets of distant cities. The same applies to the sheep's wool, which was also needed for the production of their own clothing; from the goats' hair ropes etc. were braided. In the second half of the 19th and the first half of the century, many immigrants tried their luck as a miner in the mines (iron, copper, lead and coal ) of the environment.
Meanwhile the day and weekend tourism and rental of holiday homes ( casas rurales ) play a significant role in the economic life of the village.
History
The first written mention of the village dates from the year 932; it is the time of recolonization ( repoblación ) the - after the conquest ( conquista ) by the Moors - largely unpopulated areas in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Due to the iron ore and coal mines in the place experienced a brief heyday in the 19th and early 20th century.
Attractions
The approximately the mid-12th century attributable Romanesque parish church (Iglesia de San Esteban Protomártir ) particularly impressed by their south porch ( galería Porticada ), which is opposite to that developed significantly in the neighboring municipality Vizcaínos. It consists of a - slightly protruding from the wall escape - central portal and six western and eastern five arcades, call its arches all on double columns with perfectly crafted crafted and well-preserved capitals. Below the eaves eastern portions of the vestibule and on the outside wall of the church run two console figurative frieze with human heads and animal representations. The actual entrance to the church is protected by the porch; it consists of five profiled Archivolts arches that rest on ornate fighter plates which are in turn supported by perfectly preserved Romanesque capitals. Laterally, the Archivolts arches there are two figures, whose iconography is unclear. The interior of the church is barrel vaulted; the apse has a semi- dome-shaped Kalottenwölbung. While the apse is divided by half-columns presented in the exterior and closes under the eaves with another console frieze shows the built on a square plan on the north side of the church bell tower neither jewelry nor structural elements.