Riocavado de la Sierra
Riocavado de la Sierra is a small municipality ( municipio ) with 57 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
Riocavado de la Sierra is located in the heart of the Sierra de la Demanda at an altitude of about 1180 meters above sea level. d. M. The nearest town is the 20 km ( driving distance ) south west Salas de los Infantes; the provincial capital of Burgos is about 70 km in a north-westerly direction away.
Demographics
Had the place in the 19th century at times even more than 300 inhabitants, there are currently only around the 50th
Economy
As the inhabitants of most mountain towns in northern Spain, including the Riocavadeños 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
It is believed that the foundation of the town in the time of re-colonization ( repoblación ) of - falls largely deserted areas in the north of the Iberian Peninsula - after the conquest ( conquista ) by the Moors. The first written record dates from 1028; due to its remote location was the site of renewed attacks by the Moors, who had retreated to the more southern regions, largely protected. The nearby iron ore and coal mines in the city experienced a brief heyday in the 19th and early 20th century.
Attractions
- The approximately in the middle of the 12th century datable Romanesque parish church (Iglesia de Santa Columba ) particularly impressed by their technically perfect execution of precision machined dressed stone - an aspect that suggests migratory stonemasons. The apse is divided by half-columns templates in vertical fields of - fanned blind arches - mostly windowless and the apex slightly pointed. On the north side there is a slim and largely unsegmented bell tower, which serves to stabilize the outer wall at the same time raises. The southern wall of the nave, in which also the subsequently built here in the 16th century portal is located, is against it statically secured by buttresses. In the completely unadorned western facade, the walled former portal is still clearly visible. The nave interior of the church was given a ribbed vault in the 16th century; by a chancel arch limited apse is still covered by the original semi- dome-shaped dome.
- Some houses in the village are decorated with coats of arms etc..