Tordesillas

Tordesillas [ toɾðesiʎas ] in the province of Valladolid of the autonomous community of Castile and León, is a Spanish city on the steep bank of the Duero in the otherwise flat Castilian level. It is located on 704 m above sea level and has 8961 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2013).

History

1494 - two years after the official discovery of the New World by Columbus - the city was the scene of the Treaty of Tordesillas between the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal, in which, after an arbitration decision of Pope Alexander VI. the New World was divided between the two countries.

All already discovered and yet to be discovered territories were "for all time " along a line extending in a north-south direction demarcation line 370 Spanish leagues ( about 1770 km) west of the complained of Portugal Cape Verde Islands in a west thereof Spanish and east of it Portuguese influence zone divided, excluded the other seafaring nations operated France, England, Italy (Genoa, Venice, Pisa ) and Denmark of the discoveries and the Atlantic Ocean. At this time, yet no American mainland was officially discovered and Hispanola still regarded as the island of Las Indias, Asia.

The Spanish Queen Juana the Mad was here the beautiful 1506 Convento de Santa Clara, a former palace that has been transformed into a monastery for 150, imprisoned by her father Ferdinand II after the death of her husband Philip. Supposedly they had the early death of her husband lost her mind and kept his corpse on their premises to convince himself that he was still asleep. Her son Charles I, who later became German emperor Charles V, ended her captivity until her death in 1555 no more. Although 1504 was temporarily co-regent after the death of her mother Isabella I, she was first in the convent of Santa Clara, later buried in the Capilla Real in Granada along with their parents and not in the resting place of the Spanish monarchy since Charles V, the Panteones del Escorial.

1350 had Alfonso XI. can build this former palace on the desert-like barrenness of the Castilian Meseta to commemorate the Battle of Salado. His son Peter the Cruel had him converted into a monastery in the Mudejar style, which he had adorn favor with columns, horseshoe and jagged arches and arabesques and azulejos in memory of their Sevillian home with all the charm of Moorish architecture, his secret love, María de Padilla. Worth seeing is the Capilla Dorada, the Golden Chapel, which has a beautiful dome in Mudejar style. There is a church whose choir is surmounted by an exceptionally beautiful Artesonadodecke At the site of the former throne room.

Culture and sights

Tordesillas is the venue for the annual tournament El Toro de la Vega. Here, a bull is on the first Tuesday after the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 8 ) in the planes ( la vega ) located outside Tordesillas with lance punctures to death. Dating back to a decree of Peter I on the occasion of the celebration of the birth of his daughter Isabel in 1355 tournament regularly attracts thousands of onlookers from home and abroad.

Every year there is this medieval spectacle in all media numerous comments from supporters and opponents. The number of opponents this cruel spectacle, however, increases with each passing year. 2012 were collected 71,000 signatures rejection of the Partido Animal Ista, a Spanish animal protection organization.