Palencia

Palencia is a commune of Spain, capital of the Province of Palencia, autonomous community of Castille-and-León. It is located in the plain of Tierra de Campos , on the river Carrión, with the altitude of 749 m and 235 km of Madrid. In 2006, it counted 82.263 inhabitants on a surface of 94,71 km ².

Geography

Palencia is in the northern zone of the Spanish central plate. It is located in the valley Carrión close to its junction with the Pisuerga. The Carrión crosses the city of north to the south by forming four islands including two of big size, the island Dos Aguas and the island of Sotillo and two others moreover small size. The river, from a generally moderate and constant flow all the year, separates in three arms at the entry from the city, forming the island of Sotillo and another smaller island, all two occupied by a park called El Sotillo of los Canónigos (Sotillo of the Canons). The river finds then a single bed where was built in XVIe century Puente Mayor (the Large Bridge), then separates again in two arms which forms the principal island (Isla Dos Aguas) from which the septentrional part lodges a large park and the southernmost part a sporting center and a golf. At the end of the island, one finds the last small small island. The river finds a single bed while leaving Palencia. Two slopes dominate the city in north east. Nearest to the center town is overcome colossal image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus de Palencia, the Christ of the Hillock which dominates the city.

Palencia lays out of a forest of 1.438 hectares oaks and the yeuses ones located at 6km of distance. The inhabitants call it " Assemble el Viejo" (" Wood Vieux"). This park, which is a place of leisures for the population, is accessible also by a cycle track. The vegetation is formed there, in the highest part and driest, of yeuses and of some oaks and, as altitude is lost, it becomes increasingly green, with oaks and poplars. One finds in the forest an important enclosed zone in which stags autochtones live which can be nourished by the visitors. In addition to this animalist reserve, el Viejo Assembles it has many installations: simple and complex sporting courses, the public swimming pools of Wood, a bar and a restaurant, a refuge and both Put Pequeña and Casa Large (Small and Large House) which are an inn of XVIe century.

In the neighborhoods of the city, the cultures strewn with thickets of poplars, oaks and the yeuses ones form the most frequent vegetation.

Palencia is not crossed by the Channel of Castille but an arm called the Wet dock of the Channel is inserted in the surroundings of the city. This arm was used for the goods but the arrival of the railroad made it useless. On its banks, it is question of installing there a museum of water for tourism.

The communal territory of Palencia also includes/understands the locality of Paredes de Monte.

Demography

The population of the city passed from 78.800 inhabitants in 1996 to 82.263 people in 2006, including 38.863 men and 43.400 women. The annual increase is of 1,01% for the period 2005 - 2006, which constitutes one of the rare exceptions of the province which loses inhabitants. Historically it was a center of interior immigration, especially during the decades 1950 - 1970, receiving a Rural migration, insofar as it has a more active industry and more dynamics that in the surrounding regions of the Tierra de Campos or of El Cerrato .

History

Antiquity

Rome . The historical origins of the city remain dubious, but archeology made it possible to note that there was, on the place of the current city, of the pre-Romans establishments. The tribe which occupied it that of the Vaccéens, were cultivated tribes Celtibères, agrarian and with a powerful military organization.

The celtibère establishment strengthened accepted the name of Pallantia (Παλλαντία), quoted by Strabon and Ptolémée and the Romans, who can find his origin starting from the root Celtique pala, " plaine". It was the capital of the Vaccéens, although Strabon incorrectly allotted it to the Arevaces. To subject it, the city was famished at the second century before J.C and incorporated in the Roman province of Tarraconaise (Hispania Tarraconensis), in the jurisdiction of Clunia. Small active city of Roman garrison, it unimportant was compared with the Roman villas of late antiquity present on the surrounding territory. The archeologists discovered remainders of Roman villas with Olmeda and the " Quintanilla of Cueza, " with fragments of grounds in particularly refined mosaic. According to the Galician chronicler of the fifth century Idace de Chaves, the town of Palencia was practically destroyed into 457 during the wars between the Visigoths and the Suèves: the date falls during the reign from Théodoric II, whose center of the capacity lay in the remote North-East of Aquitaine. When the Visigoths conquered the territory, they preserved the system of the Roman rural villas by installing the Campos Góticos .

the bishops . In the city itself, one évêché catholic was founded at the third century, even earlier if the bishop were well with the number of those which deposited at the 3rd century the bishop of Astorga, Basilides. With the wisigothic arrival of the capacity, the Ariens and the Catholics disputed évêché of Palencia. The ascetic heresy of Priscillien, born in Galicia, extended on Tierra de Campos, controlled by the Visigoths ariens, and was fought by Toribius, bishop of Astorga. Maurila, a bishop arien installed in Palencia by Léovigild, followed the conversion of the king Récarède Ier to Catholicism (587), and in 589 it took part in the 3rd council of Tolède. The bishop Conantius, biographer of Saint Ildefonse, attended with the synods and the councils held in Tolède and composed of the music and a book of prayers starting from the Psalms. He directed the episcopal pulpit during more than thirty years and had as a disciple Fructuosus de Braga.

the Moors . On arrival of the Moors at the beginning of the eighth century, resistance split up between the bishops who controlled the strengthened small towns and the territorial owners in their also strengthened villas. A concerted resistance does not seem to have been effective and fragmented defense saw going villa after villa. Palencia was of no importance: the writers Moors quote the frontier town only once in the division of the provinces before the dynasty Omeyyade. The diocese of Palencia was only one name - a " sit titulaire" - until Froila, Count de Villafruela, succeed in taking again the territory of évêché into 921, but that which restores really the Christian capacity was Sanche III, king de Navarre. It was in Palencia that the Cid married Chimène in 1074.

évêché restored . The first prelate of the seat after his restoration (1035) was, says one, Bernardo, to which Sanche III entrusted the capacity vassalic on the city and its territory, including the castles and the few abbeys. Bernardo was of origin French or Navarrese and devoted itself to the rebuilding of the original cathedral, built above the crypt of the local saint Antolín (Antoninus - Saint Antonin de Pamiers), patron saint of Palencia, which is venerated only at this place, with his Ferias of September. The cathedral was again rebuilt three centuries later. Its principal treasures were relics of Antoninus, venerated before in Aquitaine, from where they had been brought back. Alphonse VI of Castille conferred many privileges on Raimundo, the successor of Bernardo. Pedro (Pierre) of Agen, brought France by the bishop Bernardo de Tolède, succeeded Raimundo. Partisan of the queen Urraca, it was imprisoned by Alphonse II of Aragon. In 1113, a provincial council meets in Palencia by the Bernardo Archbishop to choke the disorders of the time. The length and beneficial government of Pedro were followed of that of Pedro II, who died in Almeria and which succeeded Raimundo II. The Tello bishop took share with the Bataille of Mow Navas de Tolosa in 1212, where Palencia conquered the right to place the cross on the castle-extremely of its blazon.

the University of Palencia . First university of Castille, the general studium of Palencia was founded by Alphonse VIII of Castille; however, the school did not survive to him a long time. It was suggested that the poet of XIIIe century Gonzalo de Berceo studied at the University during his short life. Professors de Palencia were attracted by the more flourishing Université of Salamanque.

the last bishops . In 1410 the bishop Sancho de Rojas fought with the battle of Antequera, where the infant Ferdinand, regent of Castille and León, beat Mohammed VII, king de Grenade, and with the Treaty of Caspe it helped Ferdinand to make sure of the crown of Aragon. Saint Vincent Ferrier preached in Palencia, converting with such an amount of success of the thousands of Jews, according to catholic sources, which it had the authorization to use the Synagog for his new hospital of San Salvador, joined together later with that of Antolín Saint.

Among the bishops who followed and who were, like feudal lords, invariably the noblest family members, one finds:

Munio de Zamora Sancho de Rojas Rodrigo de Velasco (death in 1435) Rodrigo Sanchez de Arévalo, author of a history of Latin Spain (1466) Pedro de Castilla (1440-1461) Iñigo López de Mendoza (1472-1485) Fray Alonso of Burgos (1485-1499) Bishop Fonseca (1505-1514) Gasca (1550-1561) Zapata (1569-1577) Alvaro de Mendoza

In the south of the city, in the village of Baños de Cerrato, the oldest church of the Iberian peninsula is, a Basilique of VIIe century dedicated to Saint Jean and built by the king Visigoth Receswinthe (death in 672).

Monuments

One still sees the trace of the old fortifications of the old city, which were high of more than 10 meters; alamedas or walks were established in their place in 1778. The Gothic Cathedral of style blazing, built of 1321 to 1504 and dedicated to San Antolín, is drawn up above the wisigothic crypt with vaults low; its museum contains an important noimbre works of art, including/understanding a retable of twelve panels of Jean de Flandres, painter of the court of the queen Isabelle the Catholic. The Archaeological Museum contains ceramics Celtibères. Palencia is also re-elected for the church San Miguel, of XIIIe century and the monastery Benedictine of San Zoilo, installed in a building rococo of the XVIIIe century by Juan de Badajoz.

Internal bonds

List of the bishops of Palencia
Holy Week in Palencia

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