Bañares is a municipality of La Rioja, Spain. It is located in the comarca of Santa Domingo de la Calzada, some 45 km west of Logroño. Its economy is primarily based on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. Especially in the cultivation of

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

beets The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet ...

and green beans.

History

The first references to the village of Bañares confirm its existence as early as 1051: (Scemeno Munioz de Cerratón in his letter about a donation that he makes to Saint Millán, when Garsea was

King of Pamplona The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

in 1089, where he stands witness before Lope Enecores de Vaniares). In the year 1133 King Alfonso the Battler, who ruled over La Rioja, donated to Pedro, Archdeacon and rector of the Church of El Salvador, all the estates that touched upon the castle of Bilibio, along with all the land of the King in the village of Bañares, by Royal Decree. In 1157, on the plain of Valpierre, near Bañares, two battles were fought between the troops of

Sancho III of Castile Sancho III (c. 1134 – 31 August 1158), called the Desired (''el Deseado''), was King of Castile and Toledo for one year, from 1157 to 1158. He was the son of Alfonso VII of León and Castile and his wife Berengaria of Barcelona, and was suc ...

and

Sancho III of Navarre Sancho Garcés III ( 992-996 – 18 October 1035), also known as Sancho the Great ( es, Sancho el Mayor, eu, Antso Gartzez Nagusia), was the King of Pamplona from 1004 until his death in 1035. He also ruled the County of Aragon and by marriage t ...

, the latter having tried to take advantage of the death of

Alfonso VII Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

to acquire Castilian territory. By 1200, Pedro Fernández de Villegas I (hero of the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212) was lord of the ''behetría'' (benefactor) of Bañares. The town was the scene of bloody battles in the 12th and 13th centuries between the kingdoms of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

and Castile. In 1478, the title of the Earl of Bañares was granted in favor of Alvaro de Zúñiga y Guzmán, owner of the castle, of which some ruins remain today, and the town remained in its domain until the abolition of this jurisdictional system in 1811 . It was part of the province of

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

until the province of Logroño was created, and today it belongs to the autonomous community of La Rioja. The village has had a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

since 1837.

Demographics

As of January 1, 2010 the population of the town rose to 321 inhabitants, 156 men and 165 women.

Etymology

In the papal bull of 1199 which granted privileges to the Monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla, it appears as "Bannares", with the collective suffix -ar and the Mozarabic feminine plural -es. The name of the place makes reference to baths, widely used in the Roman period.

Tourism

Buildings and monuments

Chapel of Santa Cruz or Santa Maria la Antigua (Saint Mary the Ancient)

An ancient, Romanesque parish church that was constructed around the 12th century. After a new church was built with the name Santa Cruz, the older one was renamed as Santa Maria la Antigua (Saint Mary the Ancient). It was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Heritage of Cultural Interest) in the

Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

category on 9 April 1964.

Parish church of the Holy Cross (Iglesia parroquial de la Santa Cruz)

It is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

building. Construction began around 1490 and ended around 1510. In the interior of the church, one finds the ark of San Formerio. It is one of the jewels of Spanish Romanesque art; scholars place it halfway through the 12th century. It is made of wood covered with copper plates enameled with different motifs. It was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Heritage of Cultural Interest) in the

category on 9 April 1964.Mininsterio de Cultura.
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Castle of Bañares

This

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

is now in ruins; since the stone was sold for construction. It is known that it had thick walls, a keep, and a moat that defended it. Currently only the Banares castle ruins are preserved, situated on the exit road toward Hervias, which allows reconstruction of a rectangular floor plan, with an entrance, facing east, on one of the long sides, flanked by cylindrical turrets, that also reinforce the corners of the rectangle. The walls were of great thickness and sloped. In its interior, one found the

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

, attached to the southern section of the wall. Rectangular in form, it was constructed with massive

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...

and pebble core

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

walls, reaching approximately 3.5 m in thickness. The interior space of this tower is divided longitudinally (E-W) in two naves, by two semi-circular arches which support a square pillar in the center and two corbels on the eastern and western walls.

Festivals

The fiesta in honor of St. Formerio is celebrated on the third weekend of August. These include religious ceremonies, the running of the bulls,

rock concerts A rock concert is a performance of rock music. During the 1950s, several United States, American musical groups experimented with new musical forms that fused country music, blues, and Swing (genre), swing genre to produce the earliest examples ...

and a community meal held the last day in the La Salceda park. On the last Sunday of July, a day in honor of the Virgin of Antiquity (Spanish: La Virgen De La Antigua) is celebrated. Their local holidays were celebrated at the end of September, after the

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

. They are in honor of St. Formerio,

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the village. The main attraction of these festivals are their processions that began the Day of Thanks, celebrated on September 14, and then the Patronage Festivals celebrated on the 24th and 25th of the same month. Recently, the patronal fiestas have been changed to the third weekend, but September 25 is still celebrated as Thanks. Every day of the fiestas is celebrated by a procession, where the young people raise the patron saint in dance through many streets of the pueblo. In the past, having more people in the village, there were teams of young people, always boys, that competed amongst themselves to see who was going to be the dance team that year, having already asked for permission from the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. Now it is different because there are no young people responsible for teaching the future dancers, it is very difficult to find youth, so, for lack of men, the women have had to do it. The dances on the first two days are performed with castanets, the dancers are eight or nine similarly dressed with somewhat different neckerchiefs or Cachiburrios. The chief attire is a white shirt and trousers with a red sash, and colored ribbons across the body held in place by the sash. elbow patches with colored ribbons and the castanets also have colored ribbons sewn onto them. And on the shoulders, a shawl of bright colors. The shoes were white espadrilles, with colored ribbons. The dances with castanets have two rhythms - one that is danced throughout the procession; and another that takes place a few meters before entering the church that is danced at high speed over a short stretch of space as the dancers perform short steps very rapidly, this is performed in a corridor while the retinue of the church authorities enter. On the second day of the festival, the dances are performed with sticks, that are called Troqueados. There are various dances of which the most picturesque are those called the dance of the Swords and the dance of the Professions. In the first a type of combat is carried out between two dancers, and subsequently between everyone at the battle scene, which ends with neither victor nor vanquished. In the dance of the Professions, as its own name indicates, is a dance in which everyone takes part and each in turn acts out a different job, such as tailor, shoemaker, blacksmith, violinist, flycatcher, etc. Another cultural event, celebrated in that area, is the serenading of newlyweds when they returned from their

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds immediately after their wedding, to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase ...

. This only happened once for each couple and was called "Asking for Rebollo". At night, when they went to sleep, the gang of their friends and acquaintances would go, singing, to hang around the door of the newlyweds' house, who would then treat their friends to

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

and

pastries Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ma ...

until the early hours of the morning. The most well-known songs with which the newlyweds are serenaded are the following: : It looks like I am watching you, : going down the stairs : with the bottle in my hand : and cookies in the other. : To these newlyweds : we come to serenade them : and to give them congratulations : with all sincerity. : To these newlyweds, : we wish them good fortune : and in about nine months : may they have a child in the crib.

Cuisine

The people use many products from the garden, examples being vegetable stew (called Menestra Riojana, or Riojan Stew), potatoes with sausage, potatoes with beef,

piquillo peppers The piquillo pepper is a variety of Chili pepper, chili, ''Capsicum annuum'', having a sweet taste with little to no heat, fruits about 7 cm long, well suited for growing in pots, that is traditionally grown in Northern Spain near the town of Lodo ...

. Additionally, the meat is excellent, good examples being the local

chorizo Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula. In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or ...

, sausages, and chuletillas al sarmiento ( lamb chops with vine shoots), taking advantage of the wood that is a result of the pruning of the abundant

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

in the area.

Sports facilities

Municipal pelota court, swimming pools and soccer fields of the Salceda. In addition there is a tourist cycling route that runs along the old railroad track path included in the catalog of

greenways Greenway or Greenways may refer to: * Greenway (landscape), a linear park focused on a trail or bike path * Another term for bicycle boulevards in some jurisdictions People * Greenway (surname) Places Australia * Electoral Division of Greenway ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banares Populated places in La Rioja (Spain)