Hervás (; ext, Ervás) is a Spanish town in the north of the province of
Cáceres. It had 3,839 inhabitants in 2005. It is 120 km from
Cáceres and 90 km far from
Salamanca
Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritag ...
. It is the capital of the
Valle de Ambroz comarca
A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...
in the
Ambroz River
The Ambroz is a river for which Valle del Ambroz, an area in Spain north of Extremadura, near the border of Portugal, was named. The area is home to eight villages: Hervás, Baños de Montemayor, Abadía, Casas del Monte, La Garganta, Gargantil ...
valley. It has a soft
continental climate
Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...
.
History
In the 12th century, the
Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
built
Santihervás hermitage under the patronage of the Christian martyrs
Gervasius and Protasius
Saints Gervasius and Protasius (also Saints Gervase and Protase, Gervasis and Prothasis and in French (language), French ''Gervais and Protais'') are venerated as Christian martyrs, probably of the 2nd century. They are the patron saints of Milan ...
. By this hermitage the town started to grow during 13th and 14th centuries.
From its foundation on it belonged to the lordship of
Béjar
Béjar () is a town and Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located in the province of Salamanca, autonomous community of Castile and León. As of 2018, it had a population of 12,961. The historical development of the town has been link ...
in the
Kingdom of Castile
The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...
: it passed to Cáceres jurisdiction on the 30 November 1833.
La Judería
Many
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
families settled here from the 15th century on, they even maintained their rituals some years after 1492. The
Jewish quarter ''(Judería)'' has been maintained and it is one of the tourist lures of the town.
Economy
The textile industry was very important from the 18th to 19th centuries. After that, the
chestnut
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.
The unrelat ...
wood industry
The wood industry or timber industry (sometimes lumber industry -- when referring mainly to sawed boards) is the industry concerned with forestry, logging, timber trade, and the production of primary forest products and wood products (e.g. furnit ...
, handicrafts and tourism have been the pillar of Hervás' economy.
Remarkable buildings
* La Enfermería de los Religiosos Franciscanos (
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
Sickbay), 18th century, current town hall.
* El Convento de los Religiosos Trinitarios (
Trinitarian
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...
Convent), current
Junta de Extremadura
The regional Government of Extremadura ( es, Junta de Extremadura) is the group of institutions ruling the Spanish autonomous community of Extremadura.
Structure
It is headed by the President of Extremadura. Its legislative branch is the ...
Hospedería (chain of four-star hotels run by the regional government).
*
Pérez Comendador
Pérez, or Perez as most commonly written in English, is a Castilian Spanish surname. Perez (pronounced Peretz, see below) is also common in people of Sephardic Jewish descent and is the 4th most common surname in Israel, most common surname not o ...
-Leroux Museum, 18th century.
* La Iglesia Parroquial de Santa María (Saint Mary's Parish Church).
* Museo de la Cereza del Jerte (cereza con denominación de origen Valle del Jerte)
Hospederia Valle del Jerte
* Plasencia, la perla del Valle del Jerte
References
External links
Hervás City Council website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hervas
Historic Jewish communities in Europe
Municipalities in the Province of Cáceres