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. It is the capital of the
Valle de Ambroz comarca 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. By this hermitage the town started to grow during 13th and 14th centuries.
From its foundation on it belonged to the lordship of
Béjar in the
Kingdom of Castile: it passed to Cáceres jurisdiction on the 30 November 1833.
La Judería
Many
Jewish 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, handicrafts and tourism have been the pillar of Hervás' economy.
Remarkable buildings
* La Enfermería de los Religiosos Franciscanos (
Franciscan Sickbay), 18th century, current town hall.
* El Convento de los Religiosos Trinitarios (
Trinitarian Convent), current
Junta de Extremadura Hospedería (chain of four-star hotels run by the regional government).
*
Pérez Comendador-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