Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...

and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial population. The municipality has a surface area of 271,77 km², with a density of 144.97 inhabitants/km². Situated at about 1065 metres above sea level, Soria is the second highest provincial capital in Spain. Although there are remains of settlements from the Iron Age and Celtiberian times, Soria itself enters history with its repopulation between 1109 and 1114, by the Aragonese king

Alfonso I the Battler Alfonso I (''c''. 1073/10747 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior ( es, el Batallador), was King of Aragon and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successo ...

. A strategic enclave due to the struggles for territory between the kingdoms of Castile, Navarre and Aragon, Soria became part of Castile definitively in 1134, during the reign of Alfonso VII.

Alfonso VIII Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at ...

was born in Soria, and

Alfonso X Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

had his court established when he received the offer to the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. In Soria, the deposed king James IV of Mallorca died, and John I of Castile married. Booming during the Late Middle Ages thanks to its border location and its control over the cattle industry, Soria went into a slow decline over the next few centuries. It was damaged greatly during the Peninsular War. The city preserves an important architectural heritage (extensive medieval walls, Renaissance palaces and architecturally distinctive Romanesque churches) and is home to the Numantine Museum (with pieces from the nearby Celtiberian city of Numantia). Soria's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team

CD Numancia Club Deportivo Numancia de Soria, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club in Soria, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 9 April 1945, it plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at ''Nuevo Estadio Los ...

is named after this city. It is one of the smallest cities to ever have had a team in Spain's top division La Liga. Today, its population of 38,881 makes Soria the least populated provincial capital of Castile and León and the second least populated in Spain (after

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with a ...

). Particularly important in its economy is the agri-food industry, while an increasing number of tourists are attracted by its cultural heritage. Soria was mentioned by UNESCO as a good example when including the Mediterranean diet in its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Name

It is claimed that in Roman times there was a castle called Oria, purportedly named after a Greek knight called Doricus. Based on this folk etymology, some historians guessed that the first inhabitants of this city might have been the Dorians. Archaeology has not confirmed that story. Instead it has suggested that the first inhabitants were the

Suebi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...

, whose kings (as reported by Tutor and Malo in their ''Compedio historial de las dos Numancias'') established one of their courts there. These two hypotheses have been abandoned because of lack of evidence. It seems more likely that the name ''Soria'' may have its origin in the word ''dauria'' from the river ''Durius'' ( Douro).

Shield

The

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of a ...

of Soria has the following heraldic description: The king in the coat of arms is

, born in Soria, and the red field represents the blood shed by the Sorians, particularly in the battles of

Alarcos Battle of Alarcos (July 18, 1195), was a battle between the Almohads led by Abu Yusuf Ya'qub al-Mansur and King Alfonso VIII of Castile.''Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia'', 42. It resulted in the defeat of the Kingdom of Castile, Castilian fo ...

, Navas de Tolosa and

Aljubarrota Aljubarrota is a ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") in the municipality of Alcobaça, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the parishes of Prazeres and São Vicente. Its population in 2011 was 6,639Church of Nuestra Señora de la Mayor, which already reflected the city's motto. Unlike the current official coat of arms, the king who now appears on the bust of the castle's keep on the castle's bell tower, is represented in the bell of San Gil with his entire body at the foot of the castle, leaving through its door.

History

The area of Soria was inhabited by the Iberians, who merged with the Celts to form the

Celtiberians The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BCE. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strab ...

around the 4th century BC. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the rebuilt city was occupied by the

. Later, after the Arab conquest of Spain, it grew in importance due to its proximity to the border of the Christian lands, which in the 8th century had settled along the Duero river. In

869 __NOTOC__ Year 869 ( DCCCLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Emperor Basil I allies with the Frankish emperor L ...

Soria was the centre of the rebellion of Suleyman ibn-Abus against the emir of Córdoba, who sent his son

Hakan Hakan is a common Turkish forename, based on the Turkish language variant of the imperial title Khagan. The name is also spelled Khakan or Khaqan in other parts of the world, with the same etymology. Given name *Ahmet Hakan Coşkun (born 1967 ...

to quench it. Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre, the Battler seized the territory away from the sphere of the Kingdom of León, controlling the territory from 1109 to 1134, entrusting the role of first tenant of Soria to Íñigo López already by 1119, when the effective repopulation should have started, although there are claims tracing it back some time earlier. Soria was granted a short '' fuero'' in March 1120, that also fixed limits to the medieval ''concejo''. After the death of Alfonso I in 1134, Alfonso VII of León, the Emperor took control of the territory. The short ''fuero'' was confirmed by Alfonso VII in 1143. Due to its strategic placement at the borders of the Kingdoms of Castile,

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

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 León, Soria in the Middle Ages was at the centre of several conflicts between them.

Alfonso VIII of Castile Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at ...

, in reward for its support, gave the city several privileges which it maintained until modern times. In 1195 the town was stormed by Sancho VII of Navarre, but later recovered and continued to develop its splendour and trades. Soria lost most of its importance after the unification of Aragón and Castile in 1479, and above all after the decree of exile issued against the Jews in 1492. In the War of Spanish Succession (early 18th century), Soria sided for

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...

. In 1808 it was captured and set on fire by the French troops. AHPSo255

The economical and social crisis of Spain in the early 20th century, and the Spanish Civil War with

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

's dictatorship which followed, had negative effects on Soria and its neighborhood, which became depopulated due to strong emigration. The policy of the current authorities aims to strengthen the local economy pivoting on Soria's tourism potential, and has also launched a programme of reconstruction for the neighbouring villages.

Culture

The poet

Antonio Machado Antonio Cipriano José María y Francisco de Santa Ana Machado y Ruiz (26 July 1875 – 22 February 1939), known as Antonio Machado, was a Spanish poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish literary movement known as the Generation ...

(1875-1939) spent five years in Soria teaching French in a secondary school, before moving to the neighbouring town of Segovia. These years proved significant in his literary development. He married and lost his wife there and discovered much about the nature of the Castilian people – a subject the Generation of '98 authors were very interested in. ''Campos de Soria'' was a series of poems lamenting his wife's early death. They formed part of a major collection ''Campos de Castilla''. The firewalking rituals performed at the Sorian village of

San Pedro Manrique San Pedro Manrique is a municipality in the province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain. , it had 626 inhabitants. Since the mid-nineteenth century this municipality has aggregated smaller villages. There is a deposit of lead in the municipali ...

every June as part of the festival of San Juan have been declared as a tradition of National Tourist Interest and have attracted global attention through ethnographic and scientific studies and media coverage.

Religion

Although Soria never was a bishopric, its St. Peter's church became the Co-Cathedral of the bishopric of Osma when that was renamed Roman Catholic Diocese of Osma-Soria on 1959.03.09. The province of Soria has a Minor Basilica, the Marian Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Milagros, in Ágreda.

Main sights

; Ecclesiastical * Plateresque Concatedral de San Pedro, erected in the 12th-13th centuries, rebuilt in the 16th century, and its cloister. * ''

San Juan de Rabanera The San Juan de Rabanera is a Romanesque-style, Roman Catholic church located in Soria, Spain. It was declared ''Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Ve ...

'', Romanesque church from the 12th century * ''San Polo'', a former monastery of the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

. The churches of ''San Nicolás'' and ''San Ginés'' are from the same age. * the Romanesque convent church of Santo Domingo (12th century) * ''Nuestra Señora de la Mayor'' (16th century), with a Romanesque portal * ''Iglesia del Espino'' (16th century) * San Juan de Duero with its 12th century ruined cloisters located on the other side of the river from the old town. * The sanctuaries of ''Ermita de San Saturio'' (18th century) and ''Ermita de la Soledad'' (17th century). * The '' Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Mirón'' (Hermitage of Our Lady of Miron), with a baroque/rococo interior, founded - according to legend - by Theodemar in the sixth century. Since September 2009 the building has been used by a Romanian Orthodox parish. ; Other * The Renaissance ''Ayuntamiento'' (Town Hall, 16th century), in the ''Plaza Mayor'' (main square) * ''Palacio de la Audiencia'' (theatre), from 1739 * ''Palacio de los condes de Gomara'' (Judiciary Palace, 1592) * remains of the medieval castle, commanding the town from the eponymous hill, and of the walls * The Church of San Nicolás de Soria ( Spanish: ''Iglesia de San Nicolás'') is a ruined remnant of a Romanesque-style church. It was declared '' Bien de Interés Cultural'' in 1962. A few kilometres north of the town are the ruins of Numantia, a Celtiberian town whose inhabitants destroyed it rather than let it fall to Scipio. In Soria is the ''Museo Numantino'', devoted to the archaeological remains of this and other sites in the province.

Transportation

The city is served by the Soria Railway Station, with daily services to Madrid via

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

. There are also many bus lines to neighbouring cities. A new highway has reduced the trip to Madrid by car down to 2 hours.

Geography

Soria sits on the banks of Douro river, in its upper course. Its municipality is formed by the city, and four rural hamlets: Las Casas, Oteruelos, Pedrajas and Toledillo; both Oteruelos and Pedrajas were small municipalities later absorbed by Soria by the 1970s. The shape of the municipality is highly irregular and it is not even continuous, as it comprises three disjointed areas.

Climate

Soria has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

( Köppen: ''Cfb''). Due to its altitude, winters in Soria are very cold by Spanish standards ( in January) with almost 84 frost days per year. Summers are dry and warm (average in July) with the daytime temperature usually around . Temperatures above are not rare in summer, while lows can go under at nights. It has scant rainfall (512 mm per year) and spring is the wettest season. The low rainfall is in spite of its high elevation as the maritime Atlantic low-pressure systems are often blocked by the mountains closer to the coast. It is the coldest Spanish provincial capital.

Sport

The city's professional

club is called

. Two of Spain's foremost runners of the late 20th century lived and trained in Soria: Fermín Cacho, a gold medallist at the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, and

Abel Antón Abel Antón Rodrigo (born 24 October 1962 in Ojuel, municipality of Cabrejas del Campo, Soria) is a Spanish long-distance runner. He won gold medals in the marathon at the 1997 and the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. In 19 ...

, a two-time World Champion in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

. The area in which they trained, Monte Valonsadero, is now host to the annual

Cross Internacional de Soria The Cross Internacional de Soria, also known as the Campo a Través Internacional de Soria, is an annual cross country running competition that takes place in Soria, Spain. First held in 1994, it usually takes place in late November and gained IAAF ...

meeting – one of Spain's most prestigious cross country running competitions.Historia del Cross Internacional de Soria
.

ANOC The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) is an international organization that affiliates the current 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Each year it gathers all its member ...

. Retrieved on 2009-11-29. The European Youth Orienteering Championships were held in Soria in July 2010.

Economy

(Copiso) El presidente de la Junta visita Copiso

Municipal services

Soria has a biomass district heating plant called ''Red de Calor de Soria'', which uses woodchip residue fuel from the local timber industry. Venture capital firm AXIS, part of Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), the Spanish promotional bank, has made an equity investment in the project. The project plans to provide 80 GWh of renewable energy per year, which will heat 8,000 homes, saving 28,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Twin towns

* 1994 —

Collioure Collioure (; ca, Cotlliure, ) is a commune in the southern French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. Geography The town of Collioure is on the Côte Vermeille (Vermilion Coast), in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the arrondissement ...

(France)

Notable people

* Saint

Saturius of Soria Saint Saturius of Soria ( es, San Saturio) (493–568) is a hermit-saint of Spain. Born in Soria, Saturius, according to Christian tradition, dedicated himself to a life of solitude and prayer. He took care of his parents until their death, af ...

Javier Modrego Javier Modrego Casado (also known as ‘Modre’) (born 19 January 1988 in Soria, Castile and León, Spain) is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a midfielder. He is now the coach of the main team of C. D. San José De Soria and he also ...

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *

Sources and external links

A scientific study of a fire-walking ritual
from

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

's The Daily Planet Show
GCatholic
{{Authority control Municipalities in the Province of Soria