Béjar () is a town and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
of
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
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 linked to its once thriving
textile manufacturing industry.
History
Béjar was founded towards October–November 1208 and it was presumably granted a ''
fuero'' afterwards. It was originally placed to the south of the current settlement, but the population relocated to its current location in the first half of the 14th century. Featuring a cattle-based economy, the town sustained a quick early growth. Over the rest of the middle ages, the town passed several times from a royal demesne to seigneurial lordship and vice versa. The town saw its ''fuero'' ratified in 1333. Béjar celebrated an eight-day long medieval
fair
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
every year. The town enjoyed from availability to plenty of wood resources,
hydropower
Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
and sheep flocks.
The arrival to power of the
Zúñiga family after 1396 favoured the installment of numerous courtiers and servants, who increased the demand for clothing products. Cloth-making boomed in the late-17th century. The Ducal House of Béjar brought Flemish artisans to update the wool manufacturing techniques.

Unlike other textile manufacturing hubs in the Castilian Meseta, the local textile industry got to survive past the Early Modern Period. The late modern history of Béjar is indeed marked by its thriving textile industry, and during the 19th century it came to be referred to as the "Castilian Manchester".
Due to the peripheral location of the town and the rugged relief, railway arrived late to Béjar, in 1894. Following the end of the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, Béjar became a major provider of wool clothes, primarily used for military and civil servants' uniforms.
Béjar maintained a positive demographic growth until 1970, peaking at 17,576 inhabitants. The textile industry entered a crisis in the 1970s, prompting to staffing cutbacks. Passenger train services in the Astorga–Plasencia line closed on 1 January 1985, and
rail freight transport a decade later, worsening
rural flight patterns in the area and hindering business development. In the wake of the decline of the
secondary sector, the municipality has tried to foster other alternatives for the local economy such as
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
.
Name
The name ''Béjar'' is presumably of pre-Roman origin and it has been documented as ''Biclara'' and ''Biclaro''.
Monuments
Béjar has many remarkable monuments and historical buildings:
* City walls: well-preserved medieval fort
* Church of Saint James (Santiago): built in the 12th century, now serves as a Museum of Religious Art
* Church of Saint Mary the Great (Santa María la Mayor): built between the 12th and 17th centuries, in several different architectural styles (from Mudejar to Baroque)
* Jewish Museum David Melul: shows Béjar's Hebrew past
* Ducal Palace and Camera Obscura: an ancient fortress transformed into a palace for the Duke and Duchess of Béjar in the 16th century.
See also
*
Palomares de Béjar Palomares de Béjar is a neighborhood of Béjar, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, in the province of Salamanca, western Spain. Palomares was an independent village until 1970 when it became part of Béjar.
References
...
*
Sierra de Béjar
References
;Citations
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External links
i-Béjarweb portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bejar
Municipalities in the Province of Salamanca