Cuéllar

Cuéllar () is a municipality in the Province of Segovia, within the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain.

The municipality had a population of 9,730 inhabitants according to the municipal register of inhabitants (INE) as of 1 January 2010, divided into 4,929 men and 4,801 women.

Cuéllar is located on a hill and is 60 km northeast of the capital city of Segovia and 50 km south of Valladolid. It occupies an area of , and it is above sea level. The Cerquilla and Cega rivers flow through the town. To the north, the town borders the municipality of Bahabón (the province of Valladolid); to the south, it borders Sanchonuño; to the east is Frumales, and to the west are San Cristóbal de Cuéllar and Vallelado.

Inhabitants of Cuéllar traditionally grow different crops (such as cereals, vegetables, chicory, legumes, and beets) and raise livestock, including pigs, sheep, and cows. Forestry and resin production were once important economic resources.

History

Medieval age

Professor Ubieto Arteta reported that there is some historical evidence of Cuéllar's existence in the 10th century. Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir (Spanish name: Almanzor) sacked the town and enslaved and deported its citizens to Andalusia. King Alfonso VI of León and Castile rebuilt the town, bringing in new settlers at the end of the 11th century. This was the origin of the municipality, which was ruled by its town council. In 1184, King Alfonso VIII of Castile assembled the parliament in Cuéllar.

In the 13th century, Cuéllar was one of the most important towns in northern Spain, and the wool trade enriched the local economy. Many palaces and Mudéjar churches were constructed during this period. In 1256, Alfonso X of Castile granted Cuéllar a royal ''fuero''. Queen María de Molina, Sancho IV of Castile's wife, inherited the town after her husband's death. During her troubled regency, the town was a refuge while her son, the future King Ferdinand IV of Castile, was still a child.

In the middle of the 14th century, King Pedro I "the Cruel" married Doña Juana de Castro in Cuéllar. The marriage was because the King was unlawfully divorced from his former wife and because he deserted Doña Juana after their wedding night.

In 1464, King Henry IV of Castile gave the town as a lordship to his favorite nobleman, Beltrán de La Cueva, the first Duke of Alburquerque. Since then, the town has been bound to this family. The duke's great-grandson was raised as a marquess.

Modern age

In the 17th century, the town suffered a recession, along with many cities and villages in the country. The monarchy moved to Madrid and settled the royal court within this city, which forced the aristocracy to relocate to Madrid. It was also a period of poverty, due to the decadence of the wool trade, the taxes to pay for prior wars, and the various plagues that ravaged the country.

In the 18th century, laws enacted by Charles III allowed Cuéllar to recover some of its social and economic prosperity.

When Napoleon invaded Spain, Cuéllar was looted by the French troops, who stole all the treasuries from the churches, monasteries, and the castle.

In 1833, the writer and politician Jose de Espronceda was exiled to Cuéllar because of his liberalism. Espronceda wrote the novel ''Sancho Saldaña o el Castellano de Cuéllar'' when he lived near the church of Santo Tomé.

20th century

During the Spanish Civil War, the town remained part of the country controlled by nationalist forces, so its churches were preserved from destruction. Cuéllar Castle served as headquarters to the fascist Italian troops, and later as a prison for different political prisoners. Many years after, the castle became a hospital for consumption patients and a jail for criminals. Today it functions as a high school and tourism center. Due to local agricultural production, the people of Cuéllar were affected less after the civil war and did not emigrate as much as other people in the region.

Geography

Cuéllar is located in the heart of the natural region of Tierra de Pinares, on the border of the province of Segovia, where it meets the province of Valladolid, 60 km and 50 km respectively from both capitals. It is bordered to the north by Bahabón, Campaspero, Torrescárcela and Viloria, all in the province of Valladolid; to the west by Chañe, Arroyo de Cuéllar, Samboal, San Cristóbal de Cuéllar and Vallelado; to the south by Gomezserracín, Pinarejos, Samboal, San Martín y Mudrián and Sanchonuño and to the east by Frumales and Olombrada, all in the province of Segovia. Its exact coordinates are and it is 857.93 m above sea level.

Until 2008, its municipal area covered an area of 272.4 km², but in that year the Junta de Castilla y León recognised the town's ownership of the mountain called Común Grande de las Pegueras, and ruled that it belonged to Cuéllar, increasing the municipality's area by 74.46 km².

Due to its location in the centre of the northern plateau, it has a gentle topography, except in the large gorge that delimits its municipal area along with the river Cega. From a geological point of view, three zones can be distinguished: a quaternary mass characterised by a sandy terrain with lush vegetation, a Miocenic mass in which the soil is primarily clay, and another belonging to the Pliocene

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