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37-545: In the early 10th century, fortifications were built along the Duero at Soria and Almazán. In 1068, Almazán was conquered by the Christians of Alfonso VI of León, but soon after was recovered for al-Ándalus. In 1128, it was repopulated by Alfonso I , although after his death in 1134, the town fell into Castilian hands and was granted by Alfonso VII of León to the bishops of Sigüenza . In 1158, Sancho III of Castile created

74-534: A city of the Pellendones , but other authors, like Strabo and Ptolemy place it among the Arevaci people. The Arevaci were a Celtiberian tribe, formed by the mingling of Iberians and migrating Celts in the 6th century BC, who inhabited an area near Numantia and Uxama . The first serious conflict with Rome occurred in 153 BC when Quintus Fulvius Nobilior was consul . Numantia took in some fugitives from

111-598: A municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León 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 km , with a density of 144.97 inhabitants/km . Situated at about 1065 metres above sea level, Soria is the second highest provincial capital in Spain. Although there are remains of settlements from

148-625: A programme of reconstruction for the neighbouring villages. The poet Antonio Machado (1875–1939) spent five years in Soria teaching French in a secondary school, before moving to Segovia nearer Madrid. These years in Soria 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

185-643: Is famous for its role in the Celtiberian Wars . In 153 BC, Numantia experienced its first serious conflict with Rome. After twenty years of hostilities, in 133 BC the Roman Senate gave Scipio Aemilianus Africanus the task of destroying Numantia. Numantia was an Iron Age hill fort (in Roman terminology an oppidum ), which controlled a crossing of the river Duero . Pliny the Elder counts it as

222-692: 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. Soria has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). Due to its altitude, winters in Soria are very cold by Spanish standards (3.2 °C (38 °F) in January) with almost 84 frost days per year. Summers are dry and warm (average 20.5 °C (69 °F) in July) with

259-517: Is home to the Numantine Museum (with pieces from the nearby Celtiberian city of Numantia ). Soria's football team CD Numancia 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 ). Particularly important in its economy

296-548: Is the Museo Numantino , devoted to the archaeological remains of this and other sites in the province. The city is served by the Soria Railway Station , with daily services to Madrid via Guadalajara . There are also many bus lines to neighbouring cities. A new highway has reduced the trip to Madrid by car down to 2 hours. Soria sits on the banks of Douro river, in its upper course. Its municipality

333-598: 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. 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

370-457: The 1981 census, the population again grew markedly after the incorporation of Cobertelada into the municipality, with the localities of Almántiga , Balluncar , Covarrubias and Lodares del Monte . Lexicographer María Moliner grew up in the town, after moving from her birthplace, the Aragonese town of Paniza . Soria Soria ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsoɾja] ) is

407-580: The 4th century. Later remains from the 6th century hint of a Visigoth occupation. Numantia's exact location vanished from memory, and some theories placed it in Zamora , but in 1860 Eduardo Saavedra identified the correct location in Garray , Soria. In 1882, the ruins of Numantia were declared a national monument . In 1905, the German archaeologist Adolf Schulten began a series of excavations which located

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444-520: The Almazán la Orden de Caballería de Calatrava. The Church of San Miguel was built in the 12th century. In the late 13th century, civil war broke out, involving Sancho IV of Castile, who claimed the throne of Castile, and Alfonso de la Cerda, a liberal. In 1305, after various conflicts, Almazán was returned to the Castilian crown, and then in 1375, a peace agreement was signed between Pedro IV of Aragon, King of Aragon, and Henry II, king of Castile. Almazán

481-586: 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

518-498: 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 . 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 was born in Soria, and Alfonso X had his court established when he received

555-468: The Roman army from destruction by signing a peace treaty with the Numantines, an action generally reserved for a legate . The final siege of Numantia began in 134 BC. Scipio Aemilianus in command of an army of 30,000 soldiers laid siege to the city, erecting a 9 km barrier supported by towers, moats, impaling rods, and other devices. The Numantians refused to surrender and famine quickly spread through

592-583: The Roman camps around the city. In 1999, the Roman camps were included in a zona arqueológica , a category of the Spanish heritage register which did not exist when the hillfort was first protected. Regular excavations are still going on. Many objects from the site are on display in the Numantine Museum of Soria (Spanish: Museo Numantino ). This museum is also responsible for in situ displays at Numantia. Other collections which have items from

629-451: 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. Numantia Numantia ( Spanish : Numancia ) is an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the current municipality of Garray ( Soria ), Spain. Numantia

666-468: The annual Cross Internacional de Soria meeting – one of Spain's most prestigious cross country running competitions. The European Youth Orienteering Championships were held in Soria in July 2010. 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),

703-572: The city in his poetry book Campos de Castilla . The poem is an ode to the countryside and peoples of rural Castile . More recently, Carlos Fuentes wrote a short story about the event, "The Two Numantias", in his collection The Orange Tree . Several Spanish Navy ships have been named Numancia and a Sorian battalion was named batallón de numantinos . During the Spanish Civil War , the Nationalist Numancia regiment took

740-549: The city of Segeda , who belonged to another Celtiberian tribe called the Belli. The leader of the Belli, Carus of Segeda, managed to defeat a Roman army. The Romans then besieged Numantia, and deployed a small number of war elephants , but were unsuccessful. In 137 BC, 20,000 Romans surrendered to the Celtiberians of Numantia (population between 4,000 and 8,000). The young Roman officer Tiberius Gracchus , as quaestor , saved

777-554: 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 . In 1808 it

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814-543: 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. The first recorded inhabitants in the area of Soria were the Celtiberians , around the 4th century BC. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire ,

851-413: The city. After eight months most of the inhabitants decided to commit suicide rather than become slaves. A few hundred of the inhabitants decided to burn the city before surrendering after 13 months of siege. After the destruction in 133 BC, occupation continued in the 1st century BC with a regular street plan but without great public buildings. Its decay started in the 3rd century, but was still settled in

888-480: The coast. It is the coldest Spanish provincial capital. The city's professional football club is called CD Numancia . 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 , and Abel Antón , a two-time World Champion in the marathon . The area in which they trained, Monte Valonsadero, is now host to

925-414: The daytime temperature usually around 29 °C (84 °F). Temperatures above 35 °C (95 °F) are not rare in summer, while lows can go under 10 °C (50 °F) 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

962-571: 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 , Navarre and León, Soria in the Middle Ages was at the centre of several conflicts between them. Alfonso VIII of Castile , in reward for its support, gave

999-512: 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 , 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

1036-566: The following legend: "Soria Pura Cabeza de Estremadura", written in saber letters. The king in the coat of arms is Alfonso VIII , born in Soria, and the red field represents the blood shed by the Sorians, particularly in the battles of Alarcos , Navas de Tolosa and Aljubarrota . The oldest preserved example of the coat of arms is found in the high-medieval bell of San Gil, today the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Mayor , which already reflected

1073-440: The name Soria may have its origin in the word dauria from the river Durius ( Douro ). The shield of Soria has the following heraldic description: In a field of gules (red), a castle , of argent , crenellated with three battlements, lined up and marbled with sabre, rinsed with azure (blue) and a king's bust crowned with gold and with its attributes coming out of his homage, in its colour; silver embroidery loaded with

1110-719: 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

1147-512: The rebuilt city was occupied by the Suebi . 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 Soria was the centre of the rebellion of Suleyman ibn-Abus against the emir of Córdoba , who sent his son Hakan to quench it. Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre,

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1184-582: The site include the Romano-Germanic Central Museum , Mainz. (Some objects were taken by Adolf Schulten to Germany). The Siege of Numantia was recorded by several Roman historians who admired the sense of freedom of the ancient Iberians and acknowledged their fighting skills against the Roman legions. Miguel de Cervantes (author of Don Quijote ) wrote a play about the siege, El cerco de Numancia , which stands today as his best-known dramatic work. Antonio Machado references

1221-406: The town was taken by French General Régis Barthélemy Mouton-Duvernet , but with the fall of the ancien regime, it became a constitutional municipality of the region of Castilla la Vieja. The 1842 census recorded 484 households and 2400 residents in Almazán. In the 1850s, mid-nineteenth century, the population grew significantly after Fuentelcarro and Tejerizas were merged into the municipality. In

1258-573: 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 9 March 1959. The province of Soria has a Minor Basilica , the Marian Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Milagros, in Ágreda . 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

1295-486: 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 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. Although Soria never

1332-498: Was captured and set on fire by the French troops. The economical and social crisis of Spain in the early 20th century, and the Spanish Civil War with Francisco Franco '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

1369-662: Was divided into two townships, and the town became ruled by the Mayor, assisted by six aldermen, three class gentlemen and three good men of the town. It was visited by important figures in the Catholic Church several times over the years. On March 12, 1648, the playwright Tirso de Molina died in the convent of the Merced and presumably lies in the convent cemetery. During the Spanish War of Independence, on July 10, 1810,

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