Arapiles
Arapiles is a Spanish municipality and town in the province of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. It is integrated within the region of Campo de Salamanca (Campo Charro). It belongs to the judicial district of Salamanca.
Its municipal area is made up of the towns of Arapiles, El Ventorro, La Pinilla, Las Torres and Orejudos, it occupies a total area of 25.26 km² and according to demographic data prepared by the INE in 2017, it has a population of 653 inhabitants.
History
Its foundation dates back to the repopulation carried out by the kings of León in the Middle Ages, being integrated into the quarter of Peña del Rey of the jurisdiction of Salamanca, within the Kingdom of León.
On July 22, 1812, in the surrounding hills, the important battle of Arapiles took place, in which the allied troops, Spanish, English and Portuguese, commanded by the Duke of Wellington, defeated the French commanded by Auguste Marmont, a fact of special relevance for the town, known especially for this fact due to the transcendental nature of the battle of Arapiles in the Spanish War of Independence.
With the creation of the current provinces in 1833, Arapiles was framed in the province of Salamanca, within the Leonese Region, a territorial division that remains in force today.
Demographics
| Graphic of demographic evolution of Arapiles between 1900 and 2021 |
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Source: Spanish National Statistical Institute - Graphical development by Wikipedia. |
Population centers
The municipality is divided into several population centers, which had the following population in 2017 according to the INE.
| Population number | Population |
|---|---|
| Arapiles | 356 |
| Las Torres | 270 |
| The Ventorro | 16 |
| The Pinilla | 11 |
| Orejudos | 0 |
Administration and politics
Municipal elections
| Political party | 2019 | 2015 | 2011 | 2007 | 2003 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | Votes | Councillors | % | Votes | Councillors | % | Votes | Councillors | % | Votes | Councillors | % | Votes | Councillors | |
| Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) | 36,70 | 160 | 3 | 46.11 | 172 | 3 | 27,30 | 107 | 2 | 20.11 | 75 | 1 | 30.65 | 114 | 2 |
| Popular Party (PP) | 32,34 | 141 | 2 | 52,28 | 195 | 4 | 35,71 | 140 | 3 | 50.13 | 187 | 4 | 67.74 | 252 | 5 |
| Citizens (Cs) | 29,82 | 130 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| SI Coalition for Salamanca (SI) | - | - | - | - | - | - | 35,20 | 138 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Union of the Salmantino People (UPSa) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2.04 | 2 | 0 |
Transportation
The municipality is very well connected by road, through the N-630 national road that connects Gijón with Seville and allows you to go both to the provincial capital and to other nearby towns, parallel to this road runs the Ruta de la Plata highway which has the same route as the national one and which has several direct exits in Arapiles, allowing faster communications with the rest of the country. Also in the municipality, at the junction with the N-630, the DSA-106 road ends, connecting it to the northeast with Calvarrasa de Arriba and the DSA-202 that connects with Miranda de Azán.
As far as public transport is concerned, after the closure of the Vía de la Plata railway route, which passed through the municipality and had a stop there, there are no train services in the municipality or in the neighbors, nor regular line with bus service. On the other hand, Salamanca Airport is the closest, being about 23km away.
Personalities
- José de la Cruz (1786-1856), a Spanish military man who fought in the realistic army during the Spanish Independence War and during the war of independence in the Viceroy of New Spain.