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Fresnedoso is a Spanish municipality and town in the province of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. It is integrated into the Sierra de Béjar region. It belongs to the judicial district of Béjar and to the Ruta de la Plata Commonwealth.

Its municipal area is made up of a single population center, it occupies a total area of 8.18 km² and according to the demographic data collected in the municipal register prepared by the INE in 2017, it has a population of 111 inhabitants.

Its full name is Fresnedoso, previously and according to the oldest of the place, it would be Fresnedoso de Béjar because Béjar was the Villa of the lords who formerly collected taxes from the town and to whose district it currently belongs (Treasury). Fresnedosino, -a. Colloquially and regionally, its inhabitants are called "skilled, -as", it seems that due to the fact that the bell tower of their church is separated from it, in addition to their skills recognized as stonemasons for centuries.

The majority of the population are retired people and a small part is dedicated to agriculture and livestock and the rest work in the pork industry in Guijuelo or Ledrada.

In the past they lived from subsistence agriculture and livestock together with the extraction and cutting of granite, even the oldest of the place still remember that the truckers told them that the extracted granite was sent to Salamanca for the paving of the main square of Salamanca.

The name of "El ventorro de Fresnedoso" It is applied to a small group of houses located 1 km from the center of the town that were established there some time ago as a refreshment post for the post office and stables that traveled along the Vía de la Plata and later the 2 roadside hotels-restaurants were installed. - of which some have been abandoned. There were also two road clubs (1 remains) on the N-630 road.

To the west and at the bottom of the valley you can still see the remains of the train track that used to form the Vía de la Plata. The layout of the route includes 2 cuts to the mountain and a small bridge on the way to Sanchotello. In times past they shared a train station with the nearby town of Sanchotello.

Symbols

Shield

The heraldic shield that represents the municipality was approved with the following coat of arms:

« Silver Shield with a synople brawn, ripped. To the bell, the Spanish Royal Crown»

Flag

The city council has not yet adopted a flag for the municipality.

Geography

Your decimal geographic location is: Latitude 40.4430, Longitude -5.70; and the location in degrees: latitude 40° 25' 58.7994" Longitude -5° 42' 0".

It is 11 km from Béjar, 65 km (45 minutes) from Salamanca capital, 17 km from Guijuelo, 40 minutes from Plasencia, 2 hours and a half from Madrid and 1 hour and a half from Portugal.

It is in a small valley with a north-south orientation, which means that it presents two totally different ecosystems: on the one hand, the north slope is a meadow of leafy oak and the south slope is low scrub with a large amount of visible granite stone.

At the bottom of the valley and next to the town runs the Arroyo de Cimeros, which passes next to the town and joins the Sangusín river in the town of Peromingo, which, in turn, flows into the Alagón river that drains into the Tagus river.

It is surrounded by the following municipalities: La Nava, Ledrada and Sorihuela to the north, Vallejera and Valdesangil to the south, Sanchotello and Ledrada to the west, Neila and Sorihuela to the east.

Annual temperatures vary between -8 °C in winter and around 35 °C in summer in the typical Castilian climate (cold and hot, dry and with very short springs and autumns) but softened by the presence of the Sierra de Béjar which causes cool nights in summer, you cannot go out without a jacket on August nights.

In health matters it belongs to Guijuelo, in Education and Finance to Béjar.

Despite the proximity of the ski resort of La Covatilla and its beautiful views, no tourism initiative has been developed.

Demographics

Graphic of Demographic Evolution of Fresnedoso between 1842 and 2022

Population of law according to population censuses of the INE.Population according to the municipal register of 2022.

According to the National Statistics Institute, as of December 31, 2019, Fresnedoso had a total population of 106 inhabitants, of whom 61 were men and 45 women. Regarding the year 2000, the census reflects 128 inhabitants, of which 58 were men and 70 women. Therefore, the loss of population in the municipality for the period 2000-2019 has been 22 inhabitants, a 27% decrease.

History

Its foundation can be dated to the medieval repopulations, becoming part, after the death of Alfonso VII of León, of the Castilian council of Ávila. After the creation, in 1209, of the Community of Villa y Tierra de Béjar, Fresnedoso became part of it.

As part of the Bejarana community, after the loss of the vote in Cortes de Béjar and its becoming dependent on Salamanca in that regard from 1425, a fact favored by the passage of Béjar and its territory into the hands of the Zúñiga in 1396, Fresnedoso became part of the Kingdom of León, in which it has remained in the territorial divisions of Floridablanca in 1785 and finally in that of 1833 in which the current provinces are created, Fresnedoso remaining integrated in the province of Salamanca, within the Leonese Region.

Transportation

The municipality is very well connected by road, through which runs both the national N-630 that connects Gijón with Seville and the Ruta de la Plata highway that has the same route as the previous one and has exits in the town allowing some faster communications with the municipality.

As far as public transport is concerned, after the closure of the Vía de la Plata railway route, which passed through the neighboring municipality of Sanchotello and had a station there, there are no train services in the municipality nor in the neighbors, nor regular line with bus service, the closest station being Béjar. On the other hand, Salamanca airport is the closest, being about 66km away.

Culture

Local patron saint festivities on January 17 and September 14 and private associations on the first weekend of August.

Monuments and places of interest

The town has a Catholic parish church dedicated to San Antonio Abad in the Archdiocese of Mérida-Badajoz, Diocese of Plasencia, Arciprestazgo de Fuentes de Béjar. In addition to this church, it has a small chapel, the first is located about 300 meters from the town, at the beginning of the mountainside and has the particularity of having the bell tower about 20 meters away from it (which arouses the curiosity of visitors, although similar examples can be found in the area in towns like Neila) and a cemetery attached to it.

As for the chapel, it is located in the town, near the Plaza Mayor and is used for services during the winter as it is easier to heat and maintain.

Routes can be prepared through the southern mountain from which you can see the Sierra de Béjar and the Peña de Francia. On this same mountain there is a beautiful path of about 3 km that is highly appreciated by mountain bikers.

Administration and politics

Municipal elections

Mayors

Evolution of outstanding debt

The concept of outstanding debt includes only debts with savings banks and banks related to financial credits, fixed-income securities and loans or credits transferred to third parties, excluding, therefore, commercial debt.

Between the years 2008 to 2014 this council has had no outstanding debt.