Bercianos of the Páramo
Bercianos del Páramo is a Spanish municipality and place in the province of León, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. It is located in the central area of the Páramo Leonés, an extensive interfluvial platform between the valleys of the Órbigo and Esla rivers that presents a practically flat relief. It is also part of the judicial district of La Bañeza. In addition to Bercianos del Páramo, the municipality is made up of the nuclei of Villar del Yermo and Zuares del Páramo.
Despite the discovery of some Roman remains in its surroundings, the origins of Bercianos del Páramo possibly go back to the repopulation carried out by Count Gatón in the IX commissioned by Ordoño I. The first historical mention is found in ecclesiastical documentation from the year 917, on the occasion of donations to the church of León.
From the XIV century, the nobility settled in the area, mainly at the hands of the Osorios and the Quiñones, and it is the latter who exercised their dominance over Bercianos until the end of the Middle Ages. At the beginning of the XIX century it was stately place and after the fall of the Old Regime it was constituted in constitutional council.
Starting in 1959, after the construction of the Barrios de Luna reservoir, irrigation became general in a good part of the Páramo, which had enormous social and economic significance. Its economy is traditionally based on the primary sector, whose majority crops are wheat and barley in dry land and corn and beet in irrigated land. The banks of the streams are used for forestry, with the intensive planting of poplars.
Among its heritage stands out the church of San Vicente, built in brick between the XVI and XVII, and the hermitage of Cristo de la Vera Cruz; This is a reference both for Bercianos and for neighboring San Pedro Bercianos, due to the custom of playing the hermitage's shearing when there was a storm since, according to popular belief, it would keep the hail away from the plantations. Among the celebrations that The patron saint festivities of San Vicente —around January 22—, Santa Cruz —on May 3—, and Cristo, on September 14, take place throughout the year.
Toponymy
The place name of Bercianos del Páramo comes from, on the one hand, the word «Bercianos», which would refer to its constitution as a nucleus, in the context of the Reconquest, with people who arrived from Bierzo during the reign of Ordoño I. On the other hand, the term "Páramo", referring to its location. This word, for its part, comes from the Spanish-Latin word Paramus, of pre-Roman origin, which refers to a field exposed to the winds that is neither cultivated nor inhabited.
Physical geography
Location
The municipality is located in the Páramo Leonés region, in the south of the province of León. Its territory is represented on sheet MTN50 (1:50,000 scale) 194 of the National Topographic Map.
| Northwest: Santa Maria del Páramo | North: San Pedro Bercianos | Northeast: Valdevimbre |
| West: Santa Maria del Páramo |  | This: Villamañán |
| Southwest Laguna Dalga | South: Pelayo García population | Sureste: Villamañán |
Orography
Bercianos del Páramo is located in the central area of the Páramo Leonés plain. This extensive platform —geologically an extensive interfluve between the valleys of the Órbigo and Esla rivers— presents a practically flat relief, with gentle slopes. The average altitude of the municipality is 809 masl, between the 818 masl of the highest area located in the northern part and the 799 meters above sea level from the lowest area, in the extreme south of the municipal area.
At a general level, the municipality is located in the northwestern area of the Duero basin, a depression of Tertiary origin filled with continental materials that were later eroded and covered by Quaternary sediments. Most of the materials that we find, mainly natural aggregates: clayey silt —traditionally used for the production of ceramics—, and sand and gravel used for construction and public works.
Hydrography
The municipality is located in the Duero hydrographic basin, whose fluvial courses, at a general level, are characterized by the irregularity of their flow, with low water levels in summer and floods in autumn and winter due to the rain. The plain del Páramo is not crossed by any major river, but in the case of Bercianos del Páramo its territory is crossed by two natural channels, the La Mata stream and the La Magdalena stream.
In addition, and due to the irrigation plan developed in the sixties after the construction of the Barrios de Luna reservoir, its terrace is supplied by two main canals —Trasvase del Páramo Bajo and Santa María— and numerous secondary canals. In those areas with poor drainage, small lagoons or areas of flooding appear, of a seasonal nature, which disappear in the summer season. Most of them have been dried out by human action and incorporated into arable soil.
Climate
The climate in the municipality is classified as continental Mediterranean, with cold winters with frequent frosts between October and May and hot, dry summers. The annual thermal oscillation is around 15 °C while the daily one sometimes exceeds 20 °C. Rainfall is distributed irregularly throughout the year, with a scarcity in summer, concentrating at the end of autumn, in the winter months and at the beginning of spring. This arrives late but with great meteorological dynamism; Temperatures rise at the end of June and continue like this until mid-August, when strong thermal drops are registered again.
According to the Köppen climate classification, Bercianos del Páramo falls into the Csb variant, that is, a Mediterranean climate with mild summers, with the average of the warmest month not exceeding 22 °C but exceeding 10 °C for five or more months. It is a transitional climate between the Mediterranean (Csa) and the oceanic (Cfb). Thanks to the data from the meteorological station located in Santa María del Páramo, 5 kilometers away, the approximate average climatic parameters of the municipality are the following:
 Average climate parameters of Santa Maria del Páramo | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Ene. | Feb. | Mar. | Open up. | May. | Jun. | Jul. | Ago. | Sep. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Annual |
| Average temperature (°C) | 2.1 | 3.5 | 6.3 | 8.8 | 13.1 | 17.3 | 20.1 | 19.3 | 15.8 | 10.9 | 5.8 | 2.9 | 10.5 |
| Total precipitation (mm) | 50 | 39.4 | 25.5 | 38.3 | 50 | 34.3 | 21.2 | 11.8 | 29.2 | 46.1 | 44.1 | 42.1 | 432 |
| Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment. Precipitation data (1961-1997) and temperature (1961-1997) | |||||||||||||
Nature
Flora
The municipality of Bercianos del Páramo is located in the supra-Mediterranean bioclimatic zone, so its climax vegetation is marcescent species and conifers. However, said vegetation, which should have covered the entire region, has disappeared from many areas replaced by crops. In the areas close to the river courses there are riverside forests, with poplars, willows or alders, in addition to poplar plantations. To them are added heaths and thyme groves on the edges of the meadows, pastures and natural meadows.
Wildlife
The municipality has a rich and varied fauna due to its transition situation between the Mediterranean world and the Eurosiberian world. Thus, in terms of ichthids, the waters of Bercianos del Páramo support three species: the common catfish, the Duero vogue and red russet, which are accompanied by mammals such as otter. Among the different species of amphibians and reptiles, there are the common toad, the marbled newt, the San Antón frog, the ocellated lizard or the viperine snake and snake. bastarda. In the flat areas of the municipality there are birds such as the kestrel, the bustard or the common sparrow hawk and small mammals such as the rabbit or the Iberian hare. In the surroundings of the population centers, the white stork, the swallow, the common swift, the wood pigeon, different species of tits, the jackdaw or birds of prey such as the red kite are common. Finally, in the areas of grasslands or birds such as the red partridge and mammals such as the roe deer, the weasel, the fox, the wild boar and, occasionally, the wolf are present.
History
Old Age
Most of the Páramo had a low density of occupation in pre-Roman times, with the few settlements being located on hillocks and hills close to the great valleys and meadows of the rivers that frame the Paramesa plateau. As more significant examples, we find the castros of "El Castillo", on a small hillock on the escarpment of the Esla River, with occupation from the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age, reoccupied in the high and full Middle Ages, and "El Castro", close to the previous one and with an occupation of the Late Bronze Age, both in the municipality of Ardón.
The municipality was located in the territory of the Astures, who extended through Asturias, León and Zamora to the Esla River, the eastern area of Lugo and Orense, and part of the Portuguese district of Braganza; Specifically, in the Páramo area, the Bedunienses were settled, in the north of the region, and the Brigaecinos, in the south. Later the conquest and Roman settlement took place after the Cantabrian wars. From this period dates what may be the first reference to the territory of the Páramo; It is a tombstone found in the walls of León in which Tulio, a Roman citizen, dedicates the horns of a deer to the goddess Diana.
At that time the highlands of the Páramo register a sparse population; Only one Roman-era settlement has been located in Audanzas del Valle, a few kilometers south of Laguna de Negrillos, whose scant remains do not allow a clear socioeconomic attribution, although they seem to indicate an agrarian orientation. To these can be added some epigraphic findings and numismatists, such as the inscription supposedly found in Banuncias and the Cillanueva milestone, which document the layout of the Roman road that connected Asturica Augusta (Astorga) with Burdigala (Bordeaux) through the Páramo, a road that is frequently documented in the Middle Ages. In Valdefuentes del Páramo, a Hispano-Roman coin from the Calagurris mint was found, from the time of Augustus, without an archaeological context.
Likewise, in the place called "Las Carbas", located on the municipal border between Santa María del Páramo and Bercianos del Páramo, a necropolis made up of 32 tombs was found in 1974, whose tombs were made of flagstones and edges covered with slabs They followed the orientation of the solstitial lines. There were three types of tombs, coffin-shaped, rhomboid with truncated vertices, and anthropoid, and none had remains of grave goods or any other material.
Finally, material finds from the late Roman and Visigoth period are unknown in the Paramesas lands, the closest ones are found again on the periphery of this plateau space; in the cities of Legio and Asturica Augusta, in the castro of Valencia de Don Juan, the Coviacense Castrum, where the Hispano-Roman population resisted the siege of the Gothic troops of Theodoric II in 459, or in villas Hispano-Roman villas (villae) such as La Milla del Río, all of them significant centers of power at that time.
Middle Ages
- High Age
After the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the population would emigrate to safer areas which, in the case of the Páramo, would result in a probable demographic desert in the region. However, in the middle of the century IX Mozarabic emigration to the north took place, a fact that Ordoño I took advantage of to consolidate the border; Thus, he commissioned Count Gatón to repopulate these lands, at which time the nucleus of Bercianos would emerge, and it is from the X century when the progress of the repopulation of the Páramo by the most powerful groups of the Leonese court is verified.
Thus, on June 26, 917, Bishop Frunimio granted the church of León "...another villa in Órbigo that they call Verceianos...", which could be identified with Bercianos. With the same date (26 June 917) the abbot Iquila donated Bercianos to the monastery of Santiago de León together with their agricultural spaces and the men who resided there, who would be subjected and forced to make payments in agricultural products and metal.
«In alio loco que uocitant Unciría corte conclusa, cum suas kasas, terras, uineas, pratis, ortalibus et suo lagare... Adido etiam in Berzianos, in Paramo, uillas tres: de parte de Mata de Rege, termino de Hamiloco, et alia pars termino de Fontecta, et tertiapars termino de Rolólos; ipsas uillas, cum homines abitantes et qui ad abitandum uenerint, ad uestram concurrantes precepta, patrocinium uobis sitpreJune 26, 917, Yquilani, Abbot of the Monastery of San Cipriano del Porma
The following year another mention was made by the Monastery of Santa María and Santiago de Valdevimbre, which throughout the tenth century acquired peasant villas with land, meadows, vineyards, mills, water and aqueducts in their surroundings, on the banks of the Bernesga, Torio and Esla rivers. It is an acquisition made on January 8, 918 after the donation of Ordoño II to Abbot Belderedo the place of Busto, which bordered, according to the document, with Bercianos and the road to Coyanza.
In addition to this monastic advance, the occupation and agrarian organization of the Páramo by men and women who are not part of powerful groups had been intensifying, perhaps as a continuation of a process begun in the times preceding the century X, before feudal rule. It seems to be peasant families of diverse status and wealth, with full legal capacity to act, own, buy, sell and organize in village councils, at least in the initial moments of the colonizing process, and who are gradually being absorbed (due to haste, purchase of lands, seizures) by ecclesiastical and lay domains, and becoming dependent and servitude to them. In the case of Bercianos del Páramo, a document is preserved in which two people, Cidi and her mother Goda, donated a court with her belongings to Momadonna in 1021.
On April 27, 1157, Diego, Bishop of León, granted Bercianos del Páramo one of the six letters of behetría together with those of Villagallegos, La Mata del Páramo, Bustillo, San Martín del Camino and Sardonedo. These letters granted certain rights to these places, such as being able to choose the lord to whom they were subordinate, since they were populated by free men. Later, in 1188, the town appears included in the Fuero de Valencia de Don Juan.
- Lower Middle Ages
Due, perhaps, to the lower production capacity of these rainfed lands, compared to the fertile properties in riverside areas, the greatest economic activity is documented in the eastern limit of the Páramo, near the Esla river and the city of Lion. An example would be Aparicio Johan, a member of the choir of the León Cathedral and a priest in Bercianos who, between 1335 and 1347, acquired several properties in the area; a vineyard and two lands in Bercianos and goods and two lands in Villagallegos.
From that XIV century, the nobility settled strongly in these lands. Until 1363 Pedro Álvarez Osorio had rights over an extensive portion of the Páramo but after his death in 1365, King Pedro I expanded the alfoz de León with a significant amount of territories that Pedro Álvarez Osorio previously owned. This clashed with ecclesiastical rights, as confirmed in the Villar de Mazarife controversy; here the church of León had its domain, it belonged to the Alfoz de León and its inhabitants considered themselves behetría, that is, they believed that they could freely choose their his lord.
Due to judicial decisions, it came to dominate the alfoz de León, a territory directly dependent on the city of León in judicial and tax matters. However, a document from 1366 ordered the Leonese aldermen to return to the bishopric of León several places that they had been taken from him, which modified the extension of the Leonese alfoz. This, at the end of the XV century, covered several places in the Páramo, including Bercianos.
For its part, the domain of the Quiñones in the Páramo dates back to the XIII century, when Pedro Álvarez de Quiñones It received the possessions of Urdiales and Santa María del Páramo, a heritage that would increase in the XIV and XV with, for example, Laguna de Negrillos. In 1462, when Diego Fernández de Quiñones received the title of Count of Luna, the domain of the Quiñones extended to Velilla de la Reina, Castrillo de San Pelayo, Celadilla, Santa María del Páramo, Grajal de Ribera, Urdiales, Vilecha, La Antigua, Conforcos, Villamorico, San Pedro Bercianos, Fojedo del Páramo and Bercianos.
In 1465 Enrique IV granted Alvar Pérez Osorio the marquesate of Astorga; The domain of the Osorio family in the Páramo must have been very extensive, with the exception of the possessions of the Quiñones family around Laguna de Negrillos, mainly, and the church of Astorga, for which reason both the marquis and his descendants titled themselves lord del Páramo. In 1481 Isabella I of Castilla ordered the count of Valencia and the dean of León, Luis Osorio, not to disturb the count of Luna in the possession of Bercianos, so the town belonged to the Quiñones until the end from middle Ages.
Modern Age
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During this time, the physiognomy and types of crops had practically nothing to do with the current agrarian reality. In this way, there was a predominance of cereal cultivation, in which rye was dominant, accounting for around 80% of the cultivated area, although based on the existence of a biennial rotation system, as it appeared alternating with the fallow as general practice.
Livestock became relatively important throughout the XVIII century, especially in the towns located to the north and west of the region Among the species with the most implantation were the donkey species, although cattle and sheep were also represented and there must have been a large number of mule cattle. The mention of numerous residents of the town of Zuares del Páramo dedicated to the buying and selling of donkeys, suggests the existence of a well-kept herd of stallions that must have been exported to the province of Leon and neighboring provinces.
The linseed (flax seed) mills that produced linseed oil, useful as food and to give light in the oil lamp, are also noteworthy. The oil that was left over was sold or exchanged outside the Páramo. With the bran of this flaxseed they made flaxseed bread, which was a fundamental food for the oxen of the Páramo, since there were no meadows where they could graze.
It is estimated that in the middle of the XVIII century there were more than 200 mills throughout the Páramo dedicated to grinding the flax. The estimated benefits represented 46% of the provincial total. In addition, according to the Cadastre of Ensenada, the existence in the municipality of canvas and cloth looms and blacksmith shops is verified.
On the other hand, the only spaces that appeared relatively more concentrated and with greater extensions would be the meadows and forest spaces owned by the community. All the towns had their corresponding communal spaces for livestock use and for the benefit of all the neighbors. The use of these spaces would appear to be regulated by the council governments on the basis of custom transmitted through generations, current norms that, in some localities, were also consigned in writing in council ordinances. In some towns in the center and south of the region, the quiñones or "senaras" would also stand out, that is, lots of communal land that were distributed among the neighbors for agricultural purposes.
From the end of the 18th century and first part of the XIX, the growth of the population would give rise to the extension of the plowed surface at the cost of the reduction of these spaces, with the consequent transfer of property to private hands. In some cases, this reduction would be justified by a unanimous need expressed by the councils, although, in the vast majority of cases, the alteration of the pre-established custom and guarantor of the conservation of these resources would be carried out in exchange by not so legal mechanisms.
Contemporary Age
Sebastián Miñano, in his Geographical and Statistical Dictionary of Spain and Portugal (1826-1829), pointed out that it was a stately place belonging to the jurisdiction of Laguna de Negrillos, the district of León and the bishopric of Lion. He describes it in a dry and arid wasteland, it had a medium-sized hamlet and had a parish. Its population was 420, it produced wine, wheat, barley, rye and oats, and there was a linseed oil factory. In the middle of the century XIX, Pascual Madoz, in his Geographical-statistical-historical dictionary of Spain and its overseas possessions (1845-1850), places it in the province of León, judicial district of La Bañeza and the town hall of San Pedro Bercianos.
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The first decades of the XX century are marked by poor communications and poor soil, which cause strong emigration. Rye, wheat, chin, oats and barley continue to be planted, and the traditional practice of fallowing continues, although vineyards were planted on the worst land. Potatoes began to be planted on land irrigated by water from wells that was raised through a cigoñal.
Little by little, the lands began to be of medium and large size, through exchanges between neighbors of some farms for others. With this change, the waterwheels were introduced, replacing the cigoñales and deepening the wells. In this way polled wheat, beans, potatoes and beets began to be planted. Agriculture was completed with the 10 or 15 sheep that each family used to have and that was grazed by a neighbor dedicated to sheep farming, having more sheep than the others.
In 1959, after the construction of the Barrios de Luna reservoir, water reached a good part of the Páramo, which accelerated the transformation of dry land into irrigated land, and the change in agrarian structures that had begun years before. The wells, the waterwheels, the vineyards and the primitive exploitation systems disappeared to make way for canals, ditches, land concentrations and, above all, water. The new infrastructures allowed mechanization and the incorporation of industrial crops. At the same time, working animals were replaced by more profitable livestock.
The irrigation of the Páramo had enormous social and economic significance: increased profits, reform of the natural environment, attenuation of emigration, modification of traditional habits and customs, disappearing, for example, the performance of communal work, hacenderas or facenderas, which the councils of Parames have carried out since time immemorial.
Human Geography
Demographics
According to the INE's 2016 municipal population register, the municipality had 605 inhabitants, of whom 308 (50.90%) were men and 297 (49.09%) were women.
- Population pyramid
| Population pyramid 2016 | ||||
| % | Men | Age | Women | % |
| 2.98 | 85+ | 4.63 | ||
| 3.14 | 80-84 | 5,29 | ||
| 3.14 | 75-79 | 5,79 | ||
| 4.46 | 70-74 | 2.81 | ||
| 4.3 | 65-69 | 4.96 | ||
| 5,79 | 60-64 | 4.3 | ||
| 4.46 | 55-59 | 4.3 | ||
| 4.79 | 50-54 | 3,64 | ||
| 3,31 | 45-49 | 2.31 | ||
| 2.98 | 40-44 | 2.31 | ||
| 2.31 | 35-39 | 2,15 | ||
| 1.32 | 30-34 | 1.49 | ||
| 2,15 | 25-29 | 1.65 | ||
| 2.81 | 20-24 | 1.16 | ||
| 1.32 | 15-19 | 1.16 | ||
| 0.99 | 10-14 | 0.99 | ||
| 0.17 | 5-9 | 0 | ||
| 0.5 | 0-4 | 0.17 | ||
The 2016 population pyramid data can be summarized as follows:
- The population under 20 is 5.29 % of the total.
- The figure between 20-40 years is 15.04 %.
- The figure between 40-60 years is 28.1%.
- Over 60 years is 51.57 %.
- Population developments
| Graphic of demographic evolution of Bercianos del Páramo between 1860 and 2021 |
 |
Rule population (1842-1991, except 1857 and 1860 which is a de facto population) or resident population (2001-2011) according to the Population Censuses since 1842.Population according to the municipal register of 2021 of the INE. |
- Population distribution
The population entities that make up the municipality of Bercianos del Páramo are the following:
| Population Entity | Coordinates | Pob. (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Bercianos del Páramo | 42°22′50′′N 5°42′12′′O / 42.38056, -5.70333 | 331 |
| Villar del Yermo | 42°20′59′′N 5°41′18′ / 42.34972, -5.68833 | 140 |
| Páramo Zuares | 42°19′40′N 5°41′02′′O / 42.32778, -5.68389 | 134 |
| Total | 605 | |
| Source: INE, 2016 | ||
- Migratory Movement
Regarding the immigrant group, according to the INE municipal register of 2016, people from other countries did not reside in Bercianos del Páramo.
Economy
The primary sector has always had an important weight in the economy of the municipality. The wealth of irrigated land, thanks to the water from the Barrios de Luna reservoir, causes almost 64% of the municipality's workers to register in this sector while, on the contrary, primary sector companies hardly represent a 15.79%. The majority crops are dryland wheat and barley and irrigated corn and beetroot, although part of the banks of the streams is also used for forestry, with the intensive planting of poplars. Livestock is focused mainly on sheep, pigs and cattle. Regarding the distribution of land, municipal land is distributed as follows: herbaceous (85.08%), pasture (5.62%), forest (0.62%), woody (0.02%) and others. uses (8.66%).
The secondary sector is the one that employs the least number of workers, only 2%, although the number of companies comprises 10.53% of the total. Regarding the construction sector, it employs 12.16% of workers and companies represent 26.32%. Finally, the services sector employs 21.62% of all workers, and they represent 47.37%. of companies. A traditional trade predominates, with a supermarket in the center of the town.
Regarding unemployment, as a result of the economic crisis that has existed since 2008 the number of unemployed has increased and thus, according to the Public State Employment Service, if in October 2007 the registered unemployment was 4 people, in September of 2017 amounted to 21 people, of which 10 were men and 11 were women.
- Community of Middle Páramo Regents
The municipality is integrated into the Community of Irrigators of the Middle Páramo, whose headquarters are located in Bercianos. This community was formed in 2009 by segregation from the previous Community of Irrigators of the Lower Páramo, and the towns are part of it of Villar del Yermo, Bercianos del Páramo and Zuares del Páramo, all of them belonging to the municipality of Bercianos del Páramo, San Pedro Bercianos, within the homonymous municipality, Fontecha del Páramo, Palacios de Fontecha, Pobladura de Fontecha and Villagallegos, belonging to the municipality of Valdevimbre, and Villacalbiel, San Esteban de Villacalbiel and Villibañe within the municipality of Villamañán.
The total area of this community is 5,600 hectares, of which 4,763 are modernized irrigated land, all of them supplied with water from the Barrios de Luna reservoir.
Transportation and communications
Motor vehicle fleet
In 2014, the municipality had a total of 752 motor vehicles, which represents a rate of 723.7 automobiles per 1,000 inhabitants. The closest Vehicle Technical Inspection points are in Cembranos and Onzonilla.
| Type of vehicle | Amount |
| Cars | 461 |
| Trucks | 77 |
| Cyclomotors | 90 |
| Motorcycles | 34 |
| Buses | 0 |
| Vans | 45 |
| Total | 752 |
Road network
Bercianos del Páramo is connected to other towns in the region through two roads of the secondary network:
| Identifier | Denomination | Itinerary | Length (km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| LE-6523 | Provincial road | Santa María del Páramo - Bercianos del Páramo - Villagallegos | 8.420 |
| LE-6515 | Provincial road | CL-621 - Villar del Yermo - Bercianos del Páramo | 5,500 |
Public transport
- Bus
For the transport of passengers by bus, the company ALSA offers road services between the municipality and several provincial and regional destinations such as León and Santa María del Páramo.
- Railroad
The closest railway station to Bercianos del Páramo is the Veguellina station, located 20 kilometers from the town, with the León station being the most important one close to the municipality, 29 kilometers from the town, with transport services high speed since 2015.
- Air transportation
León airport, which came into service in 1999, is the only airport located in the province and the closest to the municipality, located between Valverde de la Virgen and San Andrés del Rabanedo, 33 kilometers from Bercianos del Páramo. Likewise, the other closest options for air transport are the airports of Valladolid and Asturias, located 113 and 187 kilometers away respectively.
Symbols
The municipal heraldic shield was approved on December 13, 1985 and made official on March 7, 1986. Its description is as follows:
In azur field, sustained of silver and sugar waves, a golden noria, assorted of a spike of the same metal, accompanied by two silver beets made of siple. To the bell, royal crown of Spain.
Government and administration
- Municipal administration
The local administration of the municipality is carried out through a democratically managed council, whose members are elected every four years by universal suffrage. The electoral census is made up of all residents registered in Bercianos del Páramo, over 18 years of age and with nationality of any of the member countries of the European Union. According to the provisions of the General Electoral Regime Law, which establishes the number of eligible councilors based on the population of the municipality, the Municipal Corporation is made up of 7 councilors (9 until 1991), which have been distributed as follows shape in recent years:
| Political party | 1979 | 1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1995 | 1999 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % votes | councillors | % votes | councillors | votes | councillors | % votes | councillors | % votes | councillors | % votes | councillors | |
 PSOE | 24,35 | 2 | 35,79 | 3 | 41,03 | 4 | 36.15 | 3 | 38.9 | 3 | 47,22 | 3 |
_Logo.svg){kind=logo} P | - | - | 34,78 | 3 | 32,47 | 3 | 28.15 | 3 | 37,01 | 3 | 37,61 | 3 |
.svg){kind=small} UCD | 44,84 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
.png){kind=small} CDS | - | - | - | - | 25,69 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| UPL | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 23.15 | 1 | 13,32 | 1 |
| Electors Group | 30.81 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Independent | - | - | 29,43 | 3 | - | - | 34,46 | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Political party | 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % votes | councillors | % votes | councillors | votes | councillors | votes | councillors | |
| PSOE | 51,22 | 4 | 40,14 | 3 | 41,47 | 3 | 45,02 | 3 |
| P | 45,28 | 3 | 40,33 | 3 | 54,95 | 4 | 51,58 | 4 |
| Independent | - | - | 17.54 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Period | Name of the mayor | Political party |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 - 1983 | Francisco Chamorro Martínez | ACL |
| 1983 - 1987 | Theodosio Benéitez Castrillo | PSOE
|
| 1987 - 1991 | Enrique Castrillo Martínez | PSOE
|
| 1991-1999 | María Cruz Fidalgo Grande | PSOE
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| 1999 - 2003 | María Milagros Beneítez Barragán | P
|
| 2003 - 2007 | María Cruz Fidalgo Grande | PSOE
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| 2007 - 2019 | María Milagros Beneítez Barragán | P
|
- Municipal areas
The municipal executive management is organized into several areas headed by a councilor from the government team. Each area of government has several delegations based on the powers assigned to it and which vary from one municipal government to another. The current government team is headed by Mayor María Milagros Benéitez Barragán.
- Administrative division
In the municipality, in addition to the capital, are the towns of Villar del Yermo and Zuares del Páramo, both integrated into the municipal management through their respective Neighborhood Councils, whose members are elected every four years by universal suffrage.
- Judicial administration
Bercianos del Páramo belongs to the judicial party number 3 of the province of León, with headquarters in La Bañeza, whose demarcation includes said city plus other towns in the bordering regions, and has two courts of first instance and instruction.
Facilities and services
- Education
The municipality does not have educational centers so, at the level of infant and primary education, its students attend the CEIP "Benito León" in Santa María del Páramo. As for secondary education, its students attend the IES "Valles del Luna", also in Santa María del Páramo. Both centers are managed by the Ministry of Education of the Junta de Castilla y León through the Provincial Directorate of Education of Lion.
- Health and social services
The health system of the municipality is provided through the public health system, managed by Sacyl (Castilla y León Health), through a medical office that offers several services a week, dependent on the health center of Santa María del Páramo. This has a guard service and the basic health area "Santa María del Páramo" is centralized in it, which serves a total of ten municipalities.
The town has a pharmacy, and in relation to hospitals, its inhabitants go to those existing in the provincial capital such as the Hospital de León. As for social services, Bercianos del Páramo belongs to the Social Action Center (CEAS) of Santa María del Páramo, based in the Town Hall.
Culture
Heritage
- Church of Saint Vincent
It is a Catholic temple, parish church, built in brick between the XVI and centuries ="font-variant:small-caps;text-transform:lowercase">XVII in the same place where an older one, of Gothic origin, stood. It has a rectangular plan with a single nave, a square tower and a side porch. Inside, whitewashed, the main altar stands out; Both its altarpiece and the tabernacle and central carving correspond to the Castilian Baroque style, from the XVII century.
The central altarpiece, dedicated to San Vicente, is made up of a bench, two floors distributed in five streets, an entablature and an attic in three streets. Several Gothic tables from the mid-XV century depicting scenes from the life of Christ and the titular saint of the temple were used in it.. In the upper body there are also two carvings from the XIV-XV, located on both sides of the Crucified, representing Saint Andrew and Saint James.
On the right side of the nave stands out the image of the Black Madonna with the Child seated on her knees; It is an 81 cm high sculpture, seated on a throne on a pedestal and dated between the XII-XIII. On the opposite side stands out, also on a base, a Virgin called del Carmen, dating from the XVI century and similar to the Virgin de la Encina de Ponferrada, as well as the images of the Asunción, Virgen del Rosario and Calvario from the XVII century and those of Saint James and Saint Andrew, from the 14th century. Manuel Gómez-Moreno, at the time, did not record any news about two carvings of a bishop and a clergyman from the 13th century and an undated Franciscan saint.
In the year 2000 the right side nave collapsed and was restored two years later. Between 2008 and 2009 the Castilla y León Historical Heritage Foundation, in collaboration with the parish, financed the restoration of the main altarpiece due to the numerous damages it had.
View of the tower
Solar clock set for church repair in 1947
Exterior view of the header
- Hermitage of the Christ of the Erases
It is a rectangular building, made of brick, which has a small altarpiece inside where the image of Cristo de las Eras rests. Since its construction it has been a benchmark for the town and for neighboring San Pedro Bercianos due to the custom of playing the shearing of the hermitage when there was a storm to keep the hail away from the plantations. The doors of the hermitage open on May 3 to celebrate the feast of the Holy Cross and on September 14 with the Christ.
Festivities and events
Throughout the year there are several festive events that take place in Bercianos del Páramo. Chronologically, on January 22, the patron saint of the town, San Vicente, is celebrated, during which various leisure and entertainment activities are organized, such as musical performances and popular games.
On May 3, the celebration of the Holy Cross takes place and on the 15th of the same month, San Isidro Labrador, patron saint of farmers, is celebrated, a traditional festivity in towns with an agricultural tradition. Already in September, on the 14th the Christ is celebrated.
During the third week of August, the Cultural Week of Bercianos del Páramo takes place, in which a program of activities is organized that includes exhibitions, conferences, traditional games, theater performances and sports tournaments, among others.
Traditions
Such a cloud, Mind you, that God can more than you! |
One of the most outstanding traditions of the town corresponds to the traditional touch of shearing in the hermitage of Vera Cruz, whose continued turning, according to popular belief, would drive away storms that could cause damage to crops. To do this, the Brotherhood of Santo Cristo chose the day of San Silvestre a bailiff-bell ringer who would be in charge of ringing the shearing whenever there were signs of a storm.
The shearing ring could also be heard in the neighboring town of San Pedro Bercianos, so the ring was used by the inhabitants of both towns. This tradition has been lost in recent years, although even today older people continue to preserve the tradition of playing the shearing on prominent occasions. In addition to the bell ringing, there was the following stanza:
Gastronomy
The gastronomy in Bercianos del Páramo is based, as in the rest of the surrounding towns, on the food that can be obtained locally. Among those of animal origin, eggs and meat stand out, mainly that obtained from the slaughter —with which blood sausages, chorizos, jijas and loin were made. Among the foods of vegetable origin, the most important were legumes, wheat bread and cultivated fruits such as figs. Garlic was also regularly used to prepare the so-called garlic soups, one of the typical dishes of the Páramo Leonés region. as for drinks.
In addition, Bercianos del Páramo has several products with denomination of origin; the beans, which in 2006 obtained the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) of La Bañeza-León, the cecina from León, with a Protected Geographical Indication since 1994, and the lamb from Castilla y León, also with a Protected Geographical Indication since 1997. Finally, and in relation to wines, Bercianos del Páramo is within the Tierra de León Denomination of Origin, protected since 2007.
Sports
For the practice of sport, Bercianos del Páramo has several facilities such as a pediment with stands and a court to play basketball, futsal and volleyball. As for sporting events, the town organizes the Bercianos Futsal Tournament del Páramo, which in 2014 organized its fourth edition. In addition, the town has a futsal team, Bercianos Fútbol Sala, which competes in different tournaments within the region, winning the XIX Paramés Futsal Tournament in 2012.
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