Buenavista (Salamanca)

Old schools.

Old Church.

Buenavista is a Spanish municipality and town in the province of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. It is integrated into the region of Tierra de Alba. It belongs to the judicial district of Salamanca and to the Cuatro Caminos y Pantano de Sta. Teresa community.

Its municipal area is made up of the places of Buenavista, Caloco, Coto de Don Luis, Cuatro Calzadas, Los Majadales, Terrados and Vaqueril, it occupies a total area of 27.04 km² and according to the municipal register prepared by the INE in the year 2020, it has 350 inhabitants.

It borders to the north with Mozárbez; to the east with Martinamor and Encinas de Arriba; to the south with Sieteiglesias de Tormes and Beleña; and to the west, with Monterrubio de la Sierra and Morille.

Geography

It is located in the western zone of the Tormes river valley; in an area full of hills and hills that some of them; like Hell, it reaches 800 meters. Others, it already reaches 1000 meters; among them, the Cuarto Majadales, roof of the municipality, with a height of about 1018 meters above sea level. Under this mountain, the Regato or Pocilgas stream is born; going down and crossing the municipal area, forming almost an open valley until it empties into the Tormes river, in Sieteiglesias de Tormes. The dominant rock is slate; apart from quartzite and sandstone; that they are a mixture of ancient compact rocks dating from the Precambrian and Paleozoic; having a humid soil, forming pastures and holm oaks.

The climate is continental Mediterranean; with very cold winters and mild summers. The winds that blow are the north wind, which comes from the east; Galician, which comes from the northwest; and the serrano, coming from the south.

History

Its foundation dates back to the repopulation carried out by the kings of León in the Middle Ages, then called Bozigas, being integrated at that time in the quarter of Allende el Río of the jurisdiction of Alba de Tormes, within the Kingdom of León, having in the XV century the name of Poçilgas. As for the districts, Terrados already existed in the XIII, with the current name although framed within the Salamanca quarter of Peña del Rey. With the creation of the current provinces in 1833, the current Buenavista was framed in the province of Salamanca, within the Leonese Region, forming part of the judicial district of Alba de Tormes until its disappearance and its integration into that of Salamanca. In 1910 the town changed its traditional name from Pocilgas to the current name of Buenavista.

Demographics

Four Calzadas.

The population of Buenavista has grown considerably during the XXI century with the construction of numerous urbanizations in Cuatro Calzadas due to its location close to Salamanca and its good communication through the A-66. The growth of Cuatro Calzadas has made it currently the most populated nucleus of the municipality, thus surpassing the historic nucleus of Buenavista.

Graphic of demographic evolution of Buenavista between 1900 and 2022

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 2019 according to the INE.

Economy

The residents of the municipality are dedicated only to agriculture and livestock; they grow cereals and tend sheep.

Parties

It celebrates its festivities on July 2; dedicated to Saint Elizabeth; where pilgrimages, musical, solidarity and sports events are held; with a bald championship every year.

Administration and politics

Municipal elections

Transportation

The N-630 national highway crosses the municipality, which connects Gijón with Seville and allows visitors to go to both Zamora and the provincial capital. Parallel to this highway runs the Ruta de la Plata highway, which follows the same route as the national highway and which has a direct exit in the municipality, through the DSA-125 highway, allowing faster communications from Buenavista with the rest of the country.

As far as public transport is concerned, after the closure of the Vía de la Plata railway route, there are no train services in the municipality nor a regular line with bus service. On the other hand, Salamanca Airport is the closest, being about 32km away.