Castraz
Castraz is a Spanish municipality and town in the province of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. It is integrated into the Ciudad Rodrigo region and the Campo de Yeltes sub-region, which is part of the immense Campo Charro plain.
Its municipal area is made up of the towns of Castraz, El Cuarto, Pedraza de Yeltes and Sepúlveda, and has a population of 36 inhabitants (INE 2022).
History
The existence in the municipality of Castraz of the Sepúlveda dolmen, where ornamental objects were found, evidences the existence of human presence in the municipality since Prehistory. However, the foundation of Castraz, Sepúlveda and Pedraza as localities is dates back to the repopulation carried out by the kings of León in the Middle Ages, being framed in the Campo de Yeltes of the Diocese of Ciudad Rodrigo after its creation by King Ferdinand II of León in the 12th century, doing so in the in the case of Sepúlveda de Yeltes as a manor territory, having Castraz in the Middle Ages and the current name. With the creation of the current provinces in 1833, the municipality of Castraz was included in the province of Salamanca, within the Leonese Region.
Demographics
| Graphic of demographic evolution of Castraz between 1900 and 2022 |
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Source: Spanish National Statistical Institute - Graphical development by Wikipedia. |
According to the National Institute of Statistics, Castraz had, as of December 31, 2018, a total population of 42 inhabitants, of whom 27 were men and 15 women. Regarding the year 2000, the census reflects 61 inhabitants, of which 36 were men and 25 women. Therefore, the loss of population in the municipality for the period 2000-2018 has been 19 inhabitants, a 31% decrease.
The municipality is divided into four population centers. Of the 42 inhabitants that the municipality had in 2018, all were registered in Castraz. Sepúlveda, Pedraza de Yeltes and Cuarto de Doña María Luisa are considered uninhabited.
Administration and politics
Municipal elections
| Political party | 2019 | 2015 | 2011 | 2007 | 2003 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | Votes | Councillors | % | Votes | Councillors | % | Votes | Councillors | % | Votes | Councillors | % | Votes | Councillors | |
| Popular Party (PP) | 82.76 | 24 | 2 | 77,14 | 27 | 3 | 88.89 | 32 | 3 | 73.47 | 36 | 1 | 87.27 | 48 | 1 |
| Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) | 13.79 | 4 | 1 | 20,00 | 7 | 0 | 5,56 | 2 | 0 | 16,33 | 8 | 0 | 10,91 | 6 | 0 |
Heritage
- Church of Saint John the Baptist (Castraz).
- Templar hermitage of the Virgin of the Vega (Sepúlveda de Yeltes).
- Church of Sepúlveda of Yeltes.
- Yeltes Pedraza Tower.
- Yeltes Pedraza Chapel.
- Former school of Castraz.