Cyperez

Cipérez 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 Vitigudino and the sub-region of Tierra de Vitigudino. It belongs to the judicial district of Vitigudino.

Its municipal area is made up of the towns of Castillejo de Evans, Cipérez, Gansinos, Grandes, Huelmos, La Moralita and San Cristóbal de los Mochuelos, it occupies a total area of 104.66 km² and according to the demographic data collected in the municipal register prepared by the INE in 2017, has a population of 284 inhabitants. It is known for its Pan de Ángel artisan wafer factory.

Symbols

Shield

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

«[Medium] matched and cut: 1.o, on the silver field, a fountain pouring water with alternate waves of silver and sugar; 2.o, on the field of gold, five lis in azur placed in sotuer; 3.o, on the field of azur, an arm cut offering a halo of holiness of gold to a silver stone, the halo encircled a silver field with capital letters «S. Tied of the current Spanish royal crown»

Flag

The municipal flag was approved with the following textual description:

« Square flag of proportions 1/1, made up of a cloth of red or gules with four crosses paté of silver in sotuer with the shield of Cipérez in the center and two more in the flanks diestro one, and sinister the other»

Geography

It limits to the north with Peralejos de Arriba, Espadaña and Villar de Peralonso; to the east with Villasdardo, Santa María de Sando and Sando; to the south with Garcirrey and El Cubo de Don Sancho and to the west with Pozos de Hinojo.

This municipality was the head of one of the rodas of the alfoz ledesmino. In the XIX century, the lands of Cipérez were incorporated into the newly created judicial district of Vitigudino, which emerged in the new administrative organization that It was established in Spain after 1833. The predominant note in this municipality is the sharp decline in population that it has been suffering since the middle of the century. In this sense, the data is very significant: if in 1950 it had 1,421 inhabitants, thirty years later that figure had been reduced by half, not reaching 300 inhabitants today. The great extension of the municipal term, which integrates seven entities, shows a very low density (2.71 inhabitants/km²), as a consequence of the presence and dominance of cattle and sheep farms. There is a total dedication to livestock and the use of pastures and grasslands, with less than 10% of the land being devoted to farming. Fruit of the cattle presence is that the municipality had a cattle market on Tuesdays. Of the three hermitages that it had today, only the one of Humilladero still remains, which houses the carving of Cristo del Amparo. The parish church is dedicated to San Pedro. But if this place is famous for something, it is because the famous Cipérez wafers are produced here, which are so appreciated throughout Spain.

Population

Figure of population evolution in Cipérez between 1900 and 2020

Source: Spanish National Statistical Institute - Graphical development by Wikipedia.

According to the National Institute of Statistics, Cipérez had, as of December 31, 2018, a total population of 279 inhabitants, of whom 146 were men and 133 women. Regarding the year 2000, the census reflects 439 inhabitants, of which 221 were men and 218 women. Therefore, the loss of population in the municipality for the period 2000-2018 has been 160 inhabitants, a 37% decrease.

The municipality is divided into seven population centers. Of the 279 inhabitants that the municipality had in 2018, Cipérez had 242, of which 130 were men and 112 women, La Moralita with 17, of which 8 were men and 9 women, Grandes with 11, of which 3 were men and 8 women, Castillejo de Evans with 3, of which 2 were men and 1 women, San Cristóbal de los Mochuelos with 3, of which 1 were men and 2 women, Gansinos with 2, of which 0 were men and 2 women, and Huelmos with 1, of which 0 were men and 1 women.

Economy

The unemployment rate was 15.6% in 2001 and of the active population the primary sector employed 38.66%, industry and crafts 18.49%, construction 7.56% and services the remaining 35.29%.

Agricultural holdings, 88 according to the 1999 agricultural census, occupied 8,875 ha, 39.0% owned, 53.0% leased, and 8.0% under other tenure regimes. 430 ha were cultivated (429 arable and 1 olive grove), 8,268 were dedicated to permanent pastures and 176 ha were other non-forest land. Of the total farms, 17 had less than 5 ha and 46 exceeded 50 ha. There were 4,522 livestock units registered in the census in 1999: 3,945 cattle, 162 sheep, 35 goats, 332 pigs, 36 horses, 5 birds and 7 mother rabbits.

History

During Prehistory, human settlement in the vicinity of Cipérez is attested by the conservation of remains of dolmens in Sahelicejos or Zafrón.

Subsequently, in pre-Roman times, the human trace in the northwest of Salamanca is corroborated by the existence of various Vetone forts, such as those of Yecla de Yeltes, Saldeana or Las Merchanas, while the later Roman presence is attested by the numerous stelae Roman structures that have appeared throughout the north of the province, or various bridges or sections of road from Roman times, such as the Mocho de Ledesma Bridge.

However, the foundation of Cipérez did not take place until the repopulation carried out by King Alfonso VI of León at the end of the XI< century, being attached to the Alfoz de Ledesma, in the Kingdom of León. Thus, the name of the town, called in the century XIII "Cipedres" According to the historiography, it would come from the name of Ziti Petriz, which would link to the fact that the first settlers would come from La Rioja, specifically from the Nájera area, where the existence of said name is recorded.

When it became dependent on Ledesma, it fell under his domain and, later, on the county of Ledesma, a dependency that lasted until the century XIX, being during the Modern Age the head of one of the "rodas" that made up the Tierra de Ledesma. With the creation of the current provinces in 1833, Cipérez was integrated into the province of Salamanca, within the Leonese Region, becoming dependent in 1844 on the judicial district of Vitigudino.

Culture

Details of the map "Spain and Portugal" of 1838, by John Betts, in which you can appreciate Cipérez.

Traditional architecture

There is no news of the construction of the first settlements, but the houses in these places were made of granite stone, very abundant in this place, adobe and mud.

The construction of the houses was carried out using the double wall system: it is about making two sheets, one inside and one on the outside and from time to time locking them with stones that joined both sheets; the central part was filled with small stones. For the best union of the stone, clay was used, although it is true that a well-made wall hardly needed it. The interior rooms were separated by adobes (mud bricks and straw dried in the sun). The roof was made using wooden beams, then everything was covered with branches and clay and tile were placed on top. The walls had to be thick, for two reasons, to insulate the house as much as possible from the cold and heat, and to support the weight of the roof, which was quite large. Normally they were about 50 or 60 cm thick and it is normal for them to reach a meter.

In the corners, carved stones were placed, squared, so that they would fit together. The doors and windows were supported if possible by entire jambs of polished stone.

The doors were double, quite resistant and with a large gate, which in summer was left open to let the air flow. The windows were made of wood, bars were usually inserted into the jambs to prevent theft.

Church of Saint Peter the Apostle

Practically in every house there was what was called "the double" or "sobrao", built using wooden boards, which was used to store mainly if it had enough height (in some houses it barely reached one meter in height), the grain (rye, oats, wheat...), that is, as a bread basket. Farm tools were also used...

The floors were often made of polished stone boats. What was not missing in any house was the fireplace, today the old ones have almost disappeared. Its main characteristic was the large bell that they had, I have seen some of 5 or 6 square meters, its main use was for curing the slaughter during the winter with smoke. The houses were low-rise, and if any house stands out in Cipérez it is because it belonged to a wealthy family.

All this has meant that the temperature inside it hardly varied during winter and summer.

Formerly, in order to achieve greater protection of goods and animals, the inhabitants built houses inside the corrals, that is, to access the house you had to go through the corral. This was disappearing, because it caused many health problems.

Administration and politics

Municipal elections