Navalmoral de Béjar

Navalmoral de Béjar 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 11.08 km² and according to the demographic data collected in the municipal register prepared by the INE in 2017, it has a population of 62 inhabitants.

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, Navalmoral 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, Navalmoral de Béjar 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, Navalmoral being integrated into the province of Salamanca, within the Leonese Region.

Demographics

Graphic of demographic evolution of Béjar Navalmoral between 1900 and 2022

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

According to the National Statistics Institute, as of December 31, 2019, Navalmoral de Béjar had a total population of 59 inhabitants, of whom 27 were men and 32 women. Regarding the year 2000, the census reflects 75 inhabitants, of which 37 were men and 38 women. Therefore, the loss of population in the municipality for the period 2000-2019 has been 16 inhabitants, a 22% decrease.

Culture

Traditional customs are deeply rooted in this beautiful enclave of Salamanca. Some typical festivities are, for example, the day of the tortilla (the town's inhabitants go up to the La Corbera rock where they share the rich tortillas made with potatoes from the town's orchards), the grape harvest (for decades in the places that still exist) or the slaughter (done the old-fashioned way).

Transportation

The municipality is very well connected by road, being crossed by the SA-220 that connects Ciudad Rodrigo with Béjar, where it ends at the link with the Ruta de la Plata highway that connects Gijón with Seville, thus allowing faster communications from municipality abroad. The DSA-250 road that starts from the municipality and connects it with Fuentes de Béjar also stands out.

As far as public transport is concerned, after the closure of the Vía de la Plata railway route, which passed through the municipality of Béjar and had a station there, there are no train services in the municipality or 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 83km away.

Monuments and places of interest

Catholic parish church dedicated to San Bartolomé Apóstol, in the Archdiocese of Mérida-Badajoz, Diocese of Plasencia, Archpriesthood of Béjar.

Administration and politics

Municipal elections