Villasdardo

Villasdardo is a Spanish municipality and town in the province of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. It is integrated within the Tierra de Ledesma region. It belongs to the judicial district of Salamanca.

Its municipal area is made up of a single population center, it occupies a total area of 21.54 km² and according to the demographic data collected in the municipal register prepared by the INE in 2017, it has a population of 17 inhabitants.

Etymology

parish church of the Pure Conception

Its name comes from the medieval Leonese language, being registered in the XIII century as Villares Sordo and in the XV as Villares Dardo, deriving from it the current name. Thus, Villares would be translated into Leonese with a double meaning: "towns" or "casas", the latter being the most appropriate meaning for the case, the meaning of the second part of the name being unknown.

Demographics

Graphic of demographic evolution of Villasdardo between 1900 and 2021

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

Villasdardo is the least populated municipality in the province of Salamanca. According to the National Institute of Statistics, as of January 1, 2018, it had a total population of 23 inhabitants, of whom 8 were men and 15 women. Regarding the year 2000, the census reflects 22 inhabitants, of which 9 were men and 13 women. Therefore, in the period 2000-2018, the municipality has gained 1 inhabitant.

History

parish church of the Pure Conception

The foundation of the current Villasdardo is due to the kings of Leon, who founded this town in the Early Middle Ages. Later, in the XVI century, it was the domain of Fernán Álvarez Abarca, royal physician. With the creation of the current provinces in 1833, it was integrated into the province of Salamanca, within the Leonese Region.

Monuments and places of interest

Leisure facilities

• Dolmen de la Casa del Moro, with remains of the structures of the chamber and the corridor and which show the human presence in the municipality from the Prehistory.
• Ntra Church. Mrs. de la Purísima Concepción.
• Interesting traditional architecture.

Administration and politics

Municipal elections

Autonomous elections

Mayors

Transportation

Although historically it has always been one of the least populated municipalities in the province, it is very well connected by road, being crossed in a northwesterly direction by the DSA-431 that connects it with Villar de Peralonso and the CL-517 highway and in a southeasterly direction by the DSA-418 that joins it with Sando and the SA-305 highway. The aforementioned CL-517 highway also allows you to reach Salamanca, ending at the link between two highways, the Castilla highway that leads to Burgos and the Ruta de la Plata highway, the main north-south axis of the peninsula that connects Gijón with Seville.

As far as public transport is concerned, it is non-existent, there is no train line or railway tracks built, nor are there regular bus services that stop or pass through the municipality or nearby ones, the bus station being the closest Vitigudino is close by and there is no train station to Salamanca, more than 50km away. On the other hand, Salamanca airport is the closest, being about 66km away.