- Campoo
Comarca
comarca_name = Campoo-Los Valles
location_
location_map_size = 250px
province = Cantabria
capital =Reinosa
largest_city =
demonym = campurriano, -a
population = 20,520
area = 1,012.09
pop_density = 20.27
municipalities =Campoo de Enmedio |Campoo de Yuso |Hermandad de Campoo de Suso |Pesquera|Reinosa |Las Rozas de Valdearroyo |Santiurde de Reinosa |San Miguel de Aguayo |Valdeolea |Valdeprado del Río |Valderredible |Campoo is a "
comarca " ofCantabria (Spain ) located in the HighEbro , with a surface little bigger than 1,000 km², and including the municipalities ofHermandad de Campoo de Suso ,Campoo de Enmedio ,Campoo de Yuso ,Valdeolea ,Valdeprado del Río ,Valderredible ,Reinosa ,Las Rozas de Valdearroyo ,Santiurde de Reinosa , Pesquera, andSan Miguel de Aguayo . Their inhabitants are called "Campurrians" (Campurrianos, in Spanish).Its highest elevation is theCuchillón peak (2,225 m above sea level), and the lowest is Pesquera (560 m), with the capital, Reinosa at 850 m.Originally, as it is gathered in the "Book of
Merindad es of Castile" (from circa 1352), the "Merindad" of Aguilar de Campoo comprised municipalities of the south of presentCantabria , as well as of northernProvince of Palencia and Burgos, with its capital being the PalentineAguilar de Campoo , ancient capital also of the vastMarquesse of Aguilar de Campoo . Later the capital was moved toReinosa , which still has this status. The "Palentine Campoo" was left, after the provincial division, with Aguilar as the most important township, and included nowadays into the large "comarca" ofPalentine Mountains .Geography
Campoo is placed in a transition zone between the Eurosiberian and the Mediterranean regions of the Iberian Peninsula (see
Forests of the Iberian Peninsula ). Its climate is generally cold and humid, influenced by the Continental (as it is open to the "Meseta") andOceanic climate s, the last one smoothed by the Ísar ranges and theCantabrian Mountains . This climate combination can be observed in very cold winters and gentle summers, with no extreme temperatures. With Reinosa in the middle, we can find a more Mediterranean zone, comprising Valderredible and Valdeolea, and to the North, near the end of theBesaya River , the climate becomes clearly Oceanic.In the Híjar mountains is the source of the river of the same name, whose discharge is the main water contribution to the
Ebro river, which is born in the locality of Fontibre. This river is dammed near Reinosa, to make one of the largest reservoirs of the hydrographic basin of the Ebro [es icon [http://www.arija.org/es/index.php?title=Pantano_del_Ebro The Ebro's Reservoir in Arija's wiki] ] , acting as main regulator of theNavarre and Riojan irrigated lands. In these same mountain ranges, risen from tectonic movements during the time from the end of theCretacous to theOligocene (alpinotype orogeny), are the highest peaks of the "comarca", the "Cuchillón" (2,225 m) and the "Tres Mares" (Three Seas; 2,180 m), so called because from its skirts rivers flow to all three Spanish river basins.The "Tres Mares" is the point where the mountain ranges of Ísar and Híjar start, forming at its base a glacial valley open to the whole "comarca". From its summits can be seen the
Bay of Biscay to the north, the nearPicos de Europa to the northwest, the Cantabrian andPalentine Mountains to the southwest, the "Meseta Central" to the south, and the Pas valleys with the "Encartaciones" mountains to the east.Flora and Fauna
In the northern slope of the mountains,
beech andoak groves of theSaja-Besaya Natural Park spread out; an important nature reserve abundant with deers,roe deer s andgolden eagle s. The presence of Iberian wolves is not very rare, andbrown bear s have been sighted, thus considering this zone as an important nexus of communication between isolated populations of thisplantigrade . There are also important colonies ofgriffon vulture s in Polientes and the Híjar ridges. Other interesting species of animals that populate the "comarca" are: eagle owls, martens, badgers,stoat s and desmans. In addition, the Ebro swamps house a remarkable aquatic avifauna.Among its flora, as well as the mentioned oak and beech groves, there are very important populations of hollies andbirch s, and also excelents specimens oftaxus , all of which are protected by the Spanish law.People
The inhabitants of Campoo are called Campurrians ("Campurrianos" in Spanish) and their language is Spanish, influenced by an Astur-Leonese dialect.
The traditional costume is characteristic for its "albarcas", footwear similar to Asturian clogs, which are exquisitely carved in birch wood (nowadays they are industrially made in beech). Another typic Campurrian accessory is the "palo pinto", a rod made of hazelnut tree wood and engraved by fire, and which is used to help in wlaking up the mountains and to beat the livestock.
The Campurrian economy has traditionally been connected to cattle, the Campurrians having also good reputation as carters and masons. The Campurrian carters were in charge of making the exchange of merchandising between the Castilian Mesa and the capital of the province (until the administrative reorganization of 1982, Santander was part of Old Castile, and also its capital), constantly redoing the route of the
Foramontanos [es icon [http://personales.mundivia.es/flipi/cuadernos/Cuaderno_10/Los_foramontanos.htm Notebooks of Campoo - The Foramontans] ] that repopulated Castile.Culture
The day of Campoo is celebrated the last Sunday of September, as part of Saint Matthew festivities. The main act of the day is a cart parade that show scenes of the traditional everyday life, pulled by oxen and Tudanca cows. Other important festivities are the ones of "Los Campanos" in Abiada, celebrated the first Sunday of September to commemorate the end of summer by bringing the cows down to the valley from the summer passes, full of regalia; and "Las Nieves" on
August 15 in Naveda.In the "comarca" there are plentiful buildings of "highlander"
romanesque architecture , among which the "Cervatos's" and "San Martín de Elines"'scollegiate church s, the "Santa María la Mayor" church of "Villacantid" stand out; other remarkable churches are those of "Bolmir y Retortillo", "San Andrés" and "San Martín de Valdelomar".In the Campurrian civil architecture the abundant noble houses stand out, with carved
ashlar s and sunny spots ("Mazandrero, Naveda, Celada, Pesquera", etc.) In military architecture one piece must be remarked, the "Argüeso" castle [es icon [http://personales.mundivia.es/flipi/Cuadernos/Cuaderno_8/El_marquesado_de_argueso.htm Notebooks of Campoo - The Argüeso Marquessate] ] , built on the 12th century and where DonÍñigo López de Mendoza , Marquis of Santillana, lived and from where he managed the Lordship of Campoo and his marquessate of Argüeso in the 15th century. Other interesting buildings are the tower [es icon [http://personales.mundivia.es/flipi/cuadernos/Cuaderno_9/Torres_medievales.htm Notebooks of Campoo - Medieval Towers] ] of the Bustamantes in the "Costana", and also the ones of "Ruerrero", of "San Martín de Hoyos", of "Ríos de Proaño", and the tower of the Gómez-Bárcenas in "San Miguel de Aguayo".The city of
Julióbriga ruins [es icon [http://personales.mundivia.es/flipi/Cuadernos/Cuaderno_4/juliobriga.htm Notebooks of Campoo - Julióbriga] ] , 4 km away from Reinosa, in "Retortillo", deserve a special mention. The city was founded by the IV Roman Legion in the 1st century BC upon an old Cantabrian "castro". Also, an important battle took place in this area: the Battle of Aracillum ("Aradillos"), and important chapter in the romanization of Cantabria, which took over 200 years, one of the longest of the whole history of the Roman Empire.The "comarca" of Campoo was again important in another war episode two thousand years later, during theSpanish Civil War , when the Navarre Brigades broke the resistance of the Popular Front in the Híjar ridges, provoking the republican loss of Santander.Present time
Halfway during the 1970s, the "comarca" underwent a depopulation and demographic ageing process, specially due to the decline of the national company "La Naval" (Forges and Steels of Reinosa), which maintained a previously thriving industry, with credited international prestige in naval and weaponry construction. Notwithstanding, after a traumatic industrial conversion and an important development in tourism, this Cantabrian "comarca" faces the rade-off between keeping the highly polluting siderurgy or basing its economy on tourism.
Nowadays, its main economic resources are the aforementioned tourism and
siderurgy industry, as well as the alimentary livestock (specially cattle, but also horses). The growing development of the tourism infrastructure, in spite of being one of the main economic engines of Campoo, is starting to make pressure in the ecologic balance of the zone. This fact has caused the proliferation of ecologist associations involved in the achievement ofsustainable development , as the only way to preserve these valleys.ee also
References
Bibliography
General
*Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Espasa.
*Menéndez-Pidal, Ramón. Historia de España. Ramón Menéndez Pidal / Madrid : Espasa-Calpe, 1989
*Pérez de Urbel, Justo. La España del siglo X : castellanos. y leoneses, navarros y gallegos, musulmanes y judíos, forjadores de historia / Madrid, Alonso, 1983
*Sánchez-Albornoz, Claudio. España : Un enigma histórico / Barcelona, Edhasa, D. L. 2001Monographic
*El Conde Fernán González. Fray Justo Pérez de Urbel.
*Fueros de Brañosera dados por el conde Muñio Nuñez en 15 de octubre del año de 824. MyR. 16-18.
*Iglesias, J. M. Regio Cantabrorum. / Santander, Caja Cantabria. Oct.1999
*Muñíz, Juan A. Cántabros. La génesis de un pueblo. / Santander, Caja Cantabria.External links
The House of Culture "Sánchez Díaz" [es icon [http://www.casaculturasd.org/ Casa de Cultura Sánchez Díaz] ] of Reinosa has been publishing in paper the series "Notebooks of Campoo" from 1995; a rigorous and well documented work about the most diverse aspects of Campoo, and written by experts in different matters. Recently this notebooks have been digitalized and uploaded to the Internet. Some of them can be read in the following links:
*es icon [http://personales.mundivia.es/flipi/Cuadernos/Cuaderno_1.htm Notebooks of Campoo]
*es icon [http://vacarizu.es/Cuadernos/Cuaderno_23/La_destruccion_de_la_memoria.htm The destruction of the archives]
*es icon [http://vacarizu.es/Cuadernos/Cuaderno_36/Montanas_de_Campoo.htm Mountains of Campoo]
*es icon [http://personales.mundivia.es/flipi/cuadernos/Cuaderno_9/Torres_medievales.htm Medieval towers]
*es icon [http://personales.mundivia.es/flipi/cuadernos/Cuaderno_10/Los_foramontanos.htm The Foramontans]
*es icon [http://personales.mundivia.es/flipi/Cuadernos/Cuaderno_14/La_Naval_de_Reinosa.htm "La Naval" of Reinosa]Other
*es icon [http://www.gobcantabria.es/portal/page?_pageid=80,1&_dad=interportal&_schema=INTERPORTAL Government of Cantabria]
*es icon [http://www.palenciaturismo.com/ Palencia Tourism]
*es icon [http://www.cantabria102municipios.com/ Cantabria 102 municipalities]
*es icon [http://www.sidenor.com/historia.asp?lan=es SideNor (Siderurgy of the North)]
*es icon [http://www.cantur.com/altocampoo.asp CanTur(Cantabrian Tourism)]
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