Last modified: 2020-11-14 by ivan sache
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The municipality of Almenar de Soria (228 inhabitants in 2019 vs. 799 in 1970; 10,599 ha; municipal website) is located 30 km south-east of Soria. The municipality is composed of the villages of Almenar de Soria, Cardejón (32 inh.), Castejón del Campo (13 inh.), Esteras de Lubia (21 inh.), Jaray (25 inh.), and Peroniel del Campo (36 inh.).
Almenar was first mentioned in the legend of the Lara Infantes. It seems that James I, King of Aragón, granted the village to one of his Castilian knights in the 13th century.
In 1430, John II, King of Castile, elevated his ambassador to Portugal, Hernán Bravo de Lagunas, the first lord of Almenar. His son, also named Hernán, inherited the domain in 1452. After the death of his daughter, Juana, without heirs, the domain was transferred to Beatriz Bravo de Lagunas, the wife of Juan de Saravia, regidor of Soria.
The castle of Almenar, built in the 15th-16th centuries, is square, with a round tower at each corner, and is surrounded by ditches. It was visited by Charles II in 1677 and by Philip V and Marie-Louise of Savoy in 1702. The decline of the castle started in the 18th century when its owners, the Counts of Gómara, emigrated to Chile and abandoned it. The central keep was subsequently demolished.
The pre-romantic poet and novelist Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1830-1870) placed two of his Legends in the castle. Leonor Izquierdo (1894-1912), the first wife of the poet Antonio Machado (1875-1939), was born in the barracks of the Civil Guard housed in the castle's dependencies.
Ivan Sache, 3 October 2020
The flag and arms of Almenar de Soria, originally approved on 18 December 2019 by the Municipal Council, are prescribed by an Agreement issued on 13 May 2020 by the Village Council, signed on 15 May 2020 by the Mayor, and published on 11 June 2020 in the official gazette of Castilla y León, No. 115, p. 17,236 (text).
The symbols are described as follows:
Flag: Rectangular panel, in proportions 3:2 (length on width), celestial blue, charged in the center with the municipal coat of arms.
Coat of arms: Per pale, 1. Or a castle proper masoned sable, 2. Vert two bundles of three spikes in bend, pale, and bend sinister, in pale. Grafted in base Azure three fesses wavy argent. The shield surmounted by a Royal Spanish crown closed.
The municipality of Almenar de Soria organized a public contest for the design of municipal symbol in summer 2017. The contest's outcome, if any, is not known.
[Twitter].
Ivan Sache, 3 October 2020
