Béjar

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Béjar
Municipality
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Coat of arms of Béjar
Coat of arms
Béjar is located in Spain
Béjar
Béjar
Location in Spain
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country  Spain
Autonomous community Castile and León
Province Salamanca
Comarca Sierra de Béjar
Judicial district Béjar
Founded 400 BC
Government
 • Alcalde Alejo Riñones (2011) (PP)
Area
 • Total 45.74 km2 (17.66 sq mi)
Elevation 959 m (3,146 ft)
Population (2008)
 • Total 15,110
 • Density 330/km2 (860/sq mi)
Demonym(s) bejarano
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 37700
Dialing code 923
Website Official website

Béjar is a town and municipality in the province of Salamanca, western Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It lies 72 km (45 mi) had a population of 15,016 as of 2007.

History

File:Plaza bejar.jpg
Plaza Mayor.
File:Jueves Santo 2009 1.jpg
Semana Santa´s feast day 2009.
File:Jueves santo bejar 2.jpg
Semana Santa´s feast day 2009.

The first inhabitants of what is now Béjar were the Vettones who settled an area to the south of the city now known as La Antigua around 400 BC. The city was made part of Roman Hispania in the beginning of the 1st century BC. In AD 713, the city was taken by Muslim Berbers (Moors) from the Visigoths and in the 11th century it was conquered by King Alfonso VI of Castile. Following this, numerous fortress and the walls, many which still stand, were constructed to repel frequent Arab incursions that took place until the definitive expulsion of the Muslims.

The city was later the center of the Duchy of Béjar ruled by the powerful House of Zúñiga. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Name

The name Béjar is of pre-Roman origin. The original form was Bigerra[1] and is said to mean "place of the beehives." "Béjar" could be an adaption from the Spanish word abeja, which means "bee." An older spelling of the city's name is Béxar. In medieval documents, Vexar is found also.

Bexar County in the U.S. state of Texas acquired its name indirectly from this city.

Related articles

References

  1. Edward Gibbon. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Volume 5. Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger, 1873. p. 258.

External links