ZAMORA, CASTILLE LEON

Zamora is a Spanish province of western Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and Leon.

It is bordered by the provinces of Ourense, León, Valladolid, and Salamanca, and by Portugal.

Of the 200,678 people (2002) in the province, nearly a third live in the capital, Zamora. This province has 250 municipalities.

Zamora is also the capital of the province of Zamora. It lies on a rocky hill in the northwest, near the frontier with Portugal and crossed by the Duero river, which is some 50km/30mi downstream as it reaches the Portuguese frontier. With its 24 Romanesque churches of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries it has been called a "museum of Romanesque art". Zamora is the city with more Romanesque churches in all Europe. Zamora has a unique Romanesque monument, with the peculiar characteristics which is very difficult to find in other places.

The most important historic episode took place when the city gained an extraordinary relevance after the death of Ferdinand I of León who called it the "well fortified city of Zamora" (or "la bien cercada" in Spanish) and bequeathed it to his daughter Doña Urraca. Her brother Sancho II of Castile trying to conquere the city lay siege to Zamora, which was the possession of his sister Urraca. King Sancho II was murdered by Bellido Dolfos while besieging the town, causing Castile to fall in the hands of his brother Alfonso VI of León. The event was commemorated by the Portillo de la Traición (Treason Gate). Zamora was also the scene of fierce fighting in the fifteenth century, during the conflict between the supporters of Isabella the Catholic and Juana la Beltraneja. The Spanish proverb, No se ganó Zamora en una hora, literally, Zamora wasn't won in a day, is a reference to these battles.


During the twelfth century, the city was extraordinarily important for its strategic position in the wars between the Kingdom of León and Arabs to conquer the Iberian Peninsula. As a result, the city preserves many churches and buildings from that time. In the next centuries, the city lost its political and economic relevance and suffered emigration, especially to South America (who founded many other cities called Zamora).

Map of Zamora: