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Soria entered the history of the hand of the Romans. However, on the current hill of the Castle, remains of an older settlement have been discovered, undoubtedly subject to the existence of Numancia. Bartolomé de Torres, in his Topography of the city of Numancia, assures that the castle of this city took the name of Oria from a Greek knight named Doric, captain of the Dorians, who arrived in Soria from Acaya. From this news some historians deduce that the first settlers of present-day Soria were the Dorians. However, nothing in this regard has corroborated archeology and for another group of experts the first settlers of Soria were the Swabians, whose kings, according to Tutor and Malo in their Compendio historia de las dos Numancias, established one of their courts there.



Both hypotheses have fallen into disuse over time because no document reliably accredits them. It seems logical to suppose that the word "Soria" derives from dauria, in turn derived from daurius, that is, Duero. To these versions, about the origin of the name of Soria, are added that of Pedro de Rúa, which derives from Soria de Sarra, the name of the city of Tire, and from Sarranos, its inhabitants, from which Sorianos comes. In a book of weapons it is narrated that when Alfonso VII, the Emperor rebuilt Soria, a large stone with an engraved sign that reminded of an "S" was discovered, which was added to the castle of Oria and gave the current voice Soria.



In the year 869, in the middle of the Arab conquest, Soria again jumped to the pages of History on the occasion of the uprising of Suleiman ben Abús against the Emir of Córdoba who sent his son, Al-Hakan, to quell the uprising.

The Christian conquest



During the 11th century it became an important strategic enclave due to its location next to the Duero and marked the boundary between Christian and Muslim domains in the so-called "Duero brand" or "Duero line". At the beginning of the 12th century, King Alfonso I the Battler conquered it definitively from the Muslims (Arabs) and repopulated it, placing the border further south; This is reflected in the legend ´´Cabeza de Estremadura´´ on the coat of arms of Soria, a motto imposed by the denomination that was awarded to the lands reconquered from the Moors by the Christian kings. However, Soria continued to be a strategic enclave due to the struggles for territory between the kingdoms of Castilla y León (under whose tutelage it passed in 1134), Navarra and Aragón.



Alfonso VIII maintained the independence of the Kingdom of León thanks to the help provided by the Sorians and, in gratitude, granted the city a series of privileges. In 1195, Sancho el Fuerte took the city and at the beginning of the 13th century it experienced one of its most flourishing periods thanks to its border situation. Commerce, in the hands of the Jews, made Soria an important city. The Jews expanded the aljama, located within the castle limits, and gave part of their wealth to the city. According to Martel “in the castle of Soria, inside the main wall, there is a spacious body in which in the past there were three hundred houses and a temple, which today lasts, although it is ruined. Many of these houses say that they belonged to Jews, and that population, with which there was outside, was called alhama ».



Almost all the economic activities of the Soria Middle Ages revolved around wool. Head of several royal glens, Soria controlled the summer shearing of its herds and the shipment of the precious fleece to Burgos and the ports of the north of the Iberian Peninsula. This great business regulated by the Mesta guaranteed the preeminence of the cattle owners: the noble Lineages that controlled municipal life. As a sign of its strength, Soria obtained one of the precious representative positions among the 16 cities with the right to send attorneys to the Cortes of the kingdom of Castile, and hosted some of its meetings. On the other hand, the political instability of the last third of the fourteenth century allowed Henry II to cede it as payment to the French mercenary Bertrand Du Guesclin, who ran into open hostility from a population that did not wish to abandon the royal domain.

Decline



In 1492, the decree of expulsion of the Jews, brought the economic and social decline of Soria. During the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, the historical narrative of Soria was interrupted because after the union of the kingdoms of Aragon, Navarra and Castile the city ceased to be a strategic enclave. This situation lasted during the Modern Age, in which the decline in the profitability of cattle ranching put the city in a situation of very serious economic and demographic deterioration. On the other hand, local leaders at the end of the 16th century were unwilling or unable to support Bishop Acosta's veiled plan to move the headquarters of the diocese from Osma to Soria, which would have partially alleviated the decline of the city.



Soria recovers its strategic-military role in the history of Spain with the War of Succession, defending the cause of Felipe V, and protecting the border line from the Aragonese claims (1706-1707).



In 1808, after the French invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, an Armament and Defense Board was established in Soria that organized the Numantinos regiment or Battalion active on the Logroño and Sigüenza fronts. On November 20, 1808, the French troops appeared at the gates of Soria and surrendered to looting. The city was in flames and it was necessary to wait for the second half of the 19th century for it to recover its population and wealth indexes.



At the fall of the Old Regime, the town of constitutes a constitutional municipality in the region of Castilla la Vieja, a party of Soria that in the 1842 census had 942 homes and 5,400 residents.



At the end of the 20th century, the term of the municipality grew because it incorporated Oteruelos and Pedrajas.

Present



Currently Soria can be defined as a small capital (39,344 inhabitants), but active thanks to the tourism industry, which partly preserves its historical and medieval character, and corners, which exude that magic that has seduced travelers from all over the world. time. The city tries to make the most of the literary patina granted by its leading role in several of the Legends of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer or in the verses of Antonio Machado and Gerardo Diego.



On the other hand, communications are scarce, which contributes to the stagnation of its growth. Study and work opportunities for young people are reduced. There are many who leave the city to study and do not return. The successes of the athletes led by Enrique Pascual from Soria (Abel Antón, Fermín Cacho, Reyes Estévez) and the soccer and volleyball teams of the Club Deportivo Numancia have given Soria a certain sporting reputation that has an impact on the increase in the number of visitors to Weekend.



Soria is a city, capital of the province of Soria, in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León (Spain). Its municipal term has an area of ​​271.77 km².

Geography

Situation



It is on the banks of the Duero River, in its upper course. Its municipal term is made up of the city of Soria itself, the Las Casas neighborhood 1 km from the city and three towns: Oteruelos, Pedrajas and Toledillo.

Weather



The climate of the city of Soria is Mediterranean-continental. Winter is characterized by being long and cold (January 2.9 ° C), producing about 90 days of frost annually. For its part, summer is warm (20 ° C July and August), with maximum temperatures around 28 ° C, which can reach 35 ° C on days of heat, but the summer heat is softened by a few cool nights of about 10 ° C. The precipitations are moderate (570 mm a year) being spring the rainiest season, highlighting the months of April and May, in winter there can be snowfalls. It is the capital of the coldest province in Spain.



Religious monuments



Soria has a superb religious monumental catalog full of Romanesque style specimens. Among the most prominent are the following:



Church of San Juan de Rabanera

Church of Santo Domingo

St. Peter's Co-Cathedral

Arches of San Juan de Duero

Church of San Polo

Church of San Nicolás

Church of Santa María la Mayor

Church of San Agustín el Viejo

Church of San Ginés



Hermitage of San Saturio.



In Soria there are religious monuments of other styles and, although of Romanesque origin, they have not been preserved as such to this day. To these correspond:



Hermitage of San Saturio

Church of Our Lady of Espino

Hermitage of Our Lady of Mirón

Convent of Our Lady of Carmen

Convent of Our Lady of Mercy

Hermitage of Our Lady of Solitude

Convent of San Francisco

Church of San Salvador

Convent of Santa Clara

Hermitage of Santa Bárbara

Convent of San Agustín ´´el Nuevo´´

Convent of the Immaculate Conception



Civil Monuments



Soria Castle

Palace of the Counts of Gómara de Soria

Soria Main Square

San Clemente Square

Plaza de San Esteban - Plaza del Olivo

Knights Street

Old Customs Street

Alameda de Cervantes

College of the Society of Jesus

Soria Bullring

Bernardo Robles Square

Environment



In its term and included in the Natura 2000 Network the following places:



Place of Community Interest known as Riberas del Río Duero and tributaries, occupying 181 hectares, 1% of its term.

Place of Community Interest known as Robledales del Berrún, occupying 123 hectares, 1% of its term.

Place of Community Interest known as Sabinares Sierra de Cabrejas, occupying 199 hectares, 1% of its term.



Popular Festivals

Holy Week Soriana



Holy Week Soriana; Declared a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest of Castilla y León.



Festivities of San Juan or the Mother of God



Festivities of San Juan or the Madre de Dios (Soria), begin the Thursday after the festival of San Juan (June 24); Declared Festivals of National Tourist Interest.



Patron saint festivities in honor of San Saturio Anchorite



Festivities of San Saturio (Soria), from October 1 to 5.

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