The Villa of Velamazán

The villa of Velamazán is in the middle of the road between Almazán and Berlanga de Duero. The village is located over two mounts “EL Castillo(the castle)” and “La Atalaya (the watchover)”, although there are no remains from none of them. If you go at the top of them you can observe a wide and beautiful panoramic of the meadows of the Douro and of the Mountain Chain Bordecorex on the South, full of monuments dedicated to the God Eolo. The cottage is protected by a rich mount on the South which is full of kermes oak, holm oak, oak, and opened to the North by the river Douro that, although it does not flow by its term, it does its neighbour Rebollo of which town hall is attached to the villa’s.

In spite of 600 inhabitants have had between the 50’s and 60’s, known as “churriegos”, nowadays the number has been reduced up to 150 people, and in winter almost 40 live her, because most of its population live in the villa of Almazán that has all the services being the biggest village of Soria with around 6000 inhabitants.
Anyway in summer, long weekends and many weekends the people come to enjoy the tranquility and the views that this village offers located 997 m high.

Church of the Saint Cross. 1686

It is a sumptuous building of good architecture and regular altarpieces. It was raise in the XVII century with sponsorship from González de Castejón. In the church in 1819 was built to access to the platform of the Marquis and in 1899 the bell tower was rebuilt. It was knocked down and a new bell tower with 5 floors was built in 2009.

Inside was covered by tapestry of Damasco, so the hangings were very common in the villa, in 1924 were sold for 11000 pesetas to an antique shop from Madrid, to repair the damages of the tower.
It has a beautiful organ, the second-biggest one of the province, besides two pulpits of iron, beautiful hangings, many jewels and silver lamps.

The fortified Tower

The fortified tower was built in 1890, when José María González Castejón was already marquis and Olzábal, mounts engineer, singles and he resided temporally in the Villa of Velamazán, he also was count of Fuerteventura and sir of Fuentegallarmo.

The aim of the fortified tower was to practise human flight. The mentor, the own marquis so he built some aileron with boards which have adjustable shells and long bamboo canes which came from Paris and Amberes, brought by caravan from America central. The flight never came to fruition. The fortified tower was built over a castle, for the possible earlier existence of a building of these characteristics. On the hill the remains can be seen of what could have been originally a watchtower.

The Roll

The roll, from the XVII century is located in the square of the village and it simply remains that in the Villa of Velamazán, the jurisdiction belonged to the marquis of Velamazán.

Hermitage of Saint Sebastian

Over a hill next to the villa is located the old graveyard and what was the parish of Saint Sebastian.

It was originally of Romanesque style and it is kept the facade with arch and archivolts, after was rebuilt in Gothic style and there are some walls left.

Hermitage of our Lady of the Meadow

Less than one kilometre far away, on the North of the village, direction to the river Douro, is the hermitage of the Virgin of the Meadow, fully restored following the South Romanesque Plan. Originally Romanesque, from the beginning of the XIII century, it has a façade with two plain archivolts and a poor decoration of leaves in the impost.
It has two altars collateral to the high altar.

On the East the house has attached the old shrine and on the west to a small sacristy. The arcade is also modern but it is well conserved and it provides shade and `shelter when the church is closed.