San Felices de los Gallegos, the beautiful medieval village that fought against Portugal
Just as Santillana del Mar is said to be the town of the three lies, the inhabitants of San Felices de los Gallegos also have their own joke. They are not saints, nor are they Galicians, and although they are happy this denomination does not come from the fortunate attribute but from a proper name: Felix. It is obvious that not everyone there is called Felix, so this is another of those villages of the three lies.
Because San Felices de los Gallegos is a small town. Officially and documented, since 1291, when Sancho VI of Castile instituted the Monday Market. Surely this title was granted years before, although it was in this period of time when this Salamancan village of barely 400 inhabitants began to be relevant. In the past, the number of residents tripled, but depopulation has also taken its toll here.
San Felices de los Gallegos played a curious role in La Raya, a tremendously unstable border in past centuries. Elected, on community television, the most beautiful village of Castile and León in the category of less than a thousand inhabitants, it is a medieval village with a lot of history. Also with some little lies that are nothing compared to all the certainties it offers.
Castle of San Felices de los Gallegos. | Shutterstock
San Felices de los Gallegos can be located in the region of Vitigudino. Specifically, in the sub region of El Abadengo, in the heart of the Arribes de Duero Natural Park. The place where this village is now located was occupied, in the Ancient Age, by the ancient Vetones, a people of Celtic culture that dominated part of the province of Salamanca. There are still some forts in the surroundings of the village. With the arrival of the Romans, the region became part of the province of Lusitania.
The track of San Felices de los Gallegos is lost in time until the 7th century, when the legend about its name was born. It was then when this place became dependent on the bishop of Oporto, named Felix. Part of the name was decreed in his honor. The origin of the Galicians is more uncertain, although it is known that it has to do with the inhabitants of the ancient Gallaecia. The doubt resides in its arrival to the town. It could have been with Felix himself or in later years, with the repopulations undertaken by the monarchs of the kingdom of León.
In either case, there are several certainties. That the bishop of Oporto played a decisive role in the birth of San Felices de los Gallegos, that the settlers of ancient Gallaecia were also important and that this village is more than a thousand years old.
Another perspective of the castle. | Shutterstock
The history of San Felices de los Gallegos has been linked to the history of Portugal. So much so that for a brief period of time it became a town belonging to the neighboring country.
In fact, the construction of the castle of the village was in charge of King Dionisio I of Portugal when, at the end of the 13th century, his troops occupied the streets. It was then that the Treaty of Alcañices was signed by which San Felices de los Gallegos became part of the Portuguese. In 1326 it was reintegrated back into Leonese territory, but it had spent almost thirty years under the domination of Dionisio and his men. Only forty years later, Ferdinand I of Portugal would invade it again. At that time there were few conflicts that could not find a solution in a good marriage, so it would not be long before San Felices de los Gallegos returned, through a liaison, to Spanish territory.
It never ceased, until well into the 19th century, to be in the middle of these disputes. The War of Succession in the Crown of Castile and León in the fifteenth century, the Portuguese War of Independence in the 17th century, the Spanish War of Independence in the 19th century, which also had to face the French… The history of San Felices de los Gallegos is a history of defense and resistance.
This history explains the birth of a castle that has been standing since 1296. In the set of the fortification can be noticed several parts. On the one hand, the Old Fence, which preserves a large part of a wall that today can be visited in certain sections. It is composed of several buildings that make up the so-called Plaza del Castillo. On the other hand, the castle itself, which retains two artillery barriers, the intramural and extramural, as well as the keep. Well preserved, today it houses an Interpretation Center that allows to know in detail the history of the town. As we have already seen, it is very rich.
The medieval air of this village can be seen in practically every corner. | Shutterstock
In addition to that exciting history that speaks of continuous clashes with Portuguese, even with French, San Felices de los Gallegos is full of monuments of great attraction. In fact, it has an imposing collection of churches and hermitages that do not make one think that this is a small village.
The church of Nuestra Señora entre Dos Álamos stands out. Of the initial construction of the 12th century only a Romanesque doorway remains, but still gives off an ancient character. The main body dates from the 14th century and in the lateral naves there are two Renaissance chapels from the end of the 16th century. It is surprisingly large. Also noteworthy is the hermitage of the Lamb that, built on the old hermitage of the Santa Vera Cruz, is a place of great devotion and pilgrimage for the inhabitants of the area.
Two other important landmarks are constructions linked to this history. The Arco del Puerto, which for a long time was the main entrance to this town that, due to its location, had to be fortified. This arch was built in the 14th century. A few years before, the Torre de las Campanas was erected, almost at the same time as the castle, to which it serves as a monumental gateway.
Church of San Felices de los Gallegos. | Shutterstock
This place, the most beautiful place in Castile and León with less than a thousand inhabitants, is seen calmly, but also with attention. Do not miss the details of the emblazoned houses, the fountains or the medieval bridges that surround the village. Although the castle was abandoned in the early 20th century, the will of an illustrious neighbor managed to recover it for the people and it began to grow in the eyes of the world. And its population has declined, as already mentioned, but San Felices de los Gallegos is far from dying.
