Puntos de Interés
Municipality
Cabrejas del Pinar
Cabrejas del Pinar is a village in Soria with around 360 residents, located in the comarca of Pinares, characterised by the extensive pine surrounding it, to which the municipality owes part of its name.
Around the village itself, remains of human settlements like the Castro de Pico hill fort, which prove that this area has been inhabited since at least the Celtiberian period. Later, the Romans would dominate this part in Soria. Like other villages in the area, Cabrejas del Pinar was repopulated after the Christian reconquest in the 11th century, when the village we see today began to take shape.
Cabrejas del Pinar's heritage also includes elements such as the castle, located on a walled hill close to the present-day town centre. The enclosure of this fortress is believed to be of Arab origin and it had a watchtower, a cistern and an underground passage. However, today only the remains of the keep and other parts of the old castle remain due to the poor quality of its construction and the passage of time. The religious heritage of the municipality includes the Church of San Millán, a Baroque temple of solemn appearance that is believed to have been built on the ruins of an earlier church. Then there is the Shrine of La Blanca, about three kilometres from the village and built at the request of three families from the village who emigrated to Latin America. At the entrance to the municipality is the Shrine of Santa Ana, a sober rectangular temple next to which the local cemetery is attached.
Traditionally, the economy of the village has been closely linked to livestock farming and the exploitation of the forests that surround the town centre. As is the case in other localities in this region, the carts made from the wood of the pine trees in the area became one of the main sources of livelihood in this municipality for centuries. For decades many of the inhabitants of Cabrejas del Pinar got by transporting goods in these wooden carts along the roads, a trade known as "carretería". With the decline of this trade in the late 19th century, the municipality experienced a period of economic decline that resulted in a massive emigration of its inhabitants, many of whom crossed the Atlantic to settle in America.
Cabrejas del Pinar holds celebrates its local festivals in honour of La Virgen de la Blanca at the end of July, a celebration also attended by the residents of neighbouring villages called the "Pueblos de la Concordia": Talveila, Cubilla, Abejar, Muriel Viejo, Cubillos, Herrera and Muriel de la Fuente. Another important dates are 1 May, when the pingada del mayo is celebrated; 15 August, the feast days of La Virgen and San Roque; and 2 and 3 February, when Las Candelas and the feast day of San Blas are celebrated.
