The influence of military, political and economic conditions on the townscape and town walls

Thanks to its geographical position, Segovia has always been a strategic place, inhabited by the various different populations of the surrounding lands.
Its geographical position, in a confluence on an easily defensible plateau, was a key factor in controlling the pass between the two plateaus and exploiting its rich territory.
As mentioned before, its inhabitants had their origins in the pre-Roman populations, of which only material vestiges remain, but there is no trace of the fence or wall that would have protected the town.
Of the Roman Municipium, a few remains of the foundations of the fortress are conserved, and perhaps the initial stages of the walls in the vicinity of the San Andres gate.
The re-use of materials and rebuilding carried out also prevent us from accurately identifying possible Visigothic and Islamic vestiges of the wall, which no doubt existed during the Middle Ages. At that time suburbs would have been built up around the wall.
In 1088, both the wall and the fortress were reconstructed at the peak of building activity during the Middle Ages.
In the late Middle Ages, the presence of kings in the fortress implied strengthening of the city walls that are still preserved today.
Transformation into a palatine and bourgeois city in the last few years of the Middle Ages caused the city to lose its military value and the wall underwent a process of destruction and abandonment, which was only halted by the Comuneros’ wars.
From that time on, the walls were only repaired and dismantled things done, as they were no longer necessary from a strategic point of view.
The Segovian walls mirror medieval patterns perfectly, benefiting from natural escarpments to raise walls reinforced by blocks of different styles, which were built in the areas between the fortress and the gates. There are few vestiges of the walls which can be assigned to the new types of fortifications developed in parallel with the arrival of artillery, since the city no longer played a strategic role at that time.
The increase in the wool and textile market allowed Segovia to play an important role in the economy of the Kingdom of Castile, as well as a remarkable administrative function, as is testified by its mint.
Segovia is a good example of a medieval Castilian city, where the various social levels left their mark:
- the Monarchy, with development of the walls, the fortress used as a royal residence and place of refuge, the palaces, and the royal patronage over places like the Convent of Santa Cruz, currently the headquarters of the SEK University .
- The Aristocracy, who built towers both as residences and for defence which, after the uncertainties of the civil wars, were turned into magnificent palaces, following European fashion. And also the sepulchral chapels, which the aristocracy built for their eternal rest in the various convents, monasteries and churches of the city.
Among the fortified towers, it possible to single out the Tower of Hercules which became a convent in 1513, and the Arias Davila, Aguilares, and Lozoya towers, next to San Martin.
Another area of palaces belonging to the aristocracy was the neighbourhood of San Estéban and the Plazuela of Valdáguila.
- The Clergy. In Segovia the power of the Spanish Church started at the time of Christian repopulation and is testified to by magnificent Romanesque churches, such as San Quirce, Trinidad or San Andres. These were built both inside and outside the walled enclosure. In the suburbs there were the churches of Zamarramala and San Lorenzo.
Several monasteries and nunneries are examples of the presence of powerful religious orders, some of these inside the walls, others outside towards the north, near the Eresma river.
The ”canongía” – that is to say the parsonage - is of particular interest in the study of the walled enclosure. This is a walled neighbourhood next to the old cathedral and protected by its own walls and gates. Canons, clergymen and prelates lived inside a citadel with four gates within the city. This ecclesiastical fortified enclosure extended from the old Cathedral to the San Andres Gate, and consisted of two long parallel streets, the old and new “canongía”, closed in by four gates. This space was called the Claustra. Its position meant that it could be cut off from the city and the fortress, as these were frequently occupied by various different armies.
The ecclesiastical enclosures played an important defensive role in the city. During sieges, the churches and parishes became defensive entities: firstly as sacred places and secondly acquiring forms which made their defence easier in case of necessity.
Three of the four gates were demolished in 1570 and only one remains standing today.
- The Civil Service was built up by the Castilian monarchy who made Segovia one of their favourite towns, with administration buildings, such as the mint or the wall gates which, besides fulfilling the functions of access and control, became places for customs posts and security.
- The Bourgeoisie inhabited the city inside the walled enclosure. Their buildings have not come down to us because of the continuous changes in the urban plans. Several suburbs sprang up around the city walls and fossilization of late medieval housing can be found in the San Lorenzo neighbourhood.
- The Jews were an important class of inhabitants of Segovia in the Middle Ages and at the beginning of the Modern Age played a significant economic role there. Before the assaults of 1391, they lived freely within the walled enclosure, but as a consequence of persecution, became concentrated in the new “Ghetto”, next to the walls in the San Andres area and the gate of the Sun.
In 1492 the Catholic monarchs ordered the Jews either to convert or be expelled from their Kingdom. This caused dispersion of the Sephardic Jews or, in many cases, their conversion.
- The Moriscos were a muslim population either already living in the city, or deported there from other places as the reconquest advanced. They settled in the neighbourhood between San Miguel and San Andres.
The Moriscos were mainly bricklayers and manufacturers. There is proof of this activity in the wall, as well as in the buildings and decorations - either esgrafiadas or coffered.
The city of Segovia became home to these groups, who had an inter-relational vocation with their environment in their origins. Several suburbs rose up around the walled enclosure, some with different nationalities (e.g. Gascons), or people related to trades and crafts - the farmers and gardeners, as well as industry and mills.
The changes which took place at the beginning of the Modern Age relegated the city to a secondary role in relation to the other nuclei and its walls were condemned to ruin and abandonment.