Castrillo Mota de Judíos

Municipality and town in Castile and León, Spain

Flag

Seal

42°18′37″N 04°10′25″W / 42.31028°N 4.17361°W / 42.31028; -4.17361Country

SpainAutonomous community

Castile and LeónProvince

BurgosComarcaOdra-PisuergaSettled1035Area

• Total22.051 km² (8.514 sq mi)Elevation

791 m (2,595 ft)Population

(2018)^[1]

• Total52 • Density2.4/km² (6.1/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Postal code

09107

WebsiteOfficial website

Castrillo Mota de Judíos is a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. The 2004 census (INE) indicated the municipality had a population of 71 inhabitants.^[2]

Geography

The town is located on a plain area, near the river Odra, 51 km (32 mi) west of Burgos and 54 km (34 mi) northeast of Palencia. It is crossed by the roads BU-400 and BU-403.^[3]

History

Name

The town was originally named Castrillo Motajudíos ("Jew hill camp") in 1035 when Jews fleeing from a nearby pogrom settled there; it was changed to Castrillo Matajudíos ("Jew-killer camp") in 1627 during a period of religious persecution of non-Christians in Spain (the Jews had been expelled from Spain in 1492 during the Spanish Inquisition).^[4] In June 2015 the name was changed back to Castrillo Mota de Judíos following a campaign led by mayor Lorenzo Rodríguez leading to a vote among the villagers in May 2014.^[4]^[5]

There have been several anti-Jewish incidents since the name change.^[6]

In 2022, the town inaugurated a Sephardic Jewish memorial center to pay tribute to its history of Sephardic Jewry.^[7]

Personalities

Antonio de Cabezón (1510–1566) – Composer and organist^[8]

Twin towns

Castrillo Mota de Judíos is twinned with:

Kfar Vradim, Israel

References

^ Municipal Register of Spain 2018. National Statistics Institute.
^ "Spanish town of Matajudíos considering changing its name to anything but 'Jew Killer'". The Huffington Post. April 11, 2014.
^ Google. "Castrillo Mota de Judíos" (Map). Google Maps. Google.
^ ^a ^b "Spanish village drops 'kill Jews' name". The Guardian. 22 June 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
^ "Spain's 'Kill Jews Fort' villagers vote in favor of name change". Reuters.com. Madrid. Reuters. May 25, 2014. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
^ Jones, Sam (4 August 2022). "Antisemites again target Spanish village that dropped 'Kill Jews' name". The Guardian.
^ "Castrillo Mota de Judíos inaugura este martes su Centro de la Memoria Sefardí". Ser 100. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
^ "Celebration of the fifth centenary of the birth of Antonio de Cabezón" (in Spanish). Castrillo Mota de Judíos. 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011.