Zarza la Mayor
human settlement in Cáceres Province, Extremadura, Spain
Zarza la Mayor is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2018 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,258 inhabitants. This is the most occidental municipality in "Las Vegas de Alagón" region. It is the only municipality in the region that borders with Portugal.
Geography
It is located 4 km in a straight line to Salvaterra do Extremo. The EX-117 road from Moraleja to Alcantara pass through Zarza la Mayor.
This municipality was especially important during Iberic Peninsula Moorish invasion. It can be seen today due to the strongholds present like Racha-Rachel (or Peñafiel, as it was called later by Christians) and Bernardo Castle (Castillo de Bernardo). After the Spanish 'reconquista', due that the conquested areas were left with no population to take care of the land, the military order of Alcantara created an 'Encomienda' (or to assign an area to landlords to take care of it) called 'Encomienda de Peñafiel y la Çarça'.
It was appointed as a Villa in 1356.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Zarza la Mayor” is human settlement in Cáceres Province, Extremadura, Spain. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Zarza, Mayor and human, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “human settlement in Cáceres Province, Extremadura, Spain” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q773420. VIAF identifies the subject as 129471739. The Library of Congress control number is nr99013795. Authority coordinates are 39.877, -6.862. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2018 and 1356.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Zarza la Mayor”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Zarza la Mayor primary sources, Zarza la Mayor archive and Zarza research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Zarza la Mayor”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Zarza la Mayor” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.