Last modified: 2014-12-29 by ivan sache
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![[Flag]](../images/e/es-p-fdn.gif)
Flag of Fuentes de Nava - Image by "Valdavia" (Wikimedia Commons), 4 December 2010
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The municipality of Fuentes de Nava (729 inhabitants in 2009; 6,051 ha; municipal website) is located in the south-west of Palencia Province, 25 km from Palencia.
Fuentes de Nava was mentioned for the first time in 974, as Fuentes de Don Bermudo. There is no historical record of this lord Bermudo, who was probably a member of the León nobility commissioned to resettled the area. A possible relevant, historical character is Infant Bermudo, too young to be crowned at the death of his father Ordoño III (956). Ten years later, King Sancho died and his sister Elvira transferred the crown to his nephew Ramiro. Despoiled, Bermudo might have emigrated to the recently reconquerred lands. Another potential Bermudo is the son of the first Count of Saldaña, listed on a document dated 924, who would have been granted the rights on the church of Fuentes.
The Nava Pond (307 ha) is a wetland managed by the Environmental Council of Castilla y León. The main part of the Pond is the bird conservation area, while the 150 remaining hectares are used for cattle breeding. The pond, of 35 cm in depth, is flooded every year from October to March with water supplied by the Castile Canal. In April-June, flooding stops but the water level remains high. From July to September, the pond dries up. The site harbors 253 vertebrate species and 221 bird species, that is more than 40% of all the bird species recorded in Spain (islands included). From October to March, some 20,000 birds, including 10,000 geese, overwinter in the pond.
Ivan Sache, 4 December 2010
The flag and arms of Fuentes de Nava (village portal), designed by Vicente Tocino Letrado, are prescribed by a Decree adopted on 30 March 2006 by the Municipal Council, signed on 3 April 2006 by the Mayor, and published on 19 April 2006 in the official gazette of Castilla y León, No. 76, pp. 7,108-7109 (text).
The symbols are described as follows:
Flag: Rectangular flag in proportions 2:3, horizontally divided, embattled of five pieces, on top red with a white fountain at 1/3 of the hoist, on bottom white with a red fountain at 1/3 of the hoist.
Coat of arms: Per fess embattled, 1. Gules two fountains argent per pale, 2a. Or two keys gules per saltire, 2b. Argent two fesses wavy azure. The shield surmuonted by a Royal crown closed.
The coat of arms (Diario Palentino, 1 August 2006) is brand new since no historical evidence of arms was found. The fountains (fuentes) are a straight reference to the name of the village, recalling the several fountains present on the municipal territory. The keys highlight the culture and heritage of the village, the field or recalling the parish church. The waves stress the significance of water, especially in relation with the Castile Canal. The embattlement symbolizes the old village's fortifications, from which nothing has remained but the gate known as El Postigo.
Ivan Sache, 4 December 2010
