Rihonor de Castilla facts for kids

Rihonor de Castilla is a small village found in the province of Zamora, Spain. It is part of the Pedralba de la Pradería area and is located in the beautiful Senabria region. This village is special because it sits right on the border between Spain and Portugal.

Entrance into Rihonor de Castilla, Spanish-Portuguese border.

A close-up view of the Fontano River.

Where is Rihonor de Castilla?

This village is located in a lovely spot, south of the Sierra de la Culebra mountains. It's right next to the border with Portugal. A river called Fontano flows through the town. In Portugal, this river is also known as Comtessa or River Onor.

Rihonor de Castilla is not far from other towns. It is about 14 kilometers (9 miles) from Puebla de Sanabria. It's also 21 kilometers (13 miles) from Pedralba de la Pradería and 22 kilometers (14 miles) from Bragança in Portugal.

How many people live there?

The number of people living in Rihonor de Castilla has slowly become smaller since the middle of the 1900s. In 2007, only 16 people lived in the village, according to the Spanish Statistics National Institute. Even with fewer people, the village is very pretty. Its landscapes and old traditions are attracting new people who want to live there.

Life in the Village

For a long time, the main way people in Rihonor de Castilla made money was through trade. This was because the village is right on the border between Spain and Portugal. Today, most people grow their own food or have small local businesses. Many of the villagers are retired.

There is a small grocery store for the people who live there. Also, some sellers from Portugal come to the village in their vehicles to sell their products.

A Village on Two Sides

Rihonor de Castilla has a very special feature in the Iberian Peninsula. It is actually one village that is split into two by the border. The Spanish part is Rihonor de Castilla, and the Portuguese part is called Rio de Onor. Even though they are in different countries, they are really just one community.

Because of this, the people who live here often speak both Spanish and Portuguese. They also speak a special local language called rihonorés. This language is a dialect of the Leonese language.

The people who live in the village have special names for each side. They call the Spanish part Povo de cima, which means 'the town up'. They call the Portuguese part Povo de abaixo, which means 'the town down'.

See also

• Rio de Onor
• Leonese language