Burgos, with about 177,000 inhabitants, stands on the Arlanzón river in northern Castile and León, at almost 900 metres. It is an elegant, quiet city with cold winters and an extraordinary heritage, and one of the great stages of the Way of St James.
History
Founded in 884 as a frontier fortress against the Moors, Burgos was the first capital of Castile, first as a county and then a kingdom, and for centuries its most important city. In the Middle Ages it prospered from the merino wool trade, exported by its merchants to Flanders. Here lived Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, El Cid, born in nearby Vivar. During the civil war it was the seat of Franco's government.
What to see
- Santa María cathedral, begun in 1221, a masterpiece of Gothic and a UNESCO site since 1984: the openwork spires of the façade, the star-vaulted crossing dome, the Condestable chapel, Diego de Siloé's Golden Staircase, the Papamoscas, an automaton that opens its mouth on the hour, and the tomb of El Cid and Jimena beneath the crossing.
- The Arco de Santa María, the monumental gateway with statues of great figures of Castile.
- The equestrian statue of El Cid and the Paseo del Espolón, the riverside promenade.
- The Cartuja de Miraflores, with the tomb of John II and Isabella of Portugal, parents of Isabella the Catholic, carved by Gil de Siloé.
- The Monastery of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, a Cistercian convent with the pantheon of the kings of Castile and a museum of medieval textiles.
- The hilltop castle, with views over the city, and the church of San Nicolás.
- The modern, spectacular Museum of Human Evolution, devoted to the Atapuerca finds.
Atapuerca
About 15 km from the city, the Sierra de Atapuerca holds one of the world's most important palaeontological sites, a UNESCO site: hominin remains over a million years old, among the oldest in Europe, have been found here, along with a new species, Homo antecessor. The sites are visited with a guide from the visitor centres at Ibeas de Juarros or Atapuerca, in conjunction with the Burgos museum (see prehistoric art).
Food and festivals
Burgos is famous for morcilla de Burgos, black pudding with rice, lechal lamb roasted in wood ovens, fresh Burgos cheese and olla podrida (see eating in Burgos). The main festivals are San Pedro and San Pablo, in late June (see Burgos festivals).
Getting there
High-speed trains link Burgos with Madrid in about an hour and a half and with Valladolid, and Bilbao is two hours away by car. Nearby, visit the monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, with its Romanesque cloister and Gregorian chant, the medieval village of Covarrubias, Lerma with its ducal palace, Frías and Orbaneja del Castillo.