The city of Burgos was founded in the year 884 by Count Diego Rodríguez Porcelos under the order of King Alfonso III of Asturias, as a defensive stronghold against Muslim incursions.
Next to the river Arlanzón and set on high ground, its location made it strategically suitable and ideal for monitoring routes.
In the early Middle Ages, Burgos became an established military and trade hub. During the 11th century, under the reign of Ferdinand I and then Alfonso VI, it became an extremely important administrative centre for the Kingdom of Castile. It was the court headquarters and site for royal proclamations.
Its position on the Way of St James attracted pilgrims, traders and craftsmen, which drove the economy and urban development.
Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, known as El Cid, a Spanish hero of the Reconquista military campaign to reconquer Spanish territory, also lived at that time.
In the 13th century, Burgos became extremely prosperous thanks to the wool trade with Flanders and England, controlled by the powerful Mint and the Consulate of the Sea.
This boom financed major constructions, such as the Cathedral, and turned the city into a cultural and economic point of reference.
During the Modern Age, the city suffered a time of decline, aggravated by the loss of the wool monopoly and widespread recession in Castile in the 17th century. However, it remained ecclesiastically and administratively relevant.
In the 19th century, Burgos was the setting of the Peninsular War against Napoleonic troops and it was later impacted by the Carlist Wars.
In the 20th century, during the Spanish Civil War, the general barracks for the nationalists were established there.
On a visit to the city, it is worth highlighting the Cathedral of Saint Mary, a gothic masterpiece, which stands out for its grandeur, openwork spires and Renaissance chapels; the palace of the Condestables of Castile; the Huelgas Monastery, which was a royal pantheon, where valuable tapestries and medieval tombs remain; and near the city, the Cartuja de Miraflores, a monastery where the remains of John II and Isabella of Portugal, the parents of Isabella the Catholic, lie, and the San Pedro de Cardeña monastery.
Visiting the Paseo del Espolón, a tree-lined boulevard next to the river Arlanzón, is also a must. This passage links the Saint Mary Arch, one of the old gates of the medieval wall, to the Municipal Theatre, built in a neoclassical style.
Burgos is home to the Museum of Human Evolution, which displays findings from the Atapuerca archaeology site, 15 kilometres from the city.
The province of Burgos also offers such valuable architectural gems as the Monastery of Silos, famous for its Romanesque cloister and the Gregorian chants of its monks; the picturesque village of Covarrubias, with its gothic collegiate church, which has an impressive Renaissance altarpiece and where Princess Christina of Norway is buried; or the town of Lerma, where the ducal palace of the Duke of Lerma, in the Herrerian style reminiscent of El Escorial, is located in the porticoed main square and is now a Parador hotel.
If travellers are looking for landscapes and nature, they must visit the Hoces del Alto Ebro and Rudrón Natural Park, the Yecla Gorge by Silos and the historic region of Las Merindades, crossed by the river Ebro and its tributaries, with the incredible valleys of Valdivielso, Manzanedo and Mena.
The food in Burgos is typically Castilian, filling, tasty and seeped in tradition.
Worth mentioning are black pudding with rice —typical of Villarcayo—, Burgos fresh cheese, and roast milk-fed lamb.
There’s also olla podrida, a stew made with red beans and meats.
All this alongside the prestigious, internationally renowned Ribera del Duero wines.
