Radtour Burgos - Bilbao

Burgos ([ˈburɣos]) is a city in northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated on the confluence of the Arlanzón river tributaries, at the edge of the Iberian central plateau. It has about 180,000 inhabitants in the actual city and another 20,000 in the metropolitan area. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The Burgos Laws or Leyes de Burgos which first governed the behaviour of Spaniards towards the natives of the Americas were promulgated here in 1512.

It has many historic landmarks, of particular importance; the ⊙Cathedral of Burgos (declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984) and the Cartuja of Miraflores. A large number of churches, palaces and other buildings from themedieval age remain. The city is surrounded by the Fuentes Blancas and the Paseo de la Isla parks.

The city forms the principal crossroad of northern Spain along the Camino de Santiago, which runs parallel to the River Arlanzón.

The ⊙Museum of Human Evolution was opened in 2010, unique in its kind across the world and projected to become one of the top 10 most-visited museums in Spain. The museum features the first Europeans, which lived in this area 800,000 years ago.

The ⊙Museum of Burgos summarizes the history of the province of Burgos. It has important objects and documents from all the ages, starting from Atapuerca, passing to the Romans and Iberians, and finishing in the contemporary period. The museum is located in a renascence palace, the House of Íñigo Angulo, which has a main patio that structures the museum.

Burgos is rich in ancient churches and convents. The three most notable are the cathedral, with its chapel of the Condestables de Castilla, the monastery of Las Huelgas, and the Carthusian monastery of Miraflores. Minor notable churches are San Esteban, San Gil (Sancti Aegidii), San Pedro, San Cosme y San Damián, Santiago (Sancti Jacobi), San Lorenzo and San Lesmes (Adelelmi). The Convento de la Merced, occupied by the Jesuits, and the Hospital del Rey are also of historic and architectural interest.

Among the other interesting architectural structures, in the walls of the city are the famous gateway of Santa María, erected for the first entrance of the Emperor Charles V, and the arch of Fernán González.

⊙Burgos' Gothic Cathedral

Construction on Burgos' Gothic Cathedral began in 1221 and spanned mainly from the 13th to 15th centuries. It has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The west front is flanked by towers terminating in octagonal spires covered with open stonework traceries. The middle section, which serves as an entrance, has three alabaster pilasters, the intercolumnar spaces bearing panel-pictures representing the martyrdom of saints. The façade possessed ornate and fantastic surface decoration.

The octagonal chapel of the Condestable, in florid, thus highly sculpted, Gothic design, has a roof finished with balustraded turrets, needle-pointed pinnacles, and statues. In the lower portion, coats of arms, shields, and crouching lions have been worked into the ensemble. The exterior of the sacristy is decorated with carved traceries, figures of angels and armoured knights. The elaborate tabernacle is composed of two octagonal sections in Corinthian style.

⊙Monasterio de las Huelgas Reales

The Monastery of the Royal Retreats on the outskirts of the city, was founded in 1180 by king Alfonso VIII, and was begun in a pre-Gothic style, although almost every style has been introduced over many additions. The remarkable cloisters have been described as "unrivalled for beauty both of detail and design, and perhaps unsurpassed by anything in its age and style in any part of Europe" (1911 Encyclopædia Britannica). One cloister has semicircular arches with delicate and varied columns; the other has an ogival style of early Gothic. The interior of the church has enormous columns supporting its magnificent vault; the entrance is modern. This convent historically benefited from extraordinary privileges granted to its abbess by kings and popes.

Historic centre

The city preserves its medievalhistoric centre, corresponding to the city walls.

Cathedral

Daily from 9:30h to 18:30h.
Free: Tuesday from 16:30 h.

Museum of Human Evolution

From Tuesday to Friday from 10 to 14:30 and 16:30 to 20 h
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 10:00 to 20:00 h
Free: Wednesdays from 16:30h to 20h and Tuesday and Thursday from 19h to 20h