7:35 AM - Cardeñuela Riopico: Casa Rural La Cardeñuela – view out our bedroom window with part of Belén’s yard and hedge.
We ate breakfast at Casa Rural La Cardeñuela (included): bread and marmalade, coffee/hot chocolate (in the kitchen for us to help ourselves).
8:10 AM - Cardeñuela Riopico: Casa Rural La Cardeñuela – breakfast room.
8:35 AM - Cardeñuela Riopico: Casa Rural La Cardeñuela – at top of stairs – bathroom door to left (with windows) and door to our room on right.
8:47 AM - Cardeñuela Riopico: Casa Rural La Cardeñuela – balcony (with hammock) outside bathroom with view of Belén’s yard and hedge.
MT wanted photos of the very nice, tiled bathroom. (Belen’s husband had a van that indicated he was in the business.)
8:47 AM - Cardeñuela Riopico: Casa Rural La Cardeñuela – bathroom shower, sink, and door to balcony.
7:49 AM - Cardeñuela Riopico: Casa Rural La Cardeñuela – bathroom tiled wall and stool.
7:50 AM - Cardeñuela Riopico: Casa Rural La Cardeñuela – bathroom floor.
Before leaving town (around 9 am), we went back to La Parada to get a sello.
8:55 AM – Bar Albergue Municipal La Parada.
We passed through Orbaneja Riopico (pop 137).
9:33 AM – Orbaneja Riopico: yellow arrow to right for Villafria and small sign at left for Castañares (this was a decision point for which way to go into Burgos).
We took the Castañares route, which Belén had recommended; that was where we could pick up the scenic path “Ruta del Río” along the river, río Arlanzón instead of taking the option through industrial, business, and residential suburbs into the center of Burgos, as we had last year. Belén, who lives in Burgos in the winter months, also recommended the Cartuja Miraflores along that route, but somehow we missed it.
Around 10:20, we passed through Castañares (pop 172).
10:20 AM – Castañares: MT with large rose bush (tree).
Written in the margin of Don’s notebook: “At traffic light, go s/o/L to rio” [straight on left to river]. (Who said this?) We did take the path along the Río Arlanzón.
11:43 AM – Near Burgos: waterfall on río Arlanzón.
Burgos, situated in the middle of the high plains of Old Castile, has been a Spanish crossroads for a thousand years. Founded in 884 as a fortification to protect surrounding villages against Islamic invaders, its Visigothic name of Burgos signified consolidated walled villages (Gothic baurgs). Most of the landmarks here have to do with its beloved native son, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, better known as El Cid (from Sidi, Arabic for leader), who pursued his own zealous campaign against the Muslims. The Muslims occupied almost all of Castile in the 8th century. Around the middle of the 9th century, Alfonso II the Great, king of León, reconquered it and built several castles for the defense of Christendom, and the region came to be known as Castile (from Latin castella), i.e., “land of castles.” In the 11th century, the city became the see of a Catholic bishop and the capital of the Kingdom of Castile. (Later it was the capital of the unified Kingdom of Castilla-León until the 15th century.) It also became a major stop on the Camino de Santiago. It still maintains vestiges of its medieval splendor. Burgos is sometimes referred to as the Gothic capital of Spain. It is now the capital of the Province of Burgos within the autonomous community of Castilla y León.
One of the first indications of entering the actual city park (Paseo de la Quinta) was this statue.
11:55 AM – Burgos: Paseo de la Quinta - equestrian statue (1983) of Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, founder of Burgos, early in river park; behind the statue is a sign pointing to Cartuja de Miraflores, which we missed.
The Paseo de la Quinta led into the Paseo de Atapuerca, and we arrived at the Museo de la Evoloción Humana (MEH) (Museum of Human Evolution), which we had visited last year. Between the museum and the river, the park had a large modern fountain and a statue of prehistoric humans.
12:00 PM – Burgos: Don with statue of prehistoric man and child.
12:08 PM – Burgos: fountain and MEH.
12:04 PM – Burgos: fountain rising and view back to W.
Directly north of the corner with the fountain was Puente de San Pablo with statues of Spanish heroes. Across that bridge, we could see the statue of El Cid on the Monumento al Cid (but we would have to come back to that later).
12:06 PM - Burgos: statues on Puente de San Pablo (first view of cathedral in background).
12:08 PM - Burgos: cathedral towers and a statue on Puente de San Pablo (close up).
12:08 PM - Burgos: view across Puente de San Pablo to large statue of El Cid (in middle of street).
Burgos' historic center is austerely elegant, guarded by monumental gates and with the cathedral as its centerpiece. This quarter can be accessed via two main bridges: the Puente de San Pablo, beyond which looms a romanticized statue of El Cid and, about 300 m to the west, the Puente de Santa María leading to the splendid Arco de Santa María, once the main gate to the old city and part of the 14th-century walls.
We continued along Calle Valladolid on the south side of río Arlanzón until we reached the 14th-century Puente de Santa María. Here, we crossed the bridge and entered the old city through the 13th-century Arco de Santa María gate.
The Arco de Santa María (St. Mary’s Gate) was conceived as a great triumphal arch if the form of an altarpiece. This side of the arch was remodeled in the 16th century, made of the white limestone typical of Burgos. The simple façade of the back side dates from the 14th century.
12:14 PM – Burgos: Puente de Santa María and Arco de Santa María (cathedral in background).
12:16 PM – Burgos: Puente de Santa María and Arco de Santa María (cathedral in background).
12:18 PM – Burgos: Arco de Santa María (closer up).
In the six major niches are important figures in the history of the city and Castilla. Top row (left to right): Fernán González, first independent count of Castile, Emperor Charles V (Carlos V), who gave the city the arch, and El Cid. Bottom row (left to right): Count Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, founder of the city, flanked by the Judges of Castile (Nuño Rasura and Lian Calvo). Above them are smaller figures of two municipal mace-bearers (at the ends of a balustrade) and the guardian angel of Burgos holding a replica of the city. All this is presided over by Santa María Maggiore.
12:17 PM – Burgos: Arco de Santa María – statues above arch.
12:17 PM – Burgos: Arco de Santa María – statues above arch (closer up).
Burgos: statue of Fernán González on Acro de Santa María (es.wikipedia.org).
Fernán González (born c. 910, died 970) was the first autonomous count of Castile and founder of the dynasty that would rule a semi-autonomous Castile, uniting part of the fractured counties of Old Castile, which had been split after the death of count Diego Rodríguez Porcelos in 885, and laying the foundations for its status as an independent kingdom. He built a strong military force that wrested the region from the Moors and increased his independence from León.
Burgos: Arco de Santa Maria - El Cid (commons.wikimedia.org).
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (ca. 1048-1099) was a Castilian knight, born in the town of Vivar near Burgos, who came to dominate the Iberian peninsula in the late 11th century, leading his own army autonomous of any king. Although he later became a legend and national hero, especially of Castile, throughout his life he was under the command of various leaders, both Christian and Muslim during the Reconquista. He was called El Cid (the Spanish article followed by Cid, a loan word from Arabic سيد Sidi, the Lord). He could be so addressed by Mozarabs or Arabs serving in his own ranks, and then its transliteration was adopted by the Christians. He was also known as El Campeador (Spanish for Champion, master of the battlefield).
Born to a family of minor nobility, he was brought up at the court of King Ferdinand the Great and served as a page for the king’s son Sancho. Upon Sancho’s succession in 1065, he rose to become commander and royal standard-bearer of Castile. He went on to lead Castilian military campaigns against Sancho’s brothers, the rulers of the kingdoms of León and Galicia, as well as against the Muslims. When Sancho was murdered in 1072, he was succeeded by one of his brothers, Alfonso. El Cid continued to serve under Alfonso and in 1075 married Jimena Díaz, a kinswoman of Alfonso. However, El Cid, who had previously fought against Alfonso, lost favor, was held in suspicion, and finally was forced into exile in 1081. That was when he found work fighting for the Muslims. In 1086, Alfonso talked El Cid into fighting for him again. However, over the next several years, El Cid pursued his own interests with his sights on the kingdom-city of Valencia, operating more or less independently of Alfonso while politically supporting leaders of some Muslim factions. He gradually increased his control over Valencia and in 1094 established an independent principality on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Spain, where he ruled with the popular support of both Christians and Muslims. Although he officially ruled in the name of Alfonso, in reality El Cid was fully independent. The city was both Christian and Muslim, and both Moors and Christians served in the army and as administrators. After El Cid’s death in 1099, his wife Jimena succeeded him as ruler of Valencia, but she had to surrender the principality to the Moors in 1102.
El Cid was initially buried in the Cathedral of Valencia. However, when the situation became untenable and the city fell to the Muslims in 1102, his family fled, and his remains were taken to the Monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña, where a stone tomb for him and his wife was built in the 16th century. In 1808, during the War of Independence, French soldiers desecrated his tomb and carried his remains to the Paseo del Espolón in Burgos. The remains were recovered and taken back to the monastery until 1840, when they were moved to the Town Hall of Burgos, In 1921, the remains were transferred to their final resting place in the Cathedral of Burgos, where he lies next to Jimena in a beautiful sepulcher in the center of the crossing.
Born to a family of minor nobility, he was brought up at the court of King Ferdinand the Great and served as a page for the king’s son Sancho. Upon Sancho’s succession in 1065, he rose to become commander and royal standard-bearer of Castile. He went on to lead Castilian military campaigns against Sancho’s brothers, the rulers of the kingdoms of León and Galicia, as well as against the Muslims. When Sancho was murdered in 1072, he was succeeded by one of his brothers, Alfonso. El Cid continued to serve under Alfonso and in 1075 married Jimena Díaz, a kinswoman of Alfonso. However, El Cid, who had previously fought against Alfonso, lost favor, was held in suspicion, and finally was forced into exile in 1081. That was when he found work fighting for the Muslims. In 1086, Alfonso talked El Cid into fighting for him again. However, over the next several years, El Cid pursued his own interests with his sights on the kingdom-city of Valencia, operating more or less independently of Alfonso while politically supporting leaders of some Muslim factions. He gradually increased his control over Valencia and in 1094 established an independent principality on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Spain, where he ruled with the popular support of both Christians and Muslims. Although he officially ruled in the name of Alfonso, in reality El Cid was fully independent. The city was both Christian and Muslim, and both Moors and Christians served in the army and as administrators. After El Cid’s death in 1099, his wife Jimena succeeded him as ruler of Valencia, but she had to surrender the principality to the Moors in 1102.
El Cid was initially buried in the Cathedral of Valencia. However, when the situation became untenable and the city fell to the Muslims in 1102, his family fled, and his remains were taken to the Monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña, where a stone tomb for him and his wife was built in the 16th century. In 1808, during the War of Independence, French soldiers desecrated his tomb and carried his remains to the Paseo del Espolón in Burgos. The remains were recovered and taken back to the monastery until 1840, when they were moved to the Town Hall of Burgos, In 1921, the remains were transferred to their final resting place in the Cathedral of Burgos, where he lies next to Jimena in a beautiful sepulcher in the center of the crossing.
12:17 PM (Cropped)
- Burgos: statue of Diego Rodríguez Porcelos on Arco de Santa María.
Diego Rodríguez Porcelos (governed 873- 885) was the second Count of Castile, succeeding his father Rodrigo. One of his first jobs as Count was to consolidate the defensive lines his father had drawn to keep the Muslims out of the basin of río Ebro and the old Roman roads that connected La Rioja with northern Castile. Between 882 and 994, under the mandate of King Alfonso III of Asturias, he was in charge of the repopulation of Oca and Burgos. First, he undertook the restoration and repolulation of the old Auca Patricia, later known as Oca, where he rebuilt the monastery of San Felices and the church of Santa María. Faced with a large Arab army, he created a new defensive line on the río Arlanzón. In 884, he carried out the repopulation of Burgos. In the process, he founded the city of Burgos at the foot of the hill of the castle of the same name. His body is supposedly buried in the hermitage of San Felices, near Villafranca Montes de Oca. After his death, Castile was divided by his successors into many counties until 932.
Through the arch, we entered the Plaza del Rey San Fernando. From there, we could see the south[east] side of cathedral (with tourist entrance) and, to the left behind it, Iglesia San Nicolás.
The Catedral de Santa María de Burgos (Cathedral of St. Mary of Burgos), popularly known as Catedral de Burgos (Cathedral of Burgos), is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and is therefore sometimes called Our Lady of Burgos. The gunmetal Gothic building dominates the city. It is a masterpiece that was declared a National Monument in 1885 and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. It is the only Spanish cathedral granted that UNESCO distinction independent of a city. The cathedral is essentially Gothic, but has been embellished in many different styles (Renaissance and Baroque) through the centuries.
In 1075, Alfonso VI gave up his palaces in order to build a cathedral church, completed in 1077, and he moved the episcopal see from Gamonal to Burgos in 1088. By 1096, that modest Romanesque church at the foot of the castle hill became too small for the needs of the city, which was the symbolic capital of the kingdom, and it was later demolished in order to build a larger church.
Work began on a grander scale in 1221 in the French Gothic style. Remarkably, the church was in use 9 years later (when the apse chapel was completed), and the main body of the work (nave and aisles) was rapidly carried out in a first campaign that was completed in 1293. Between the second half of the 13th and early 14th century the chapels of the aisles were completed, and a new cloister was built. Work resumed in the mid-15th century and was not completed until 1567. The filigree work in the spires of the towers and the exterior of the Chapel of the Constables are some of the masterpieces in its construction. Although the style of the cathedral is Gothic, the interior has some Renaissance and Baroque decorations. The last works of importance (the sacristy or Chapel of Santa Tecla) occurred during the 18th century. You can enter the cathedral through the [south]west door from Plaza de Santa María for free, and have access to the Capilla del Santísimo Cristo, with its much-revered 13th-century crucifix, and the Capilla de Santa Tecla, with its extraordinary ceiling. However, this does not give access to the cathedral in its entirety, where there are a total of 21 chapels. Tourists must enter through the [south]east door.
In most cathedrals, the main façade traditionally faces the west. However, the Burgos cathedral was built at an angle, so that the main façade, referred to as the “west façade,” actually faces southwest; the “south façade” faces southeast; the “east” side faces northeast; and the “north” side faces northwest.
The cathedral is considered to be El Cid’s Mausoleum. At the transept crossing in the heart of the cathedral is the tomb of El Cid and his wife Jimena. Also on display here is a parchment bearing El Cid’s promise of gifts to his future wife Jimena, and the coffer that he filled with sand to trick Jewish moneylenders (the legend adds that he repaid them, with interest).
12:21 PM – Burgos: Cathedral (south[east] side), with Iglesia San Nicolás on the left behind it. From this side, we can see one of the twin towers on the cathedral’s west façade; the cupola (dome) over the crossing in the center; the south[east] façade above Puerta del Sarmental; and the Chapel of the Constables at far right.
12:23 PM – Burgos: Cathedral (south[east] side) – tourist entrance Puerta del Sarmental.
The Puerta del Sarmental (Gothic, finished around 1230-1235) in the southern façade, is probably the most impressive of the portals. It is the most classical and elegant of the portals. It consists of a tympanum, surrounded by three archivolts in which the elders of the Apocalypse (playing or tuning musical instruments) and several choirs of angels are represented. The tympanum focuses on Christ in His Majesty, seated with the Book of Wisdom in hand and surrounded by the Tetramorph (four Evangelists) at writing desks and their symbols. Under the tympanum lintel are 12 seated figures representing the Apostles with the Gospel Book in hand. The door is divided by a mullion on which there is a modern statue (replacing the damaged original) of a bishop, which could be Don Mauricio, initiator of the cathedral. The jambs, replaced in the 17th century, are carved with six figures, four of which represent Moses and Aaron (left) and St. Peter and St. Paul (right). This portal serves as the main entrance for visitors who want to tour the entire cathedral.
Burgos: Cathedral – Puerta del Sarmental (commons.wikimedia.org).
12:23 PM – Burgos: Plaza del Rey San Fernando – MT with tired pilgrim statue on bench (cathedral in background; the open door in archway is place to buy tickets for tour).
12:27 PM – Burgos: Plaza del Rey San Fernando – MT with tired pilgrim statue on bench (close up).
12:27 PM – Burgos: Plaza del Rey San Fernando – MT and Don with tired pilgrim statue on bench (cathedral ticket office and tourist entrance in background).
12:28 PM – Burgos: Plaza del Rey San Fernando – MT and Don with tired pilgrim statue on bench (cathedral in background).
After that, we checked with Hotel Urban; the desk clerk (twice) thought he had a room for us for the 29th, but then said no. So we checked into Hotel Pancho (aka Aparthotel María Salome) around 12:30 pm. We had to go to Bar Pancho to get someone to let us in. We got sellos: “Casa Pancho.”
Saturday, August 30, 2014, 10:51 AM – Burgos: view down Calle San Lorenzo (from NE) deserted in mid-morning: “HA” [hotel apartamento] (1-star) Hotel Pancho on left, across from larger sign for Bar Pancho on right.
Saturday, August 30, 2014, 10:51 AM – Burgos: sign for “Aparthotel María Salome – Habitaciones Chambers Rooms – Razón enfrente Bar Pancho,” telling us to inquire at Bar Pancho across the street.
Saturday, August 30, 2014, 10:52 AM – Burgos: door of Aparthotel María Salomé at Calle Lorenzo 24 (reflection of Don taking photo).
6:54 PM – Burgos: Hotel Pancho – our room with kitchen.
6:55 PM – Burgos: Hotel Pancho – our room (bed).
6:55 PM – Burgos: Hotel Pancho – our room (legs of bed extending to trip you).
Then we looked around for restaurants and found the 14th-century Iglesia de San Lesmes, to which we would come back later.
12:37 PM – Burgos: Don with statue of man reading newspaper (between Hotel Urban bar and Plaza Mayor).
12:48 PM – Burgos: snails in grocery store.
Finally, around 3:30, we went back to La Mafia restaurant which we had seen on Calle San Lorenzo, near Hotel Pancho for their 11.95€ menu: 1st course: we split risotto nero and ravioli verdi con salsa de tomate; 2nd course: both had bacalao gratinado con romesco [cod au gratin with tomato sauce]; dessert: MT vanilla pudding/Don biscota chocolate (chocolate cake with whipped cream between layers); bread and grisini; bottle of water; we ordered a bottle of Lambrusco for an extra 3€. The address on La Mafia’s business card was Calle Lain Calvo, 50; the restaurant had another entrance on that parallel street.
4:23 PM – Burgos: Restaurante La Mafia exterior; menu by door said: “Menú en terraza sin suplemento” [menu on sidewalk without supplement] (many restaurants charged extra for eating outside).
4:23 PM – Burgos: Restaurante La Mafia – 11.95€ menú del día.
3:10 PM – Burgos: Restaurante La Mafia. – sign in window by our table (inside); their motto “Se sienta a la mesa” = have a seat at the table.
3:26 PM – Burgos: Restaurante La Mafia – Don with Lambrusco.
After lunch, we passed Iglesia San Lorenzo el Real of street of that name. Then we went back to Monumento al Cid and to Iglesia San Lesmes (closed).
4:25 PM - Burgos: life-size blacksmith statue in Calle San Lorenzo.
Saturday, August 30, 2014, 10:50 AM – Burgos: Iglesia San Lorenzo – exterior at an angle (blacksmith statue in foreground).
Iglesia San Lorenzo el Real, in Baroque style was built in 1684-1694 to replace an earlier building of more modest proportions. It was originally a church of the Jesuits, until they were expelled in the late 18th century and it became a parish church. The Jesuit Baroque style is more sober with purer lines. The church was remodeled in the 18th century, after the Jesuits left. The main façade is conceived with the characteristic gigantism of the Baroque, with large columns and pilasters of the Corinthian order, and finials and balls on the window pediment, on which a statue of the patron saint appears in a niche.
4:26 PM – Burgos: Iglesia San Lorenzo – statue of St. Lawrence with grill on front of church.
St. Lawrence of Rome (Latin Laurentius, Spanish Lorenzo, ca. 225-258), a native of what is now Spain, was one of the 7 deacons of ancient Rome under Pope Sixtus II that were martyred during the persecution of Emperor Valerian in 258. A well-known legend of his martyrdom has persisted from earliest times. As deacon, he was in charge of the material goods of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor. When the Roman prefect asked for the treasures of the Church, Lawrence brought forward the poor, saying that they were the real treasures of the Church, and divided the treasures among them as alms. The prefect was so angry that he had a great gridiron prepared, with coals beneath it, and had Lawrence placed on it (hence St. Lawrence’s association with the gridiron). After the martyr had suffered in pain for a long time, legend says he cheerfully remarked, “I’m well done, Turn me over!” For this, he became the patron of cooks and chefs.
4:32 PM – Burgos: Monumento al Cid statue.
The Monumento al Cid was dedicated in 1955 by General Francisco Franco. The equestrian statue depicts the hero with flowing beard, brandishing his legendary sword Tizona, cape flying in the wind. He is mounted on his warhorse Babieca, preparing to cross the Río Arlanzón and out of the city of Burgos, ironically the road to exile (after having won many battles as the right hand of the King and reconquering important parts of Castile from the Muslims).
4:42 PM – Burgos: Monasterio de San Juan (only the portal is preserved) and Museum (on Plaza San Juan with the Biblioteca Pública del Estado [State Library] to the right).
The Monasterio de San Juan was founded in 1091, when the monk Lesmes received a small donation for his pilgrim care center. He was the first prior and after his death (1097) was venerated as a saint and buried in the chapel of San Juan, which changed its name and was the predecessor of the current Iglesia San Lesmes, built nearby. The chapel was demolished in 1382. In 1537 a fire destroyed almost the entire monastery, although some monks remained there until the confiscation of Mendizábal in 1836. After that, the monastery never recovered any religious function. After attempts to use it as a barracks and hospice, it eventually became a prison. Now, what remains of the monastery building are the exterior walls of the 15th-century church and the cloister, which is occupied by the Municipal Museum of Marceliano Santa María, a Burgos artist.
On the pedestrian promenade of San Lesmes, were two large bronze statues of a fat couple known as los Gigantillos de Burgos.
Los Gigantillos de Burgos are two 8-ft high papier mache figures that often lead parades (los pasacalles del Corpus, Curpillos y fiestas de San Pedro), making them among the most beloved characters of Burgos. They were created in 1899, destroyed by fire in 1973, but later recovered by the initiative of the City government. They represent a grotesque but nice pair of mountain mayors (pareja de alcaldes serranos) dressed in typical old-fashioned Spanish style. El Gigantillo wears a brown coat and red sash, a white shirt, and a broad “Castilian hairy hat” and carries a staff representative of his authority as mayor. La Gigantilla has an elegant bodice covered with her embroidered shawl, white blouse, full skirt with printed calico flowers, a long apron, black earrings bejeweled with serrano balls, a necklace with a silver cross, a bouquet of flowers in hand and a charming bouquet in her cleavage. (Their bronze statues on the pedestrian promenade of San Lesmes mean the people will not have to wait for the festival of San Pedro and San Pablo or the conclusion of Curpillos to enjoy them.)
The Fiesta de Curpillos (aka “fiesta menor del Corpus” or “Corpus chico”), since medieval times the most traditional celebration of the city of Burgos, is usually held the Friday following the feast of Corpus Christi. It is both a religious and a secular event. After the Eucharistic liturgy, there is a solemn procession including los Gigantillos, dancers, first-communion children, the Archbishop, civil authorities, and military troops. The second phase is totally playful, with dances held in the Parral park, near Monasterio de las Huelgas where the procession begins.
4:47 PM – Burgos: statues of los Gigantillos de Burgos on pedestrian promenade of San Lesmes.
Saturday August 30, 10:40 AM – Burgos: Don and MT with statues of los Gigantillos de Burgos.
Then we went to the Albergue Municipal de Peregrinos to get a sello and check about doing laundry there.
4:59 PM – Burgos: Santiago statue in Albergue reception area.
5:03 PM – Burgos: statue of pilgrim with sore foot (next to Albergue).
Saturday, August 30, 2014, 11:41 AM – Burgos: outside of Capilla de la Purificación, better known as Capilla de los Condestables on back ([north]east) side of Cathedral, from Calle de Cardinal Segura (looking through open space on Llana de Aruera) between Hostal Urban and albergue.
At the point where the nave and the transept meet, in the center of the cathedral, is the Cimborrio (dome) built in 1540-1568, but with traces of late-Gothic to harmonize with the Gothic cathedral. However, the original dome, in the 15th century (built 1460-1470), rose in the center of the cathedral’s third tower, which by all accounts was extremely tall and elegant, adorned with numerous columns and crowned with 8 spires; it collapsed in 1539 due to sinking of the pillars on its north side. The current dome has 8 sides and 2 floors (double clerestory), all of which is held in 4 huge and sturdy pillars topped by 4 spectacular spires and 8 pinnacles. The sides of each floor have large windows that light up the center of the cathedral. Its numerous pinnacles and spires are Plateresque, with certain airs of late Gothic. Under the dome, on the floor of the cathedral, is the tomb of El Cid and his wife Jimena.
5:04 PM – Burgos: back side of Cathedral, from Calle Fernán González near albergue: at near left is the octagonal Capilla de los Condestables; behind it is the octagonal cupola (dome), then Puerta de la Pellejería down street to right) with one of the twin spires of the west façade behind it.
The Capilla de los Condestables (Chapel of the Constables) was built 1482-1496, extending from the center of the cathedral’s ambulatory, where an early Gothic Chapel dedicated to St. Peter was previously located. Its double clerestory is octagonal, and the lower wall that extends outside the apse of the cathedral conforms with 5 sides of the octagon. For its size and beauty, it is considered a cathedral within a cathedral. Its style is a transition between Gothic and early Hispanic Renaissance. Originally called the Capilla de la Purificación de la Virgen, it was commissioned as a pantheon for the powerful Constables of Castile, Pedro Fernandez de Velasco y Manrique de Lara (1425-1492) and his wife Doña Mencia de Mendoza y Figueroa (d. 1500) and. After the constables were buried there, it became known as the Chapel of the Constables.
Condestable de Castilla (Constable of Castile) was a title created by King Juan I of Castile in 1382, to one who would be supreme commander of the army and the highest representative of the King in his absence. Pedro Fernandez de Velasco, Constable of Castile 1473-1492, is also known more specifically as Pedro Fernandez de Velasco y Manrique de Lara, since he was the son of Pedro Fernandez de Velasco y Solier and Beatriz Manrique de Lara. He ordered the construction of the Casa del Cordón and this chapel where he would be buried. His wife oversaw the completion of the chapel after his death. Prior to him, the constables were appointed, but starting with him the office became hereditary until the last constable in 1713, during the War of Spanish Succession.
5:06 PM – Burgos: back side of Cathedral - Capilla de los Condestables at left; Puerta de la Pellejería down street to right (in shade).
Saturday, August 30, 2014, 11:41 AM (Cropped) – Burgos: back side of Cathedral - Capilla de los Condestables apse.
Sculptures on exterior of Capilla de los Condestables apse: Flanking the top window on the left are rampant lions carrying the X-shaped St. Andrew’s cross and the Jerusalem cross in circles of laurels; above that window, two figures hold the smaller symbol of a sun similarly encircled by laurels. Below that are two knights holding the coat of arms of Don Pedro Fernandez de Velasco y Manrique de Lara. Under the central arch are two angels with the sun of San Bernardino. To the right are two knights holding the coat of arms of Doña Mencia de Mendoza y Figueroa in the most prominent place outside the chapel. The coats of arms reflect similar but more ornate ones in similar locations inside the chapel, flanking its main altar.
5:08 PM – Burgos: back side of Cathedral – Capilla de los Condestables (left) with pinnacles and double clerestory, and (in sun) figures of two more lions carrying images of the sun and the Jerusalem cross encircled by laurels; cathedral apse (with flying buttresses) and cupola of transept crossing at right.
Farther down Calle de Fernán Gonzalez, there are two portals at the end of the cathedral’s north[west] transept. Facing northeast, below street level, is the Puerta de la Pellejería, and facing northwest at a higher level is the Puerta de Coronería.
5:20 PM – Burgos: back side of Cathedral – rear door Puerta de la Pellejería.
The Puerta de la Pellejería [portal of the tannery] (aka Puerta del Corralejo) on the [north]east side was located near the houses of the tanners, hence its name. Commissioned by Bishop Don Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca and built in 1516-1530, its façade is a lively example of Plateresque in the form of an altarpiece carved in stone, with three bodies. In the first body, the arch over the door has a scalloped archivolt decorated with small sculptures; in the jambs and arch are the apostles under canopies. In the second body, a frieze in high relief shows the martyrdom of San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist) and San Juan Evangelista (St. John the Evangelist). The third (upper) body is occupied by a semicircular tympanum, which is decorated with rosettes; flanked by images of San Pedro (St. Peter) and San Pablo (St. Paul), the Bishop Don Juan Rodríguez (d. 1524) is prostrated before the image of the Virgin, who is accompanied by three angels as musicians. At the top is the bishop’s coat of arms.
On the façade of Puerta de la Pellejería, the relief at the left shows the martyrdom of San Juan Bautista (by beheading); at right is martyrdom of San Juan Evangelista. [What Don thought looked like a baptism scene in the frieze is actually St. John the Evangelist being cooked in a pot.] In Rome in 95 AD, St. John was miraculously preserved from death when thrown into a pot of boiling oil; on account of this trial, related by Tertullian and others, he was given the title of martyr.
5:19 PM – Burgos: back side of Cathedral – Puerta de la Pellejería detail showing martyrdom of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist (telephoto, 360 mm).
While on the north[west] side of the cathedral, the Puerta de la Pellejería faces to the northeast. Just around the corner, at a higher level and facing northwest, is the Puerta de la Coronería.
The most impressive entrance, along with the Puerta del Sarmental, is the Puerta de la Coronería (aka Puerta de Cordelería, Puerta Alto, or Puerta de los Apóstoles), the north[west] transept portal on the cathedral’s north[western] side (circa 1250). The façade of this portal is crowned by two spires.
In the tympanum is the scene of the Last Judgment, with Christ on the throne surrounded by the Virgin and John the Baptist; at the bottom is St. Michael weighing souls and separating the saved from the damned, Three archivolts surround the tympanum represent angels and scenes of the Last Judgment. Spacious jambs are carved with images of the 12 Apostles. This door was open until 1786, used by pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago and people of the Coronería neighborhood. It is said that Napoleon was the last person to go through this door and down the Golden Staircase.
Inside the north[west] door (closed), at the end of the north transept, is the Renaissance Escalera Dorada (Golden Staircase) from 1519-1526. Because the cathedral was built on the side of a hill, there is a great difference of elevation of its north side versus the lower south side. Because of this, there was a large gap between the northern portal Puerta de la Coronería and the floor of the cathedral. The original solution was to build a Romanesque staircase to connect the two; it was called simply la escalera de la puerta alta (staircase to the high portal). However, that one was demolished in 1516 and replaced with the current one started 3 years later, inspired by the Italian Renaissance.
Burgos: Catedral – Puerta de la Coronería (commons.wikimedia.org).
Burgos: Catedral – Puerta de la Coronería tympanum (commons.wikimedia.org).
MT stayed there while Don went to Iglesia San Nicolás de Bari and the west entrance of the cathedral to check on mass times.
5:08 PM – Burgos: west façade with twin spires and three doors, of which the main door Puerta de Santa María is closed; fountain in Plaza Santa María.
The main or west façade, of northern French Gothic style, is the prevalent image of the cathedral. The façade is divided into three bodies, topped by two towers.
The first body is the result of a not very successful reconstruction of the 17th century, in which only four statues of the original Gothic ornamentation were preserved. This level has triple entrances in ogival arched framing, with a gallery enclosed by a pinnacled balustrade.
The main doorway, Puerta de Santa Maria (aka Puerta Real or Puerta del Perdón) was finished in the middle of the 13th century. It was altered in the 18th century and lost much of its Gothic sculptural decoration.
5:08 PM - Burgos: Catedral - West Facade first body (Cropped).
The second body consists of a continuous balcony and a large, delicately pierced rosette window with large Arabesque designs forming the seal of Solomon (with estrellón [large star] in its center).
5:08 PM - Burgos: Catedral - West facade second and third bodies (Cropped).
In the third body, above the rose window, are 8 statues of kings, called Galería de los Reyes (Hall of the Kings). These are statues of the kings of Castilla, including Fernando I, first king of Castilla, and Ferdinand III, who ordered the construction of this church. In this uppermost story, there are two ogival double-arched windows and statues on pedestals, crowned with a balustrade of letters carved in stone: “PULC[H]RA ES ET DECORA” [Beautiful art Thou, and graceful], in the center of which is a statue of the Virgin Mary.
5:08 PM - Burgos: Catedral - West Facade third body and towers (Cropped).
The façade is flanked by two lateral square towers topped by the towering spires. The steep octagonal spires covered with open stone traceries (built in 1458) are of German influence. The towering main spires, in Flamboyant Gothic style, are 84 m (276 ft) high. Each is a richly decorated Gothic fantasy surrounded by a sea of similarly intricate spires.
5:09 PM – Burgos: cathedral mass schedule near door on right side of west façade (time for evening mass 20:00 was wrong); arrow at bottom of sign directs tourists to the other entrance through Puerta del Sarmental.
5:08 PM – Burgos: fountain in Plaza Santa María by main door of cathedral and Iglesia San Nicolás at top of steps.
On the way to and from the west entrance of the cathedral, Don passed Iglesia San Nicolás de Bari.
5:11 PM – Burgos: Iglesia San Nicolás de Bari mass schedule (listed 7:30 [pm] mass Tuesday thru Saturday).
The Iglesia San Nicolás de Bari is situated beside and above the cathedral (at the top of steps, a steep climb up from the Plaza Santa María). It was built in 1408 over another Romanesque church that is mentioned as early as 1163. It was reconstructed in the second half of the 15th century. It features an austere 15th-century façade and a magnificent Castilian Renaissance altarpiece from 1505.
On the way back to where MT stopped near the back of the cathedral, Don met a young lady from China; she asked him, in Spanish, to take her photo with the cathedral. When MT came along, we started speaking English, and she said her English name was Margaret. She had arrived in Burgos 3 days ago to study Spanish at the university for 6 months. She wanted to go up to the Castillo but was not sure it was safe for her at that time of day (after 5 pm). So MT volunteered for us to go with her.
On the way up to the Castillo, we passed Iglesia San Esteban.
The Gothic Iglesia San Esteban was erected in late 13th and early 14th century, replacing an earlier Romanesque church. Its vicinity to the Castillo was sometimes detrimental to the church building. The main façade, facing west has a lean tower and is lightened by a magnificent rosette window; under the rosette is a pointed ogival doorway.
5:29 PM - Burgos: Iglesia San Esteban on the way to the Castillo (cathedral cupola in background at right).
Partway up the winding road to the Castillo, we reached the Mirador del Castillo, an overlook with an excellent view of the city and the cathedral.
5:32 PM – Burgos: overlook view of cathedral (north[west] side) and city.
5:33 PM – Burgos: overlook view of cathedral with MEH behind it at left (telephoto, 64 mm).
5:34 PM – Burgos: MT and Margaret at overlook (MEH and cathedral in background).
Around 5:35, we reached the 9th-century Castillo de Burgos.
5:36 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – approaching castle entrance.
5:41 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – sign for “El Castillo de Burgos (Burgos Castle)” at entrance – English part: “Burgos Castle is found on a hilltop with a commanding view over the valley of the River Arlanzon, a strategic site of primary importance, inhabited as early as prehistoric times.
“The founding of the Castle dates back to the year 884, when Count Diego Porcelos, by order of King Alfonso III, built the fortress which would give rise to the city of Burgos, with the aim of repopulating the region and restricting the movements of Moorish armies. From then on the historic role of the castle was to be tied to the city of Burgos and to the Kingdom of Castile, in so far as it became a royal residence, the meeting place for the Spanish court, a scene of dynastic wars, the bastion of the ‘comunero’ movement, an artillery barracks …
“The last moment of splendor for Burgos Castle was at the start of the 19th century, when it became a centre of operations of the French army during the French occupation and the Spanish War of Independence. Before abandoning the fortress, the French army set off an explosion that destroyed a large part of the Castle’s southern wall, including the gatehouse on that side. The damage inflicted did not prevent the Castle from being used as a fortress during the Carlist wars; a role that it no longer played in the 20th century, when it fell into a state of ruin that lasted until its renovation as a historical and cultural heritage site at the start of the 21st century.”
5:44 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – view across courtyard toward [southeast] side of castle, toward the cathedral.
5:45 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – sign “The Walls” with English text: “The principal defensive structures of a castle are its walls. The nucleus of Burgos Castle is marked out by two concentric walled enclosures.
“The inner enceinte was comprised of a very strong wall (2.3 m wide) with towers at intervals along its perimeter, which acted as defensive structures and as buttresses (reinforcing the walls). The towers were of circular and rectangular design, built onto or alongside the wall (exterior tower). The exterior towers were joined to the top of the wall by either a wooden bridge or an archway.
“The external curtain wall was of a lesser height and its role was to prevent a direct assault on the principal enceinte (inner wall). This wall was complemented by other defensive features: towers, a dry ditch and the natural relief of the terrain.”
The English part of the caption under the drawings reads: “An idealized reconstruction of the Castle towards the end of the 15th century and the start of the 16th century.”
5:46 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – walls.
5:46 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – walls with “pockets.”
5:47 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – towers.
5:47 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – sign for “Palacio de Alfonso X” with Spanish text, but English part of captions for two drawings read: “Central Middle Ages (11th-13th centuries), phase 1: Internal Wall and the Palace of Alfonso X” and “Central Middle Ages (11th-13th centuries), phase 2: Reform of the Palace of Alfonso X.”
5:48 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – another sign for “Palacio de Alfonso X (The Palace of Alfonso X)” with English and French translations of the first sign and 3 more drawings – English part: “Burgos Castle has no ‘keep,’ the emblematic tower in medieval castles. In its place, a palace was built that served as a royal residence.
“Travellers from earlier times described this palace as a porticoed building with three floors looking over a courtyard. Its interior was ornamented with Mudéjar stucco-work, some of which may now be seen in the Arch of Saint Mary, the main entrance to the old medieval city of Burgos.
“Today, only the archaeological remains of this palace are conserved, which allow us to envisage its spatial layout and to picture the continual and extensive transformations that this building has undergone throughout its history.”
The English parts of the captions of the 3 drawings read: “Beginning of the 19th century: Alterations made to the Palace by the French troops,” “Mid-19th century: Construction of a barracks on the ruins of the old Palace,” and “20th century: Construction of a circular tower with a new design.”
5:49 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – towers and (east) wall.
5:50 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – sign for “Puente Sur (The South Gatehouse)” – English part: “The gatehouse that once stood on the southern flank of the Castle was a secondary entrance used exclusively by foot-travellers. The steep hillside and the twists and turns in the pathway that led up to the fortress made it impossible to use carts.
“Doorways are the most vulnerable point of any fortress, which is why their defences had to be reinforced. A combination of defensive systems may be found at the South Gatehouse of Burgos Castle: a dry ditch, which could only be crossed by means of the drawbridge, and a main doorway flanked by two towers, behind which lay a fortified door.”
The English part of the caption for top drawing reads: “Entry to the interior of the fortress through the South Gatehouse.” The English part of the caption for the lower drawing reads: “Idealized representation of the South Gatehouse of Burgos Castle, drawn in 1947 by the architect Francisco Iñiguez for the restoration of the Castle. Entrance to the Castle, with its drawbridge over a dry ditch, defended by circular towers and ‘machicolations’ or ‘murder holes’.”
5:51 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – inside of a circular tower and [interior walls?].
5:51 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – circular tower and wall.
5:52 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – view across courtyard back toward entrance.
5:59 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – sign for “Urbanisme médiéval à Burgos” in French.
5:53 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – Don’s shadow unfortunately covering much of second sign “Medieval Urbanism in Burgos” with English version of text: “Burgos Castle was built as a fortress to defend the growing population. Its purpose was to assist the progressive resettlement of the Meseta (central plateau) and to protect the population living in the surrounding area. Archaeological artefacts that lie hidden under the southern slopes of the castle’s hillsides are all that now remain of the embryonic settlement that was to become the city of Burgos.
“Over time, the population grew and the settlement expanded down the hillside until it reached the plain. Thus, by the middle of the 8th century, under the reign of Alfonso X, it became necessary to enlarge the perimeter walls that would mark out the new city. The new walled enclosure ran down the hillside from the Castle to the River Arlanzon and the River Vena, converting them into natural moats.
“However, the new city walls were soon outgrown, as outlying neighborhoods sprung up outside the walls (arrabales), such as those of San Esteban, San Juan or San Pedro de la Fuente, on the main thoroughfare that dynamized the city’s economy: the medieval pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, now universally known as the Camino de Santiago.
“The fortified walls that may still be admired today were largely the result of construction work undertaken in the 8th century, although they include older sections, such as the Tower of Doña Urraca, and they also incorporate other more recent modifications.”
Callouts (left to right) in panorama for Muralles (Walls), Puerta de San Esteban, Iglesia de San Gil, Iglesia de San Lesmes, Monasterio de San Juan, Iglesia de San Esteban, and Catedral.
5:55 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – Iglesia San Gil (from Castillo).
5:57 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – Margaret taking photo from (east) wall; the young man behind her was not with us.
5:59 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – MT and Margaret on (east) wall.
6:00 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos - MT and Don on (east) wall with Cathedral in background (Margaret took it).
6:02 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – Arco de San Esteban with Mudéjar (Moorish) architecture (Iglesia San Gil at right).
6:07 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – MT and Margaret inside Castillo museum.
6:11 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – museum sign for “The Fort (Castro)” – English part (only partly legible): “The first prehistoric occupation … stable … a fort of the First Iron Age (700-300 B.C.) in the south end of the Hill of San Miguel and in the same surface where the Castle stands … a settlement of circular ___ built in adobe. The economic b__ of the people was based on the agriculture … and barley and on the cattle of such … animals as goats, sheep, b___, horses and pigs.”
English caption of drawing: “Reconstruction of a First Bronze Age settlement.”
6:12 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – sign for “Fundación del Castillo (Founding of the Castle)” – for English part, see close-up in next photo. The caption above the photo at the lower left reads: “Diego Porcelos – Arco de Santa María Burgos.”
6:12 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – close-up of English part of the sign for “Fundación del Castillo (Founding of the Castle)”: “In the year 884 the count Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, ordered by King Alfonso III founds the castle of Burgos. They tried to prevent the traffic of the Moslem armies by putting a fortress in this place: to control the valley of the Arlanzón militarily and to provide safety to the population advance towards the south.
“The geographical characteristics of the hill of the Castle are the principal reason for the selection of this place to raise the fortress: it presents an advanced position on the bank of the Arlanzón; its limited extension facilitates the defense in case of assault; and, finally, the natural water-course that separates it from the hill of San Miguel is a natural pit that protects the weakest flank of the hill.
“The political and military instability that appears in the first moments of the repopulation establishes the location of the first settlement that associated with the military detachment, is placed under the protection of the fortress. This is how the city of Burgos was born.”
6:12 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – (on that sign) photo of Diego Rodríguez Porcelos (founder of Burgos) from the Arco de Santa María.
12:17 PM (Cropped)
– Burgos: statue of Diego Rodriguez Porcellos (founder of Burgos) from the Arco de Santa María.
6:13 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – sign for “Esplendor del Castillo (The Splendor of the Castle)” – English part: “The economic development that takes place in these moments improves the population growth that needs a bigger space to live. In the 13th century the city is still inside the limits of the wall, refilling in a compact way the pieces of land that remain free inside the walls, but this limit also begins to be exceeded. That is how the population of San Juan appears around the monastery of the same name.
“The castle lives one of the most splendid moments. The buildings that stand inside the fortress are embellished and extended, the well is built, a new door opens in the south flank and Alfonso’s X palace is decorated with rich Mudéjar reliefs.”
The English caption of picture in center reads: “Ruins of Alfonso the Wise’s palace.” The picture credit is “Alexander Laborde, Voyage Pitoresque de l’España. Paris 1806-1820.”
The English caption for the picture at the lower left reads: “The ideal reconstruction of the Castle.”
6:17 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – part of sign with English caption: “View of the Triumphal Door (of St. Mary) and of the Cathedral of Burgos.” (The Castillo is in the background, and an unidentified church in the foreground.)
(Scanned Ticket) - Part of this same picture is on the “Museo del Libro Fadrique D Basilea” tickets they gave us at the Castillo ticket office. In this 16th-century engraving, one can see what seems to have been the original cupola over the cathedral’s crossing, before it collapsed in 1539.
6:19 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – view down into the underground part of the castle (we did not pay extra for that guided tour).
6:21 PM - Burgos: Castillo de Burgos – MT and Margaret near end of tour; courtyard with (east) wall and towers.
After the Castillo, we went to Iglesia San Nicolás de Bari for the 7:30 mass listed on their posted schedule. However, many people were gathered outside, as a wedding had just concluded and they were waiting for the bride and groom. We waited around for a while to see if this would clear out in time for mass. While Don went around the side to take a picture of the crowd, MT sat on the stone railing at the bottom of the final stairs leading up to the church (near the Mesón del Cid 4-star hotel). When the bride and groom came out, fireworks erupted from just behind the railing at the top of the stone wall of the hotel terrace (just across from MT). This was a great shock for MT.
7:28 PM – Burgos: wedding crowd outside San Nicolás church door. The less well dressed people in the foreground may have been pilgrims or more likely tourists who had expected a mass here.
7:28 PM – Burgos: MT sitting at bottom of final steps up to San Nicolás; beyond her is Mesón del Cid hotel (left) and the more modern Mesón del Cid II and the terrace where fireworks were set off soon after this photo.
After that, we gave up on having a mass there and decided to try for the 8 pm mass we had seen scheduled in the Cathedral, which was in the Capilla del Santisimo Cristo de Burgos. However, the mass was already underway when we entered just after 7:30. After the mass, there was a benediction for pilgrims. On the way out of the chapel, we were given a leaflet for “Santísimo Cristo de Burgos – Misa del Peregrino.” The schedule on the back of the leaflet said “Misa y Benedición del Peregrino” was at 7:30 pm Monday through Friday in the Capilla del Santisimo Cristo; that explained why the mass had already started when we entered. It also told us the pilgrim mass on Saturday would be at the same time, but in the Capilla de Santa Tecla.
The Capilla del Santisimo Cristo de Burgos (Chapel of the Most Holy Christ of Burgos) is the first chapel on the right when you come in through the [south]west portal Puerta de Santa María and is given over exclusively to worship and prayer. It is attached to the (southern) nave of the Epistle and occupies the west corridor of an earlier cloister which has undergone a succession of alterations.
As we were exiting the chapel, a Spanish lady motioned for us to follow her, and she took us into the area just inside the [south]west door we had entered, just in time to see and hear the ringing of what is called the “Papamoscas.”
Saturday, August 30, 2014, 8:14 PM – Burgos: Cathedral – Papamoscas above window high up near Puerta de Santa María.
When you come in through the Puerta de Santa María, you will find the famous “Papamoscas” (Flycatcher) high up to the left atop a clock on the clerestory window of the first compartment of the vault of the central nave at the foot of the cathedral. It is a grotesque-looking doll that dates from the 18th century, when it replaced the old 16th -century automaton.
The “Papamoscas” is an automaton that marks the hours. It is a half-length figure that looks out onto a clock. Its mechanism is as follows: on the hour he opens his mouth while moving his right arm to operate the clapper of a bell. His name probably comes from opening and closings the mouth (hence the name probably comes, as it reminds of how the bird of the same name waits for a fly to fly in). He displays a musical score in his right hand, which also wields the chain connected to the bell clapper.
According to legend, the figure was commissioned by King Enrique III (1379-1406), who used to go to the cathedral every day to pray. One day, when he was immersed in prayer, he noticed the presence of a beautiful girl kneeling before the tomb of Fernán Gonzalez. Occasionally, the young lady glanced at him. The king followed her at a distance to find out where she lived. This scene was repeated for a long time, although the monarch’s shyness prevented him from speaking to her. One day, the mysterious young woman, who had noticed him observing her, dropped a handkerchief at the feet of the king, who picked it up and handed it back in silence. When she was going out the door, she gave a heartbreaking sigh of lament, which the echo of the cathedral made even more deafening and was etched in his memory. Thereafter, the girl did not appear again, and the king, desperate, sought her in every corner of the church. When he went to the house where he had seen her entering many times, he was informed that no one lived there, since all its inhabitants had died, victims of the Black Death. The king, after discovering the vacant house, became so ill from his despair, that his physicians advised him to take a walk every day around Burgos. One afternoon, he became lost and was attacked by a pack of wolves, which he tried to fight off with his sword. When the king was exhausted from fighting a long time, everything suddenly went silent, and the figure of the young girl from the cathedral appeared before him, but this time her face was marked with pain and sadness. The king tried to hold her and kiss her. However, she moved away and said: “I love you because you are noble and generous; in you I loved the gallant and heroic memory of Fernán Gonzalez and El Cid. But I can no longer offer you my love. Sacrifice as I do …” After uttering these words, the girl fell dead at his feet. Tormented in his heart and wanting to immortalize his beloved, the king commissioned a Moorish craftsman to create a figure to be placed atop a Venetian clock in the cathedral. He asked the artisan that the figure reproduce the features of the girl and emit a sound at the striking of the hour that would perpetuate the sigh of lament that still echoed in him. However, the worker, who was not overly clever, failed to reproduce the beauty of the young lady and created a very grotesque figure. Also, the sound that issued when the figure opened its mouth on the hour was more like a croak than a lament. This provoked ridicule and laughter of the faithful inside the cathedral; so it was silenced. This was the king’s last attempt to immortalize the memory of that girl. The figure, called Papamoscas because it still opened its mouth silently every time the clock struck, became the object of countless visits by pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago who entered the Cathedral of Burgos to seek rest.
On an adjoining balcony is Martinillo (Frere Jacques), a smaller, full body figure, which gives the quarter and half hour. In this case, he moves both arms, driving the two flanking bells.
Saturday, August 30, 2014, 8:15 PM – Burgos: Cathedral – Papamoscas above clerestory window high up near Door of St. Mary, with smaller bellringer Martinillo to right (telephoto, 112 mm).
Burgos: Cathedral – Papamoscas (close-up) (es.wikipedia.org).
Then Don hurriedly (because the man with the keys was trying to get everyone out the door) took a photo back through the chapel door of the famous crucifix Santisimo Cristo de Burgos. (A sign had said no photos in the chapel.)
The main altarpiece in the Capilla del Santisimo Cristo de Burgos is neo-Gothic and frames the image of Christ Crucified known as Santisimo Cristo de Burgos (Most Holy Christ of Burgos), which dates from the 14th century and is of Flemish origin. According to the tradition, this sacred image was found by a merchant of Burgos returning from Flanders, inside a chest floating in the sea. He donated it to the convent of San Agustín in Burgos, where it was venerated (by, among others, the pilgrims of the Camino de Santiago) until the brothers were forced to leave by the confiscation of Mendizábal in 1835. The Augustinian religious spread their cult throughout Spain and Latin America. There was virtually no cathedral that did not have a chapel consecrated to this image, and its cult was multiplied with engravings and plates, catching its pathetic iconography of long hair and bloodied body and skirts that almost entirely cover the legs. (The color of the cloth that covers the legs apparently changes according to the liturgical season.) The highly realistic image is carved from wood, is totally articulated, is covered with cowhide, and used human hair.
8:00 PM – Burgos: Cathedral – hurried photo of crucifix in Capilla del Santisimo Cristo (telephoto, 156 mm).
Burgos: Cathedral – crucifix in Capilla del Santisimo Cristo (close up) (commons.wikimedia.org).
Burgos: Cathedral – Leaflet for “Santisimo Cristo de Burgos – Misa del Peregrino” [Most Holy Christ of Burgos – Pilgrim Mass] with famous crucifix (Scanned).
Then we bought fruit, yogurts, and milk for our evening snack and returned to Hotel Pancho. Calle San Lorenzo, with many restaurants and bars, was very busy at this time.
8:09 PM – Burgos: view up Calle San Lorenzo (from SW) after mass; sign for Bar Pancho partially hidden on the left; the “HA” (1-star) sign on the right was for Hotel Pancho entrance (telephoto, 220 mm).
8:09 PM – Burgos: view up Calle San Lorenzo (from SW) after mass; clearer view of sign for Bar Pancho on the left and the “HA” (1-star) sign on the right for Hotel Pancho entrance (telephoto, 220 mm).
Somewhere that day, we got another sello: “Amigos del Camino de Santiago Burgos.”
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