We ate self-service breakfast (included) at La Rosa del Agua: müsli with milk (and bananas we brought); coffee/hot chocolate; toast with marmalade. We departed at 8:15 am.
9:01 AM – After El Acebo: MT on rocky path ahead.
9:01 AM – After El Acebo: purple (and orange) heather.
Around 9:10, we passed through Riego de Ambrós (pop 35).
9:13 AM – Riego de Ambrós: houses with wood balconies and slate roofs.
In the 12th century, there was a pilgrim hospice in Riego de Ambrós [irrigation or watering place of Ambrose], and since the 1990s there has again been an albergue here. Due to the proximity of this village to Ponferrada and a distinctly warmer climate at this altitude, almost all the previously abandoned houses have been renovated.
The path from Riego de Ambrós to Molinaseca involves some steep descents. Thankfully, we had navigated the hazardous stretch (with exclamation mark on map) downhill on rocks (slippery when wet!) before rain started at 10:30 as we neared Molinaseca.
9:21 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: MT on solid rock path.
9:23 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: MT on different solid rock path.
9:28 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: MT into overgrown path.
9:50 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: blue and yellow arrows pointing in opposite directions, on left side of path.
9:51 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: yellow arrow on right side of path.
We came to a place where the rocky path continued, but farther down the slope of the same hillside pilgrims seemed to have created a new path that was smoother. MT took the lower, smoother option, while Don followed the older rocky trail until they eventually joined.
10:06 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: MT on smoother path (more recently blazed) versus the one on the right with a stone wall on its downhill side (Don took the higher one).
10:10 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: MT on path (where upper and lower had joined) with steep drop-off to left.
10:15 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: Don on rejoined path, with yellow arrow painted on rock.
10:15 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: MT on rejoined path with yellow arrow.
10:17 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: MT on another downhill stretch on solid rock.
10:17 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: another pilgrim on solid rock path (Ponferrada in distance).
10:25 AM – After Riego de Ambrós: Ponferrada in distance (telephoto), with several switchbacks ahead (if you look carefully, you can see pilgrims on switchbacks).
As we came into Molinaseca (pop 800), it began to rain.
10:44 AM – Entering Molinaseca: Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari (across river to left) and Santuario de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias church on right side of road.
Molinaseca (pop 800) is an active small town. (The municipality of Molinaseca includes not only this town, but also the villages of El Acebo and Riego de Ambrós.) You enter the town over the Romanesque Puente de Peregrinos, a medieval bridge over the Río Meruelo (aka Miruelo, also formerly called Río Molina) into the famous Calle Real.
Molinaseca probably owes its name to the existence of several mills on Río Miruelo. In fact, its name is a derivative of the Latin molinum (mill), in the plural form molina, since not one but several mills existed in the town. The mills, at least 5 of which existed into the 18th century, were built over the river and over a dam, which still runs parallel along its left (west) bank. To this was added the Latin adjective siccum, with the meaning “dry mills.” This could be explained by changes in the course of the river, which could have made the mills temporarily dry. For this reason, the people later had to build irrigation channels and new mills on them.
The village of Molinaseca was documented as early as 1097: in Latin “sub carraria illa to discurrit ad Molina Sicca” (on the way from the field to Molinaseca) and also “duas terras in Molina Secca.” This is the first documentary evidence, but certainly the origin of the village would have to be traced back to the early years of the 11th century, when the Camino de Santiago started to gain prestige with a flood of pilgrims. Starting in the 12th century, new settlers began to arrive, coming from different parts of the Peninsula and even from beyond the Pyrenees. By the 13th century, there was a barrio franco (French quarter) on the left bank of the river, near Iglesia de San Nicolás. Without doubt, the bridge over the river Miruelo, which the road must cross over to continue toward Ponferrada, was a decisive factor in the birth and development of Molinaseca (as was the case in Ponferrada, Cacabelos, and Villafranca del Bierzo). In the 12th century, pilgrims were received in at least 4 hospitals here. There was also a mill (molino) close to the bridge here, as documented in 1166. The village was known since ancient times as “un oasis en el Camino” [an oasis on the Way]. This was the first town across the mountain and the first in the El Bierzo region. For centuries, it was a welcome stop for pilgrims as well as Galicians reapers going east to work in the harvest on the other side of the mountains.
Molinaseca played an important role in the historical development of El Bierzo.
The route through Foncebadón was an old pre-Roman route. This route would be used by Caesar Augustus during the wars of conquest (29-19 BC). Along that road were several castros (fortified settlements) in high and protected areas. One of these forts, near the pre-Roman road, was located in El Acebo, where the place name El Castrillo is preserved. Following the path downward, there was another castro east of Molinaseca. During the Roman domination, the route through Foncebadón was not completely abandoned, although the easier and less dangerous Via Nova [New Road] through the Manzanal pass was built in the 1st century.
The Romans arrived in El Bierzo after a cruel and unequal war, called the War against the Cantabrians and Asturians, between 29 and 19 BC. Although the military goal was definitive control of the peninsula, there were also economic reasons, above all the exploitation of gold in El Bierzo, as well as the neighboring areas of Asturias and Galicia.
The crisis of the late Roman Empire in the 5th century would facilitate the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula by various Germanic tribes. For instance, the Suevi (Swabians) settled in the northwest, in the old Roman province of Gallaecia, in which they remained until their integration into the Visigothic Kingdom in the second half of the 6th century. Bergido (Bierzo) formed part of the Swabian Kingdom. In the 7th century, San Fructuoso (d. 665) erected monasteries in this area of the Montes de León. The first of his foundations was the Monasterio de Compludo in 640, in the valley of the river Molino (Miruela) in the foothills of Monte Irago near Molinaseca; in 646, it allegedly received a donation from the Visigoth king.
In the 8th century, the peninsula would be invaded by the Muslims, who came to El Bierzo in 714. Their presence in the region was fleeting, because very soon the new Kingdom of Asturias, founded by Don Pelayo, desired to protect the area. However, the sporadic Muslim presence led to the depopulation of hot spots, including Bergido, and the flight of the residents toward the mountains, where they felt more protected. The Molina monastery, on one of the roads for penetration into El Bierzo, was temporarily abandoned. The repopulation of El Bierzo began in the middle of the 9th century, when King Ordoño I created the significant title of Conde del Bierzo [Count of Bierzo]. In the high Middle Ages, El Bierzo was a condado, i.e., a territory entrusted by the king to a noble who as Count would govern it on his behalf.
Under the protection of the Count, the monasteries were repopulated. Of these, the only one in the municipality of Molinaseca was the Monasterio de Santa María de Tabladillo. It was located on the descent from Foncebadón into El Bierzo, in a valley through which the brook Tablatello or Tabladillo runs (shortly before coming to El Acebo). The existence of this monastery dates back at least to the 10th century, since in 940 its abbot attended a meeting held at the Monasterio de Peñalba, presided over by Bishop Solomon of Astorga and King Ramiro II. In 946, another of its abbots was also at the Council of Irago, which some believe took place in the Tabladillo monastery and others say it was the Monasterio de Compludo.
(In the late 9th or early 10th century, Compludo had been restored within the context of the revival of monastic life in the El Bierzo region, but in the 12th century, the monastery as such disappeared, although there continues to be a town of that name.)
Along with the rebirth of the monasteries came an increase in pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, where the tomb of St. James had been discovered in the 9th century. This encouraged the birth and development of important burgos (hamlets) in El Bierzo, including Molinaseca along with Ponferrada, Cacabelos, and Villafranca del Bierzo. The pilgrimage route would lead to the creation of an axis around which efforts to end the Muslim occupation of the territory would polarize. Along its 70 km through El Bierzo, the pilgrimage route left towns and villages with hospitals and albergues. One of these, erected in the late 11th or early 12th century by a hermit named Guacelmo, was at the top of the pass of Foncebadón, which was harsh and painful and covered with snow in the winter, but was shorter than using the Manzanal [apple orchard] pass. Guacelmo’s pilgrim refuge was called Alberguería de San Salvador de Irago or simply de Irago, or as Hospital de Foncebadón or de Irago. This was not to be confused with the Hospital de San Juan de Irago, already on the border of the municipality of Molinaseca, a village referred to in a document of 1138 also as “debajo de monte Irago” [below Monte Irago]. (There was another Hospital de San Juan de Irago located in Riego de Ambrós.)
10:46 AM – Molinaseca: Santuario de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias just past city limit.
The 18th-century Baroque Santuario de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias (Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows) [aka Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Quinto Angustia (Shrine of Our Lady of the Fifth Sorrow)] is partly built into the side of the mountain. A small Capilla de Santuario de Nuestra Señora de las Angustias [Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows] and a hospital were located there in the 11th century. The present church dates from 1705, with its apse stuck into the mountain. Its cupola (with lantern) and side doors with semicircular arches are from the 17th century. The titular image (a pieta = the fifth sorrow of Mary) is a stone statue in a niche in the second body of the tower. The current square tower at the foot of the church, which partially conceals the previous façade, was built in 1931 to stop the pressure from the mountain on the church.
10:47 AM – Molinaseca: MT (in rain) at city limit sign by Angustias church.
When we got to the Angustias church on the near side of the Río Meruelo, we started hearing lots of bells ringing from Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari, where the waitress in El Acebo had told us about a mass at noon. The mass was actually at 11 am.
So we hurried across the Puente de los Peregrinos into the old town.
The Puente de los Peregrinos [Pilgrims’ Bridge] (aka Puente Medieval [Medieval Bridge]) over the river Meruelo (or Miruelo) gives access to the Calle Real. This, the only pedestrian bridge in El Bierzo, is an emblem of the city. There is copious documentation of the bridge from the 12th century, the earliest in 1166. Through its history, it has suffered several extensions and modifications, including a very important one in the 18th century and even one in 1980. These changes were necessitated in part by changes in the riverbed.
The width of the bridge varies from 2.8 m at the east end to almost 4 m on the downhill slope into Calle Real. It has seven masonry arches with vaults ranging from 4.2 to 8 m. The first three arches on the west end (nearest the town center) are older than the others—today dull in comparison with the rest of the bridge—suggesting an older bridge, perhaps of Roman origin. They are partially buried, so that their semi-pointed (medio punto) arches seem semicircular (escarzanos). The other four are more modern and are shaped like half a barrel and banked (peraltadas).
Molinaseca: Puente de los Peregrinos – all 7 arches and Iglesia de San Nicolás (www.flickr.com).
Molinaseca: Puente de los Peregrinos – pilgrims on bridge with Iglesia de San Nicolás in background (commons.wikimedia.org).
Molinaseca: west end of bridge and Calle Real on a sunnier day [on near right is Restaurante El Palacio where we ate last year; on far left corner is bar where MT stopped for baño before mass this time] (megandmarksmith.blogspot.com).
10:52 AM – Molinaseca: looking back across medieval bridge Puente de los Peregrinos, with Restaurante El Palacio on left (where we ate last year).
After MT took a baño break at a bar by the bridge, we took a perpendicular street to the left, toward Iglesia de San Nicolás, first passing Hostal Horno, where we had stayed last year.
10:52 AM – Molinaseca: Hostal Horno (where we stayed last year), after bridge just around corner to left toward San Nicolás.
We arrived at Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari just in time for the 11 am mass.
Although the bridge and mills are two key elements in the origin of Molinaseca, urban life centered around the Iglesia de San Nicolás, which stood on the left (west) bank of the river on a hill overlooking the bridge and the whole town. This church is already mentioned in one of the first documents known from Molinaseca, in 1134.
The current neo-classical parish church Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari was begun the second half of the 17th century, when the town had only 80 residents, but was finished in the late 18th century. While the Camino continues from the bridge along Calle Real, the church stands atop a rise to the left (on the site of the previous medieval church). The elegant tower, which preserves the first body of the medieval tower, is a belfry with a large clock. In a niche in the first body of the tower is a stone statue of the titular saint, the symbol of one of his miracles. All 5 of the church’s altarpieces are Baroque: the main altarpiece (1674) and those of the chapels of the Gospel (1692) and Epistle (1680) chapels are Churrigueresque (Spanish Baroque) although they use statues from previous altarpieces; the 2 collateral altarpieces are pre-Churrigueresque.
After mass, we got sellos: “Parroquia Molinaseca.”
11:38 AM – Molinaseca: Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari – statue of San Roque at rear of nave.
11:39 AM – Molinaseca: Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari – view from rear of nave to main altar.
11:39 AM – Molinaseca: Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari – main altar.
The main altar has a Churrigueresque (Spanish Baroque) altarpiece from 1674, consisting of a predela (base), below a single body and a semicircular attic, both with 3 streets [vertical sections], with twisted columns decorated with grape vines. The focal points of the altar are a statue of San Nicolás in the center niche of the main body and the statue of the Risen Christ in the attic above him. In the semicircular niches of the side streets are statues of San José and San Francisco on the right and the Virgin with Child and San Antonio of the left. The statues of San Francisco and San Antonio, older than the altar, are on pedestals to adapt them to the size of their slightly disproportionate niches. The polychrome and gilding are from 1759, much later than the construction of the altar.
11:39 AM – Molinaseca: Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari – statue of (a very young) San Nicolás de Bari in niche in center of main altar (telephoto, 260 mm).
11:39 AM – Molinaseca: Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari – figure of the Risen Christ at top of main altar (telephoto, 156 mm).
The figure of the Risen Christ in the attic of the main altar holds the sacred standard (labarum) in this left hand while raising his right arm, a typical representation of the Peninsular Baroque. This figure is the only one that is contemporaneous with the rest of this altar; the rest are from earlier times.
The statue of Christ Crucified in the chapel at the head of the Gospel (left or north) aisle is much older than the rest of this 17th-century altarpiece.
The most interesting feature of the church is a beautiful Gothic sculpture of Christ Crucified in polychromed wood, created between 1300 and 1340, in the chapel at the head of the Gospel (left, north) aisle. It is one of the best preserved Gothic crucifixes in the province of León and one of the jewels of Bierzo imagery. This is a beautiful representation of a painful crucifixion with elongated features and body, finely finished, giving the figure a great fragility. The arms are raised very high, and crossing of the left leg over the right is very rare, almost unique in Spanish Gothic imagery. The sculptor’s style features a naturalistic tendency, from the absence of drama, to the rhythm of the body bends and folds, to the delicacy of the composition, to the very low position of the loincloth.
A side altar on the Epistle (right or south) side of the nave has an interesting relief of the Baptism of Christ.
Molinaseca:
Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari – (right) side altar (commons.wikimedia.org). (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Molinaseca_Igl_SanNicolas_de_Bari-Church_Side_altar.jpg).
11:40 AM – Molinaseca: Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari – Baptism of Christ relief on (right) side altar.
Another piece of historic and artistic value is the relief of John the Baptist on a side altar in the middle of the Epistle (south or right) side of the nave. The relief in the attic represents the Precursor (John) baptizing Jesus (with water from a shell rather than by immersion) under the watchful eyes of God the Father and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. The statue of John the Baptist below this attic was made in 1714, but the relief was probably reused from an earlier altarpiece.
11:41 AM – Molinaseca: Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari – another (doll-like) statue of San Roque on pillar in left aisle.
After mass, we got sellos in the church: “Parroquia Molinaseca.” (The rain had stopped.)
11:46 AM – Molinaseca: Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari – steep, winding steps down front of church.
11:47 AM – Molinaseca: Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari – less steep ramp from entrance on right side of nave.
11:48 AM – Molinaseca: Iglesia de San Nicolás de Bari – front of church with winding steps and people in square below after mass (sun was coming out).
Then we went back to the Calle Real to get on the Camino route.
Molinaseca: view down Calle Real to west after a rain (commons.wikimedia.org).
Three elements are key to the
origin of Molinaseca: the bridge, the old mills, and the Calle Real. As usual, the life of the village centered around the
main street, which was also the pilgrim route. The cobblestone Calle Real
extends from the Pilgrim Bridge (on the east) to the Viejo Crucero [Old Cross]
(on the west). It was lined with stone houses and mansions of nobles emblazoned
with family coats of arms. The houses are lined up close together, separated by
narrow alleys hardly wide enough for one person to fit. There are several small
perpendicular streets. However, the only other east-west street was the Calle
de la Iglesia, which ran parallel to the Calle Real and led from the Iglesia de
San Nicolás to the Viejo Crucero, where the two streets merged.
On Calle Real, we stopped at a tienda Alimentación Real 27 Super Market where MT got the owner to split a loaf of bread and make sandwiches with cecina (cured beef) and cheese slices.
In Spanish, cecina means “meat that has been salted and dried by means of air, sun, or smoke.” It is similar to ham but is made by curing beef, horse or (less frequently) goat, rabbit, or hare.
11:57 AM – Molinaseca: Alimentación Real 27 Super Market where we ate lunch.
11:57 AM – Molinaseca: Alimentación Real 27 Super Market – wood-carved sign to right of entrance.
11:57 AM – Molinaseca: Alimentación Real 27 Super Market – barrel to right of entrance, with price list for “Productos Artesanos del Bierzo” and signs for “Cecina” and “Crema de Cecina.”
11:58 AM – Molinaseca: Alimentación Real 27 Super Market – cut-down barrel “table” where we ate our sandwiches (previous customers had left bottle and Coke cans); Don’s rain jacket hung on his backpack to dry.
At the west end of Calle Real is a crucero (cross) in the middle of the intersection.
Molinaseca: Viejo Crucero from E side with figure of Christ under glass (www.flickr.com).
At the west end of the old town, where Calle Real merges with the previously parallel Calle de la Iglesia, stands the Viejo Crucero [Old Cross, Cruzero in local dialect], which was mentioned in documents as early as 1202. The stone cross stands on an octagonal column over a square plinth or base and four steps of rough granite. On the east side of the column is a figure of Christ, a little theatrical, framed under a glass reliquary. Although local experts say the current cross does not seem medieval, it occupies the same place as had the earlier one.
We departed Molinaseca at 12:20, in sunshine.
At 1:35, we arrived in Ponferrada (pop 62,000). Just as we came into the outskirts of the city, it started to rain again, until around 2 pm.
1:35 PM – Ponferrada: MT (in rain) at city limit sign.
Ponferrada has been around since pre-Roman times, when the region was inhabited by the Asturs, a Hispano-Celtic Gallaecian people. (The Gallaeci were a large Celtic tribal federation who inhabited the northwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula.) They were conquered by the Emperor Augustus in the Astur-Cantabrian Wars (29-19 BC). The area grew in importance and prosperity during the Roman occupation because of the gold mines in the El Bierzo region, which became the largest mining center of the Empire. The Romans also imported grapevines, and wine production thrived in the region (until the spread of Phylloxera at the end of the 19th century destroyed most of the vineyards). The town was known then as Interamnio Flavia or Flavium.
The Romans built a fort to protect the mines. The Roman fort was destroyed by the Visigoths around 456, and the Moors destroyed the town during their 9th-century invasion. The town was reconquered by Alfonso II el Magno [the Great], who started the reconstruction.
In the Middle Ages, there was a primitive settlement called Puebla de San Pedro, named after its Romanesque church dedicated to that saint. In 1082, the Bishop of Astorga ordered the construction of a bridge over the Río Sil to facilitate the passage of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. Because the bridge was reinforced with iron, it was called the Pons Ferrata [Latin for Iron Bridge]. The bridge linked the primitive settlement Puebla de San Pedro (founded in 1086), at one end, with the small town that King Fernando II of León created on the other side, on a rocky promontory (where the Templars later build their castle). The consolidated area became known as the town of Ponferrada, and it became a major stopping point on the Camino. Ponferrada developed as a city between the 16th and 18th centuries, a period in which its most unique and remarkable buildings were constructed.
Ponferrada officially gained the title of a ciudad (city) in 1908 with a population of only 3,000 at that time. Today, a population of over 67,000 makes it the last large city before Santiago de Compostela. Now it is a modern metropolis and capital of the El Bierzo region. The Camino enters the city over Puente Mascarón and exits over the Pons Ferrata.
The city sits in a strategic location, overlooking the surrounding fertile valley and in a rich mining district. Local tungsten deposits were exploited to supply the arms industry during World War I. After 1918, coal deposits were exploited by what became Spain's largest coal mining corporation. Starting in the 1980s, most mines were closed, and in the 1990s the city underwent a major transformation with the establishment of several industrial and services firms and the reintroduction of commercial wine production. The economy is now based on tourism, agriculture (fruit and wine), wind power generation, and slate mining.
When no yellow arrows were in sight, we asked directions several times to the Castillo de los Templarios and got bad information. So we eventually ended up at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento [Square of the City Hall] and saw the 16th-century Torre del Reloj.
2:08 PM – Ponferrada: La Torre del Reloj (clock tower) with MT in foreground (taken from Plaza del Ayuntamiento).
La Torre del Reloj (clock tower) is above the Arco de las Eras [Archway of the Ages], the only gate preserved from the old medieval wall. Through this archway, near the City Hall, pedestrians can pass into the Calle del Reloj [Street of the Clock], which leads to the historic center of the city. The tower has a rectangular shape with three bodies made of stone masonry and crushed pebbles, except for the corners and jambs that are made of cut granite blocks. The bell was used to sound the alarm for a fire or for prisoners escaped from jail. There is an outside, open staircase that provided access to the tower from Calle Carnicerías [Street of the Butchers]. Along with the Castillo de los Templarios and the Basilica de la Encina, the clock tower is one of the most representative symbols of the old Ponferrada.
The clock tower is a real puzzle in time. Most sources repeat a version of its history saying that, when it the Renaissance-style rectangular tower was originally built “before 567,” it had two bodies over the semicircular arch; the lower body showed the remarkable coat of arms of Felipe II, and the upper body had the clock. In 1693, the body that holds the bell was added; it is crowned with a tall, slender spire.
However, an article on www.infobierzo.com from July 3, 2014 gives a different version, more detailed: Chronicles detail the presence of the clock tower in 1513, when it ceased to be called “Torre de las Eras.” In 1567, it underwent its first transformation, with small changes that rescued it from ruin. In 1594, another modernization was begun but abandoned in 1596. The coats of arms of Felipe II on both sides of the lower body were added in 1597. In 1648, the tower was again threatened with ruin, but the next intervention was in 1792, when the bell tower built in 1594-96 was torn down and replaced by the current one. The original clock mechanism was replaced in 1920 and is now in the Museo del Bierzo.
The street under the clock tower led to Hotel Los Templarios (2 star). We arrived at the hotel at 2:20 and got a double room with bath for 45€ plus an extra 5€ for 2 breakfasts (we had to use our debit card). We got sellos there.
3:58 PM – Ponferrada: Hotel Los Templarios and Taberna Los Templarios to right down narrow street, Calle Flórez Osorio, to NW off Calle del Reloj.
3:58 PM – Ponferrada: Don at door of Hotel Los Templarios (image of Knight Templar on glass door); also reflection in glass door of MT taking photo.
4:01 PM – Ponferrada: other side of La Torre del Reloj (from Calle del Reloj near Hotel Los Templarios).
Calle del Reloj runs between the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Plaza de la Encima. The street, as well as the two squares, are pedestrian areas. The Calle del Reloj is well preserved, surrounded by houses with coats of arms and traditional bercianos balconies filled with flowers. It is in the old prison that now houses the Museo del Bierzo.
We followed Calle del Reloj to the Plaza del Encima, where we visited the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Encina.
The Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Encina (Basilica of our Lady of the Oak) was constructed 1567-1707 on the site of the medieval church of Santa María of the late 12th century. The construction lasted over 100 years. The long period of construction led to a synthesis between the late Gothic and Renaissance classicism trasmerano (16th-17th centuries) and even Galician Baroque (18th century). The tower outside the basilica, influenced by the Galician Baroque, was begun in 1614 and construction went on during the 17th century. The neo-classical exterior is from the 2nd half of the 17th century. The church contains the image of the Virgen de la Encina, patroness of El Bierzo.
4:05 PM – Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina exterior; MT in Plaza de la Encina looking at statue.
4:06 PM – Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina – statue in Plaza de la Encina.
In 2003, a statue was placed in the Plaza de la Encina depicting the discovery of the image of the Virgen de la Encina. A Templar knight stands next to the remains of an oak tree holding the image of the Virgin in one hand and a sword in the other.
4:06 PM – Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina – plaque for statue in Plaza de la Encina, with Spanish text [translated: This sculpture by Vanancio Blanco recreates the legend that tells that, during the construction of the Fortress of Ponferrada, a Knight Templar found an image of the Virgin in the hollow of an old oak tree that had been hidden there centuries ago due to fear of the Saracen advance.]
4:06 PM – Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina – statue in Plaza de la Encina with basilica in background.
4:06 PM – Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina – sign on gate into church; Spanish text [translated: “No one passes through here without greeting Mary with love. Do not leave me my Mother.] (MT liked this.)
4:07 PM – Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina – entrance door with a (fat) Virgin and Child in niche above it.
4:08 PM – Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina – view from rear of nave to main altar (side altars at head of left and right aisles); the image of the Virgin is overexposed with sun directly on it.
The Virgen de La Encina [Virgin of the Holm Oak] is the patroness of the El Bierzo region. The bercianos have great devotion to her. There are many legends about how the image of the Virgen de la Encina (“La Morenica”) was found. Despite the obvious anachronism, the legend cited by the Diocese of Astorga is that Toribio, Bishop of Astorga, brought the first image from Jerusalem in the year 450, along with other relics. The statue stayed in Astorga for a number of years but, during the wars with the Moors, it and other relics were hidden in various places to protect them from falling into the hands of the plundering Saracens. In the 9th century, San Genadio supposedly hid the statue inside the trunk of an oak tree near Ponferrada. It was hidden so well that nothing was known of it until about the year 1180, when the Knights Templar started building their castle in Ponferrada and needed a lot of wood. On September 8 (now celebrated as the Fiesta de la Encina in Ponferrada), they cut into a holm oak tree (encina), which broke in half revealing a niche with an image of Mother and Child in the Byzantine style. The figure of the Virgin adopted its nickname from the tree in which it was found. The currently venerated image is from the 16th century; it is unknown what happened to the original image. The rest of the altarpiece is from between 1630 and 1640.
4:09 PM – Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina – main altarpiece with better light on image of Virgin.
Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina – image of Virgen de la Encina (es.wikipedia.org).
4:13 PM – Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina – statue of San Roque on side altar (very dark).
Now displayed behind a glass case in the Basilica is the 14th-century Gothic polychrome wood crucifix El Cristo de la Fortaleza [Christ of the Fortress] (or Cristo del las Maravillas [Christ of the Wonders]), which is thought to be of Templar origin and shows Christ in a skirt. It was originally in a chapel the of the Castillo de los Templarios. Then, for many years, it was hidden, locked up tight in the Iglesia de San Andrés, located at the foot of the castle. Now it is located on one side of the Basilica nave behind glass, to protect it not only from dust but also from the impulses of those who might desire to take a relic from it, as was apparently the case in the past: it is missing a finger on the right hand. (A replica is now in the Castillo chapel.)
4:13 PM – Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina – Cristo de la Forteleza.
4:14 PM – Ponferrada: Basilica de la Encina – Cristo de la Forteleza (straight on, but with more reflection from glass).
Then we went to the 12th-century Castillo de los Templarios.
4:26 PM – Ponferrada: Castillo de los Templarios – E wall, moat; Basilica de NS de la Encina in distance.
Castillo de los Templarios (Templar Castle). Ponferrada came under the protectorate of the Knights Templar in 1178 with a mandate from the King of León to protect the increasing number of pilgrims walking the Camino through León. Already in 1187, the Knights began to construct their castle over the remains of a small fortress that had originally been a castro (hill-fort) and later a Roman fortress and completed it in 1282. However, their presence here was short-lived, since the Order was outlawed in Spain in 1312 and disbanded by a Church fearful of their increasing power, wealth, and esoteric tradition. (Rumors abounded that they did not believe in Christ or the Virgin and worshiped demons.) Over the next 300 years, the castle changed hands frequently among various members of the Spanish nobility, as they fought over land and rights. During the Middle Ages, it was one of the largest fortresses in Spain. In 1486, the castle was taken over by the Crown and then later sold to the Marquis of Villafranca. The current castle was extended during the 15th and 16th centuries, and further alterations were done in the 19th and 20th centuries.
4:23 PM – Ponferrada: Castillo de los Templarios – square tower and E wall (to right).
4:22 PM – Ponferrada: Castillo de los Templarios – entrance and MT at base of square tower.
4:26 PM – Ponferrada: Castillo de los Templarios – entrance and ramparts.
4:22 PM – Ponferrada: Castillo de los Templarios – bridge over moat and entrance.
4:24 PM – Ponferrada: Castillo de los Templarios – MT and entrance.
4:24 PM – Ponferrada: Castillo de los Templarios – Don and entrance.
4:25 PM – Ponferrada: Castillo de los Templarios – entrance across bridge.
Across from the SE corner of the Castillo is the 17th-century Iglesia de San Andrés.
4:25 PM – Ponferrada: Iglesia de San Andrés, near Castillo de los Templarios.
The Iglesia de San Andrés [Church of St. Andrew] is of medieval origin, although the current structure is Baroque, from the end of the 17th century. Currently it is not used as a place of worship. Striking on the outside is the tower consisting of 3 bodies built over the main door. The last body of the tower, where the bells are located, is of more recent construction. Inside, there is an interesting Baroque altarpiece, and the church housed (until recently) a figure of Christ known as the Cristo de la Forteleza [Christ of the fortress] or Cristo de las Maravillas [Christ of the Wonders], which is now in the Basilica de la Encina.
4:35 PM – Ponferrada: Castillo de los Templarios – E wall and another (rounded) tower, with bar awning below.
4:34 PM – Ponferrada: Near Castillo de los Templarios – MT in square to E of Castillo; yellow building had gold-colored metal signs for Camino.
4:35 PM – Ponferrada: Near Castillo de los Templarios – gold signs directing Camino cyclists to go to left of yellow building and walkers to right.
Near the Castillo de los Templarios, we met Suzanne Fitzpatrick and her sister Mimi from New York State, who were going to take a bus to Sarria (because Mimi had injured her leg) and then try to walk to Santiago.
1760d MT Sunday, September 14, 2014, 512 PM – Ponferrada: Near Castillo de los Templarios – Don, MT, Suzanne, and Mimi below E wall of Castillo.
We set out to find the Pons-Ferrata iron bridge; in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, we got the first of several poor directions. Don eventually figured out, from a confusing note in Brierley, that we needed to go to the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and then turn left at the modern kiosk down winding steps. So we eventually found what looked like a modern bridge (at least on the top).
6:04 PM – Ponferrada: Pons-Ferrata (from NE).
In 1082, the Bishop of Astorga ordered the construction of a bridge over the Río Sil to facilitate the passage of pilgrims to Santiago. Unlike the many stone bridges of its time, the original bridge was reinforced with iron bars. (Iron has been mined in this area since medieval times.) Therefore, it was called Pons Ferrata (Latin for Iron Bridge).
At 7 pm, we ate the 12€ menu at Taberna Los Templarios (part of our hotel). The waiter, who was also the desk clerk (and apparently the owner) gave us red and green grapes from his vineyard before the first course and told us it was OK with the owners to pick grapes as we walked through vineyards along the Camino. The 1st course: both had Sopa Bierzo (Bierzo soup, with beans and better than in El Acebo); 2nd course: both had merluza con salsa verde (hake with cream sauce: with peas, onions, baby clams, and a hard-boiled egg); dessert: MT sandía (watermelon)/Don arroz con leche (rice pudding).
7:27 PM – Ponferrada: Taberna Los Templarios – MT’s merluza con salsa verde.
7:27 PM – Ponferrada: Taberna Los Templarios – Don’s merluza con salsa verde.
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