Medina de PoMar Feel the history the Feel ................................................................... ................................................................... ................................................................... ................................................................... ................................................................... ................................................................... ................................................................... Medina de Pomar Burgos Madrid Las Merindades Feel the history of Medina de Pomar This brochure will guide you through the main cultural and leisure sites in Medina de Pomar. It intends to be- come an open door to all visitors so that they can share with us the history and traces that it left in each and every corner of this city and its nearby villages. Anyway, this brochure has been thought to make your visit to Medina de Pomar a pleasant and unforgettable experience. Index The city- Visits you should not miss........................ p.04 El Alcázar de los Condestables History Museum of Las Merindades...................... p.06 Chapel of San Millán Romanesque History Centre..................................... p.08 Monastery of Santa Clara........................................... p.10 Fairs and street markets................................................ p.12 Nature and sports Trekking................................................................................... p.14 Map of the area and network of paths................ p.16 Municipal districts and suburbs.................................. p.18 Gastronomy.......................................................................... p.20 Fiestas and traditions....................................................... p.22 Annual agenda – Important events........................ p.24 Facilities: restaurants and accommodation.......... p.26 Useful telephone numbers and addresses........ p.27 Map of the Old Town...................................................... p.28 1 Medina de Pomar Feel the history Medina de Pomar was until 1560 the headquarters of the corregimiento* in Las Merindades. That same year, according to the will of Felipe II, within the framework of a centralizing policy which intended to reduce the power of the aristocracy, Dr. Mendizábal moved the capital to Villarcayo. Far from losing the strength and vitality that Medina had always proved, the activity increased bringing an extraordinary preindustrial and commercial scenario which has not stopped since then. Currently, Medina de Pomar is the commercial centre in Las Merindades, with lots of facilities. It is also a modern and versatile city, proud of its history and of the trace its ancestors left. A city to stimulate your imagination. * an area where a judge used to enforce the law 2 Tourist information Visitor centre at: Local tourist information office – Plaza Mayor,1 Alcázar de Los Condestables – Plaza del Alcázar, 1 Telephone numbers: (0034) 947 14 70 42 - 947 19 07 46 [email protected] www.medinadepomar.org GPS 30 T 460179 - 4752883 3 The city Visits you should not miss Somovilla Square constitutes a place full of contrasts which explains the recent development of the city and clearly represents the limit between the modern and the ancient city. In fact, one of the countless gates to the walled city was erected in this same place. Apart from being a meeting point for the inhabitants of Medina, Somovilla is a suitable place to start a tour around the Old Town, with important re- mains of its walled enclosure, gates, wickets and narrow streets of me- diaeval origin. Visits you should not miss Somovilla Square | Main Street (Calle Mayor) | Condestable's Gate, La Cadena Gate or Oriente Gate | El Corral Square | La Judería Arch | Parish of Santa Cruz | Main Square (Plaza Mayor) | Alcazar de los Condestables | Monastery of Santa Clara | Romanesque History Centre - Chapel of San Millán | Chapel of Nuestra Señora del Rosario | 4 * In 1963 Medina de Pomar was acknowledged as a national History and Art Site. * In 1997 Medina de Pomar was awarded the tourist Prize C from Castilla y León regional government. La Cadena Gate or Oriente Gate gives you access to the orchards, where you can admire its peculiar hanging houses, one of the best sights of the old part of the city. Churches in Medina The Church of Santa Cruz was the origin of the two other paris- hes in Medina: San Andrés and Santa María del Salcinal. The three of them were ruled by the statutes the Clerical Chapter con- ferred to itself. The first document referring to this church is a privilege signed by the king Alfonso X “El Sabio” in Olmedo (Valladolid) in July The Parish of Santa Cruz keeps an amazing 31st, 1274. altarpiece from the Castilian School made at the beginning of the 16th century and origi- Santa María del Salcinal is also nally located in Salinas del Rosío. It shows sig- known as Nuestra Señora del Ro- nificant scenes of the Passion and Crucifixion sario, patron saint of the city. It is of Christ, San Juan Bautista and the Blessed supposed to have been an oath Virgin Mary. church according to some ancient regional laws granted by the king Alfonso VII in the 12th century. 5 Discovering the city El alcazar de los Condestables History Museum of Las Merindades Although the specific origins of Medina de Pomar are unk- History Museum nown, they might be the times of stability that the resettlement of Las Merindades. involved. In the middle of the 12th century, when a new organi- Alcázar de los Condestables. zation of the space and the functions appeared under what Information Offices on page 3. could be called the first town planning, a process based on the structuring of the people living there. It is quite probable that the structuring had its roots in the awarding of fueros (special privileges given to a town or re- gion). The Kings Alfonso VII and VIII were the ones who, in that context, granted privileges to Frías, Mijangos, Criales and Villasana de Mena together with Medina de Pomar. Medina de Pomar, a Manor (a The Fuero of Logroño. A privilege of great signifi- landed estate). cance for Medina de Pomar. The year 1369 was to mark most of Alfonso VIII granted a fuero to the city of Logroño which the historic development of Medina received the name of that city due to its notoriety andpopu- de Pomar when Enrique II de Tras- larity. It is a document considered as vital for the history of támara became the monarch. The the population and its inhabitants. The exemption of taxes support that The Velascos had re- and servitude was declared in it, criminal rules were execu- peatedly given to his cause, oppo- ted for homicide or slander cases.That document also limi- site to the legitimacy of Pedro I, was ted the extension of the municipal area. awarded with the assignment of Me- dina de Pomar as a manor to Pedro In addition, it established several procedure and commer- Fernández de Velasco, who was the cial laws and granted numerous privileges. This fuero was Main Chamberlain of Enrique II. awarded to Vitoria, Santo Domingo de La Calzada and MEDINA DE POMAR along with Logroño, among others. The building of The Alcázar de los Condestables began, by order of Pedro Fernández de Velasco and his wife, María Sarmiento, around 1370. In those days, the king was En- rique II, whose Main Chamberlain was Pedro. The works were finished in Juan Fernández de Velasco's times, his older son. Mudejar plasterworks The liking for mudejar aesthetics was a constant feature in the Velasco family. The plas- terworks in the main hall of the Alcázar, which originally covered most of its walls, are considered breathtaking. You should definitely visit The History Museun of Las Merindades, located in the majestic Alcázar de los Condestables. In the inside, some of the most significant pieces in the history of this region are kept, as well as an interesting archeological, historical and ethnographic collection, essential to understand its idiosyncrasy. That is, a starting point to go all over Las Merindades with the suitable information. The Alcázar de los Condestables was de- clared an interesting cultural site in 1931. 9 Tetramorphs in the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in La Cerca Romanesque in Las Merindades Romanesque History Centre in Las Merindades San Lorenzo in San Millán in San Pedro de Tejada Vallejo de Mena Almendres in Puente Arenas San Pantaleón Santa María de de Losa Siones de Mena Window in the apse of the Chapel of Nuestra Se- ñora de las Heras, in Mo- mediano. Visits you should not miss Romanesque History Centre in Las Merindades | San Pedro de Tejada | El Almiñe | San Miguel de Cornezuelo | Crespos | Escaño | San Pantaleón de Losa | Colina | Almendres | Vallejo de Mena | Siones | Bercedo| Butrera | San Martín del Rojo | La Cerca | 8 Romanesque History Centre in Las Merinda- des. Chapel of San Millán. Jardín de Santa Clara, s/n Informatión offices on page 3. Chapel of San Millan Romanesque History Centre in Las Merindades The Chapel of San Millán, also known as Santa Lucía, is the most an- cient vestige in Medina de Pomar and was recovered from the ruins at the end of the twentieth century. A semicircular apse under a vault with the shape of a quarter of a sphere is Detail of a capital in the still preserved. This vault is supported Chapel of San Millán. by the corresponding external buttres- ses and a strong main arch which Apse in the Chapel points to the presbitery. of San Millán. In the inside you can find the Ro ma