Burgos Totally Explained

Everything about Burgos totally explained

ť For other meanings, see Burgos (disambiguation) Burgos still possesses more ecclesiastical monuments than any other Spanish city, even Toledo. The three most outstanding are the cathedral, with its chapel of the Condestables de Castilla, the monastery of Las Huelgas and the Carthusian monastery of Miraflores. In addition to the collegiate churches of Lerma, Villadiego, Pampliega, Palenzuela, Covarrubias and others, there are in Burgos alone many magnificent buildings. The cathedral treasury, the monastery of Las Huelgas and the Carthusian monastery of Miraflores, are museums of permanent value.
Minor notable churches are: San Esteban, San Gil (Sancti Aegidii), San Pedro, San Cosme y San Damian, Santiago (Sancti Jacobi), San Lorenzo and San Lesmes (Adelelmi). The Convento de la Merced, occupied by the Jesuits, and the Hospital del Rey are also worthy of mention. In the walls of the city are the famous gateway of Santa María, erected for the first entrance of the Emperor Charles V, and the arch of Fernán González. The diocese has two fine ecclesiastical seminaries. There are also many institutions for secular education. Schools are maintained in every diocese, the Instituto Provincial, and many colleges are conducted by private individuals, religious orders and nuns both cloistered and uncloistered.

Church of Santa Águeda, commonly called Santa Gadea

This church is chiefly celebrated for its antiquity and as the site where Alfonso VI, in the presence of the Cid Campeador (Rodrigo Díaz del Vivar), swore that he'd taken no part in the death of his brother the king John, assassinated in the Cerco de Zamora; without this oath he never would have been allowed to succeed to the royal crown of Castile. In this church also the Augustinian friar, St. Juan de Sahagun, was wont to preach, hear confessions, and give missions, after he'd renounced the canonry and other ecclesiastical benefices which he held in the diocese.

Burgos cathedral

The Gothic Cathedral at Burgos, begun in 1221, displays features of the 13th to 15th centuries. The west front is flanked by towers terminating in octagonal spires covered with open stonework traceries. The façade, in three stories, has triple entrances in ogival arched framing, with a gallery enclosed by a pinnacled balustrade and a delicately-pierced rose window. In the uppermost story there are two ogival double-arched windows and statues on pedestals, crowned with a balustrade of letters carved in stone: PULCHRA ES ET DECORA ("Beautiful art Thou, and graceful"), in the center of which is a statue of the Virgin. There are more balustrades and balconies in the towers, with further open-carved inscriptions: needle-pointed octagonal pinnacles finish the four corners.
   The north portal, known as the Portada de la Coronería has statues of the Twelve Apostles. Above, ogival windows and two spires crown the portal. .
   The magnificent octagonal Chapel of the Condestable is of flamboyant Gothic, filled with traceries, knights and angels and heraldry.
   Burgos Cathedral is the burial place of the 11th-century warrior Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, El Cid, who was born in a little town near the city, now called Vivar del Cid.
   Among the most famous of the bishops of Burgos is the 15th-century scholar and historian Alphonsus a Sancta Maria.
   As an architectural monument this structure displays the best features of the art of the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It was commenced by Bishop Mauritius in 1221, in the reign of Ferdinand III and Beatrice of Swabia, and is Gothic in style. the principal façade, Santa María la Mayor, faces west, and on either side rise two towers about 262 feet in height, terminating in octagonal spires covered with open stonework traceries. The façade is composed of three stories, or sections. The first, or ground story has three ogival entrances with rectangular openings; the second has a gallery enclosed by a pinnacled balustrade and a rose window as delicately carved as a piece of lace, which admits some light into the church. In the upper-most story there are two double-arched windows of ogival style, with eight intercolumnar spaces, in each of which there's a statue on a pedestal. The whole is finished with a balustrade of letters carved in stone and forming the inscription: Pulchra es et decora (Thou art beautiful and graceful), in the centre of which is a statue of the Blessed Virgin. In the lateral sections (the towers) the windows are enclosed by stone balustrades, and the top is surmounted by balconies of stone surrounded by balustrades formed of Gothic letters in various inscriptions; needle-pointed pinnacles finish the four corners. The spires, as already said, are octagonal in shape; a gallery runs around the eight sides near the top, upon which rest the graceful points of the conical finial.
   The north portal is known as the portada de la Coronería. In the lower portion of this are statues of the Twelve Apostles, the windows in the central section being of the primitive ogival style, and in the upper story there are three double-arched windows with statues joined to the shafts of the columns; two small spires, conical in shape like the main ones and decorated with balustrades, rise on either side of this façade. From the portal of the Coronería one can descend to that of the Pellerjería, which faces east and is of the Renaissance style known as the Plateresque. It is divided into three sections, the two end ones being alike, with the centre different in style and dimensions. The former are composed of pilasters minutely carved, between which four statues are placed. The middle section, which serves for an entrance, has three alabaster pilasters, the intercolumnar spaces bearing panel-pictures representing the martyrdom of saints. The façade as a whole gives the impression of a gorgeous picture, and the ornate and fantastic devices sculptured all over its magnificent surface are simply innumerable.
   The octagonal chapel of the Condestable, of florid Gothic and very pure in design, is the best of the many chapels of the cathedral. Its roof if finished with balustraded turrets, needle-pointed pinnacles, statues, and countless other sculptural devices. In the lower portion coats of arms, shields, and crouching lions have been worked into the ensemble. The exterior of the sacristy is decorated with carved traceries, figures of angels and armoured knights. The tabernacle is of extraordinary magnificence and is composed of two octagonal sections in Corinthian style.

Monasterio de las Huelgas

Next to the cathedral in magnificence is the famous Monasterio de las Huelgas on the outskirts of the city. This royal monastery was founded in 1180 by Alfonso VIII, and architecturally belongs to the transition period from Byzantine to Gothic, although in the course of time almost every style has been introduced into it. This convent has two remarkable cloisters, described by 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica as "unrivalled for beauty both of detail and design, and perhaps unsurpassed by anything in its age and style in any part of Europe": one a very fine example of the earlier period and of the use of semi-circular arches and delicate and varied columns; the other of the ogival style of the transition period. The interior of the church is in the style of the latter, enormous columns supporting its magnificent vault; the entrance is modern. This convent is celebrated for the extraordinary privileges granted to its abbess by kings and popes.

Cartuja de Miraflores

A very beautiful and life-like statue of St. Bruno carved in wood is one of the treasures of the monastery; the stalls in the church also display exquisite workmanship. The mausoleum of King John II and of his wife Isabel, in this monastery, is constructed of the finest marble and so delicately carved that portions seem to be sculptured in wax rather than stone. Around the top are beautiful statues of angels in miniature, which might be the work of Phidias. The French soldiers in the War of Independence (1814) mutilated this beautiful work, cutting off some of the heads and carrying them away to France.
The Carthusian monastery of Miraflores, noted for its strict observance, is situated about four kilometres from the historic city center. The mausoleum of King John II and of his wife Isabel, in this monastery, is carved of alabaster.

Sister city

The sister city of Burgos is Bruges (Belgium). Both cities want to work together especially on culture, tourism and economy.
The mayors of the Flemish Bruges and Burgos signed a treaty on 29 January 2007 in the Bruges’ city hall for future cooperation. This engagement could be seen as a prologue on the opening of the exhibition Comeliness and Madness. This exhibition on Philip the Handsome opened recently in the Casa del Cordón in Burgos where the monarch died. On 30 January 2007 the exhibition opened in Bruges, the city where Philip the Handsome was born and where the urn with his hearth is kept in Onthaalkerk O.L.V. (the Church of Our Lady).

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