Burgos is a city in northern Spain, located at an altitude of about 800 metres in the Atapuerca Mountains. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Castile for 500 years between the 10th and 15th centuries, and was the headquarters of General Franco during the Spanish Civil War.
The city is a venue on the Way of St James, an important pilgrimage route which ends at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. This status would have helped to increase the importance and the commerce of the city.
Burgos’ own cathedral is the third largest in Spain and is a fine example of Gothic architecture, with the fine filigree work of its twin spires particularly worth seeing. The cathedral was declared a World Heritage Site in 1984. Apart from the exterior, the inside of the cathedral has many works of art.
These include the Golden Staircase and El Cid’s. An unusual and interesting statue within the cathedral is the 'Papamoscas”, or the Flycatcher. This is a statue which has an articulated mouth which opens on the hour to coincide with the ringing of the bells.
Another architectural structure worthy of note is the Arco de Santa Maria, a gateway to the city which was built for the occasion of the first visit of the Emperor Charles V in the 14th Century.
Nearby is the archaeological site of the caves of the Sierra de Atapuerca. The fossils that have been recovered from this site are said to be from one of the earliest human settlements in Europe.
The museum of Burgos has a collection of fine arts and archaeological artefacts. There are objects from the times of the Moorish occupation of Spain, medieval and modern paintings, and coins.
