Lerma (Burgos)

Lerma municipality
Lerma - View of the town with Palacio Ducal and Colegiata San Pedro
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Burgos
Comarca :	Arlanza (Comarca)
Coordinates	42 ° 2 ′  N , 3 ° 45 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 2 ′  N , 3 ° 45 ′  W
Height :	849  msnm
Area :	166.4 km²
Residents :	2,529 (Jan 1, 2019)
Population density :	15.2 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	09340
Municipality number  ( INE ):	09194
administration
Website :	Lerma

Lerma is a northern Spanish town and one from the main town and six villages (Pedanías) existing municipality ( municipio ) with a total of 2,529 inhabitants (at January 1, 2019) in the southern province of Burgos in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon . The historic center of Lerma is recognized as a cultural asset ( Bien de Interés Cultural ) in the Conjunto histórico-artístico category .

Location and climate

The small town of Lerma is located on a hill above the valley of the Río Arlanza at an altitude of about 850  m, almost 40 km (driving distance) south of Burgos . Together with the medieval towns of Covarrubias (approx. 23 km east) and Santo Domingo de Silos (approx. 31 km southeast), Lerma forms the so-called "Triangle of Arlanza" (Triángulo de Arlanza) . The distance to Madrid is a good 200 km. The climate in winter is harsh, but in summer it is dry and warm; Rain (approx. 500 mm / year) falls mainly in the winter half-year.

Population development

year	1857	1900	1950	2000	2018
Residents	2,327	2,627	2,536	2,518	2,560

Despite or because of the mechanization of agriculture and the abandonment of small farms, the population of Lerma remained almost constant in the 20th century.

economy

The area around Lerma is dominated by agriculture; the small town offered the necessary regional services in the fields of handcraft and trade. For some time now, day and weekend tourism have played an essential role in the economic life of the small town. Since 2008, the municipality of Lerma has been part of the Arlanza (DO) wine-growing region .

history

Rubens - The Duke of Lerma (1603)

The Lerma hill had been used as a natural fortress hill since prehistoric times; However, there are no text sources and finds from Roman, early medieval or Islamic times, and thus no reliable knowledge. In Lerma led Cañada Burgalesa over, one used by several already in the Middle Ages drift paths for the large flocks of sheep from the south of Spain; During this time, the medieval town was built with a large central square and a defensive wall with four gates.

But it was not until the construction activities of Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas , Marqués de Denia and Duke of Lerma (1553–1625) that the place got its present appearance in the early 17th century. The "Duke of Lerma" was a grandson of the Jesuit general Francisco de Borja and a leading representative of the Counter Reformation in Spain. He served the Spanish King Philip III. (ruled 1598–1621) as minister and was appointed cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church in 1618 . From the architect Francisco de Mora (1553–1610), a pupil or imitator of Juan de Herreras (1530–1597), the planner and builder of the Escorial , he had the ducal palace of Lerma and perhaps also some ancillary buildings at the beginning of the 17th century - including the convent of San Blas - which gave the place a largely uniform architectural character.

Attractions

Ducal Palace and San Blas Church

Plaza Mayor

Collegiate Church of San Pedro

City gate Puerta de la Cárcel

• The Ducal Palace ( Palacio Ducal de Lerma ) was built in the years 1601–1617 and is the dominant building of the rectangular square surrounded by arcaded houses. The building, stylistically based on the Escorial, now serves as a Parador .
• To the right of the Ducal Palace - and formerly connected to it by an arcade - is the church of the Dominican Sisters' Convent of San Blas ( Convento de San Blas ) .
• The large central square dates from late medieval times - with almost 7000 m² one of the largest in Spain. It may have been redesigned by order of the Duke.
• The Clarisse Convent (Monasterio de la Ascensión de Nuestro Señor) was commissioned at the beginning of the 17th century by a daughter-in-law of the Duke of Lerma and was completed in 1610.
• The Plaza Santa Clara is located between the Clarissa Convention and the Carmelite Convention . The open arcade arches on the north side allow beautiful views over the country.
• The Carmelite Convent (Convento de Santa Teresa) also dates from the beginning of the 17th century and was in the presence of Philip III. inaugurated in 1617.
• The former monastery church of the Dominican Order of Santo Domingo stands in the south of the city and has a blown baroque bell gable (espadaña) ; it was also completed in 1617. The town hall (ayuntamiento) is now housed in the former monastery buildings.
• The three-aisled collegiate church ( Colegiata San Pedro (Lerma) ) rises exactly opposite the Ducal Palace, but about 300 m away from it. Its tower mimics the towers of the ducal palace. The interior houses a wide range of furnishings.
• The prison gate (Puerta de la Cárcel) and sparse remains of the former city walls are architectural testimonies from the late Middle Ages.
• Also from the 14./15. A stone arch bridge over the Río Arlanza dates from the 19th century .

Personalities

• Hernando de Lerma (1541 – approx. 1585), conquistador and governor

Others

Lerma is the setting of a play:

• La burgalesa de Lerma , author: Lope de Vega (1613)

Lerma was the location of two Spanish feature films:

• El Lazarillo de Tormes , directed by César Fernández Ardavín (1959)
• El segundo poder , directed by José María Forqué (1976)

Quote

Quisiera que tú hubieras visto ... la hermosa plaza de Lerma, un cuadro como en pintura ... ("I wish that you had seen the wonderful place Lerma - a picture like a painting ..." Lope de Vega: " La burgalesa de Lerma " )

Web links

Commons : Lerma  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Lerma, historical buildings - photos + information (Spanish)
• Lerma, historical buildings - photos + information (Spanish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero . Population statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (population update).
2. ↑ Lerma - climate tables
3. ↑ Lerma - population development
4. ↑ Lerma story