Villafranca Montes de Oca

Municipality of Villafranca Montes de Oca
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Castile and León
Province :	Burgos
Comarca :	Montes de Oca
Coordinates	42 ° 23 ′  N , 3 ° 19 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 23 ′  N , 3 ° 19 ′  W
Height :	948  msnm
Area :	51.972 km²
Residents :	122 (Jan. 1, 2019)
Population density :	2.35 inhabitants / km²
Postal code :	09257
Municipality number  ( INE ):	09431
administration
Mayor :	Nicolás Solórzano Valladolid (2007)

Jacob's Church in Villafranca

Today's pilgrims' hostel in Villafranca

Villafranca Montes de Oca is a municipality on the Way of St. James in the province of Burgos in the Spanish autonomous community of Castile and León . Its inhabitants make a living from cattle breeding, agriculture and forestry. The population fluctuates seasonally between around 150 inhabitants in summer and around 30 in winter, with 122 inhabitants officially registered on January 1, 2019.

geography

Villafranca is a street village that stretches for about a kilometer along the N 120 national road. The busy artery is also the town's main street (Calle Mayor). The Montes de Oca , the last geographical elevation before the Meseta plateau in central Spain , begin directly behind the village .

The municipality is traversed from north to south by the Río Oca , an Ebro tributary. Despite the current good water quality, the fish and crustaceans that populated the water until the late 1970s have disappeared.

The climate of the place is continental with relatively fresh summer temperatures and cold winters, in which snowfall is not uncommon.

The location on the edge of the Montes de Oca enables greater biodiversity than in the almost exclusively agricultural areas in the direction of the Rioja. The tree population includes oaks , pines , beeches , poplars and elms , the fauna is among others. a. from wild boar , partridge , deer and goose , wolves and otters can be found in some originally preserved protected areas .

history

The place was founded by the Romans a little south of today's village under the name Auca. He became a bishop, according to tradition, was St. Indalecio , disciple of the apostle James, first bishop and suffered here the martyrdom . Its function as a bishopric is historically documented; it was transferred to Gamonal in 1075, which is now a Burgales district.

During the Moorish invasion of the Iberian Peninsula , Villafranca was partially destroyed and later rebuilt a little further north and closer to the Río Oca. The further development is due to its location on the Way of St. James between the episcopal cities of Santo Domingo de la Calzada and Burgos and in front of the Montes de Oca. This mountainous forest area was feared by the pilgrims because there were practically no water sources for it, but wild animals, predators and the opportunity to get lost. Pilgrims often waited until a larger group had formed and then crossed the Montes de Oca together. The bad reputation of this area is reflected to this day in a Castilian proverb with which one protests against any form of monetary cutthroat: If you want to rob, go to the Oca Mountains! The city had a pilgrim hostel with 36 beds in the 14th century, which was founded in 1380 by Heinrich II's wife . Here, too, a traditional verse reports on the situation at that time: There are supposed to have been many beds, but few clothes were distributed. The building of this old pilgrim hostel - Hospital de San Antonio Abad - can still be found today near the church. Despite its historical value, it is in a poor state of conservation.

Attractions

• Jacob's Church (Iglesia de Santiago Apóstol), late 18th century. The building was erected on the same place where the cathedral and another church had previously stood.
• former pilgrims' hospice (Hospital de San Antonio Abad) from 1380.
• Monument to the farm laborer (Monumento al Labrador), located on the main road between the municipality (Ayuntamiento) and the church.

Outside of town:

• Ermita de San Felices, remains of the monastery of the same name from the 10th century, according to tradition, Diego Porcelos , founder of the city of Burgos, was buried here . Location: one kilometer north of Villafranca, on the Camino de Santiago towards Espinosa del Camino
• Ermita de Oca, according to tradition, according to the martyrdom of St. Indalecio.
• Monument to the Fusiliers of the Spanish Civil War (Monumento dedicado a la memoria de los fusilados de la guerra civil) with the inscription: “No fue inútil su muerte, fue inútil su fusilamiento”. The monument is located on the Way of St. James after three kilometers towards the Monastery of San Juan de Ortega.
• Ermita de Valdefuentes, former monastery and pilgrimage hostel of the Cistercians from the 12th century. The Ermita is the apse of the former Church of St. Magdalena and the only remaining architectural evidence. It is located between the Camino de Santiago and the N-120 national road towards the Monastery of San Juan de Ortega.

Fiestas

• Sankt Anton, on January 17th
• Pilgrimage and procession to the Ermita de Oca on the second Sunday of August

Sons and daughters of the place

• Isidro Barrio Barrio , Bishop of Huancavelica

literature

• Míllan Bravo Lozano: Practical pilgrim guide. The Camino de Santiago. Editorial Everest, Léon 1994, ISBN 84-241-3835-X .
• Klaus Herbers , The Way of St. James : With a medieval pilgrim guide on the way to Santiago de Compostela, Tübingen, 1986, ISBN 3-87808-312-2 .
• Tomás Alvarez, El Camino de Santiago para paganos y escépticos , Editorial Endymion. Madrid (Spanish)

Web links

Commons : Villafranca Montes de Oca  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Information about the Camino Francés
• Information from the Society of James Burgos (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. ↑ There are two sources to the monastery of San Juan de Ortega: Valdefuentes and the "Mojapan source" located near Villafranca. Its name results from the low water output, which is just enough to "moisten the bread".
3. ↑ Si quieres robar, vete a Montes de Oca
4. ↑ Villafranca Montes de Oca, alta de camas y pobre de ropa.
5. ↑ Her death was not useless / pointless, her shooting was useless / pointless

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