Puntos de Interés
Municipality
El Burgo de Osma
El Burgo de Osma is a municipality in the province of Soria, situated approximately 57 km from the provincial capital.
This is a village which, together with the town of Osma, forms the municipality of El Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma. The municipal district includes a further 13 localities or districts, including: Alcubilla del Marqués, Lodares de Osma, La Olmeda, La Rasa or Vildé.
The area has been inhabited since the Celtiberian period, with El Burgo emerging as a suburb of Osma.
Following the 12th-century conquest of the area by Christian troops, the first bishop of Osma, Pedro de Bourgues, initiated the construction of a new cathedral in the suburb, which would serve as the episcopal see of Osma. The cathedral was built on the remains of the old Benedictine monastery of San Miguel, which dated from the Visigothic period. The construction of the cathedral, which was of a Romanesque and primitive appearance, led to the mobilisation of stonemasons, masons and craftsmen to the suburb, which in turn led to the growth of the peripheral settlement.
The bishops of El Burgo exercised complete authority over the region during the 14th and 19th centuries, until the Mendizábal disentailment. It became an important episcopal city, which later, in the 20th century, was unified with Osma.
In 1993, El Burgo was designated a Historic Site, and it is currently one of the most significant sites in the Castilla y León region.
In terms of the architectural heritage of the town, the Cathedral of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is a notable landmark. The temple was constructed in the Romanesque style in the 12th century on the site of the former Benedictine Monastery of San Miguel. The cathedral was subsequently demolished in the 13th century to make way for the current Gothic structure. This temple has undergone significant renovations, the most notable of which include the modification of the cloister, façade and staircase in a Renaissance style, the construction of a new portico and an imposing bell tower in a Baroque style, and the 18th-century extension.
Other notable religious monuments include the Episcopal Palace in Gothic style (16th century), the Convent and Church of Carmen (both from the 16th century), and the Church of Santa Cristina (16th-18th century). The remains of the 15th-century walled enclosure, the castle of Osma, and the ancient Celtiberian-Roman city of Uxama Argaela, located on the hill of El Castro, can be observed.
The city's civil architecture includes the Hospital de San Agustín, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries; the Town Hall, built in the 18th century; and the former University of Santa Catalina, a Renaissance building from the 16th century.
Regarding the celebrations, the most significant are the patron saint festivities in honour of San Roque and the Virgen del Espino, which take place between 14 and 19 August. In addition to Easter Week, which was designated a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest in Castilla y León in the 1990s, the festivities in honour of the Virgen del Carmen, which take place on 16 July, are also of importance.