Puntos de Interés
Municipality
Malvedo
The village of Bendueños is located at an altitude of 600m in the parish of Lena. The village is full of legends in which its houses and buildings conserve the traditional rural architectural style.
One of the most outstanding of these buildings is the hórreo (granary on stilts). This hórreo is one of the oldest preserved in Asturias, corresponding to the 16th century and in the "Villaviciosa" style. Most of the hórreos found in the village were characterised by their carved or painted decorations, mainly on the main façade and on the colondra (the box-like structure). This particular hórreo has some very well-preserved carvings, including a scene of two men and a pregnant woman, which could be a representation of fertility.
Bendueños also has a pilgrim hostel known by locals as the house of the friars. It is very popular, especially in summer, since Bendueños is located on the Huerna pilgrims' route along the right bank of the river Huerna in the direction of Campomanes.
One well-known local legend is that of the Holy Fountain: one day, two farm labourers were working hard in the fields when, exhausted, they went to a nearby fountain to drink water. Upon doing so, they noticed that the water tasted of sweet aniseed and, on raising their heads from the fountain, they saw the figure of the Virgin Mary. Over time, medicinal properties have been attributed to the water from this spring and, to this day, the festival of the Virgin of Bendueños is celebrated once a year, on the day of Pentecost, commemorating the apparition of the Virgin to the two farm labourers.
Above the village is the Peñasca Xulives, a rocky outcrop of great importance in ancient times. During storms, lightning would regularly strike at point, something that was considered to be of supernatural origin, and which caused the villagers to go to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Bendueños to pray for the end of the storm. However, it has now been demonstrated that this phenomenon is due to the topography and the geological make-up of the area.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Bendueños is located 5 km from Pola de Lena on the pilgrims' route to Santiago de Compostela between León and Oviedo. It is a Gothic style church that was erected on the remains of a pre-Romanesque temple in the 16th century. It is said that a Gallic temple dedicated to the god Vindus was located here, whose name derived from Apollo Vindonnus or Vindonnus, which, together with the accents of the area, ended up being pronounced as Vendonios, which is the origin of the village name.
The sanctuary is a must when visiting the village of Bendueños and can be reached by car on an asphalted road. That said, the road is very steep, hence the name of Camino del milagro (miracle way). A hundred metres from the sanctuary, there is a sign with a stone cross inviting pilgrims to recite a Hail Mary to Our Lady of Bendueños.