Castrojeriz or Castrogeriz is a locality and municipality located in the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León (Spain), the comarca of Odra-Pisuerga, the judicial district of Burgos, head of the town council of the same name and former head of the Castrojeriz judicial district.
It is a popular stop along the French Way of the Camino de Santiago or The Way of Saint James, which crosses the city longitudinally for more than 1,500 meters.
History
The village is located along the Odra River just before it joins the Pisuerga. Historically it was head of the Castrojeriz judicial district, one of the fourteen that formed the municipality of Burgos, in the period between 1785 and 1833. In the 1787 Floridablanca Census it fell under the jurisdiction of a lordship with its proprietor being the Marquesa de Camarasa, with an ordinary mayor.
It is believed to have been the former Castrum Sigerici. The village is arranged like other villages along the Camino. On this street-route there are several churches and notable buildings. There is a castle, in ruins, which has a lot of history. The village was established by Count Muño (or Nuño Nuñez), who defended the fort at the end of the ninth century against the Arabs. Before that it had been a Celtiberian, Roman and Visigoth fortress.
In 974, Count García Fernández of Castile granted it a charter, the Charter of Castrojeriz, which is considered to be the 1st granted in Castile.
It is an example of Jacobean urbanism, with houses located around the street-route, which is the longest of all on the pilgrimage route. As an important stage in the Camino de Santiago it had several hospitals along this street.
There is a calvary which sports a Cross of Tau (Tau) instead of the Latin cross perhaps as a reminder of the Order of the Antonians who had a monastery and hospital on the outskirts of the town, where they healed and tended to the sick afflicted by St. Anthony Fire, called also the holy fire, a disease now known to be caused by ingesting a fungal parasite on rye.
Population
As of 1 January 2010 the population of the municipality stood at 882 inhabitants, of which 447 are males and 435 females.
Population by nucleus
Heritage
The village
Bien de Interés Cultural
Category: Conjunto histórico (historical group or set) Observation: An integral part of the Camino de Santiago delimited by decree 324/99, of the 23 December Date — Commencement: 20 December 1974 — Declaration: 20 December 1974 — BOE Declaration: 31 January 1975
The Castle of Castrojeriz
Bien de Interés Cultural
Date — Commencement: 22 April 1949 — Declaration: 22 April 1949 — BOE Declaration: 5 May 1949
In 1359 queen Eleanor of Castile, daughter of king Ferdinand IV of Castile and wife of king Alfonso IV of Aragon, was murdered here by order of her nephew Pedro of Castile.
House called "El Fuerte" Bien de Interés Cultural Date — Commencement: 22 April 1949 — Declaration: 22/04/1949 — BOE Declaration: 5 May 1949
Tower
Bien de Interés Cultural
Date — Commencement: 22 April 1949 — Declaration: 22/04/1949 — BOE Declaration: 5 May 1949
Church of San Juan
Bien de Interés Cultural
Date — Commencement: 21 November 1980 — Declaration: 29 June 1990 — BOE Declaration: 3 July 1990