Travels to Spain - Castilla y Leon

Quick Tips:

The road from Segovia to Rascafria is something out of a James Bond movie with turns going uphill and one lane in each direction. It was really scary, and I thought the road from Nice to Monaco was pretty bad. But in the end it was so worth it! Each of the cities on the way had something unique, something that if you didn’t get to see you would regret it. Each of the three cities -- Burgos, Leon, and Astorga -- has such a cathedral that just for that alone you have to visit them.

Best Way To Get Around:

The highways in Spain are straight, wide and well-paved with barely any traffic during the weekdays. So it took us much less time than we expected to drive from Madrid to Burgos, see the city has to offer, and drive to Leon all within the same day. Leon met us with pouring rain – it was as if it was waiting for us to enter the city to turn into a full blown shower. However we were prepared – took out our polyethylene ponchos and snickers and went to visit San Isidoro and the Royal Pantheon as well as gorgeous Leon’s cathedral. The best parking spot that is close both to San Isidoro and to the attractions of the main street is along Avda Ramon y Cajal. The traffic pattern changes throughout the day, and in certain hours you can drive in to the cathedral along Calle Ancha (usually in the morning), others you may have to get there on foot.

I did my research on the internet and found Hotel Paris, located within a couple of blocks from the cathedral, literally next door to Palacio de los Guzmanes. It is located right in the center, within walking distance to all the major sights. The hotel is easy to find since there is a rather large sign announcing its existence, also their website gives a map with their location. Hotel Paris is a very affordable three star hotel with a very nice and friendly guy at the reception desk, who turned out to be a plumber and a tour guide if needed. We took an elevator to our room. Instead of central heating, the hotel has radiators which remind me of accordions. A radiator is much better than central heating on a rainy day like we had, since you can put your shoes and socks on it and they will be dry in a couple of hours, just don’t leave your leather shoes on it for the whole night – they will get cooked. Apparently for the previous several days it was rather warm, and the radiators were shut down, so the receptionist had to bring a wrench to turn them on.

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The room we requested had three separate twin size beds with comfortable mattresses, a large wardrobe, a desk and a couple of chairs, two night stands with lamps and a TV, and there was still plenty of room left to move around. The beds and the floors didn’t squeak. The bathroom had a toilet, a sink and a bathtub with the shower curtain that had hotel’s logo on it, as did soap, shampoos, conditioners, lotion, shoe polish, even a comb. On the first floor, near the reception area there is a cafeteria that was already closed by the time we arrived.

We decided to see the cathedral (which is what we came here for) before its closing time. The receptionist had a very good city map, where he showed us where we are, where the cathedral is, and lots of other places. As you walk up Calle Ancha from hotel to the cathedral, there are lots of cafeterias and bakeries, and they seem to just draw you in - you have no choice but to surrender at the sight of all the sweets and delicious baked goodies (well, at least I do). There is a tourist office right across the square from the cathedral. They don’t have much information in English, but if you know some Spanish, they’ve got lots of brochures for you. Later when we were coming back and the rain stopped, we went to the plaza across from La Casa de Botines which filled up with locals who came to listen to a local band.

The Royal Pantheon (Panteon de los Reyes) located at the Real Collegiata de San Isidoro is considered the number one historic religious monument in Spain and one of the top historic sites in the world. It is a burial place of 40 kings, queens and princes of Leon and Castile, and the tombs are numbered and catalogued. Napoleon’s troops when they were going through Spain, tried to carry all the sarcophagi with them, only five tombs remain to this day.

The largest treasure of the Royal Pantheon are the Romanesque frescoes on the walls and ceiling that have not been restored since their creation and are considered more precious than the frescoes of the Sistine chapel and still have their original bright colors. These frescoes were painted in the 12th century by a French artist whose name is unknown, and are the best example of Romanesque paintings in Spain. They show the circle of life of Christ: his birth, King Herod’s massacre of innocents, Christ is surrounded by evangelists with cow’s heads, the last supper, apocalypse, gates of paradise, crucifixion. One of the arches is painted with a yearly calendar.

Originally, the building had about 15 tombs in the room covered with the frescoes, then in the 13th century another part of the building was added which has no paintings. In the 16th century, the Gothic part with rosettes and flowers was added and the original Romanesque monastery was destroyed. Inside one of the rooms here is the rooster made of gold. For 10 centuries it was standing on top of the tower showing wind direction, now it is kept under glass so that future generations could admire it for at least another 10 centuries. Its copy was put on the tower.

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The second floor and façade were added in the 18th century. On the second floor you can see a museum of liturgical objects: gold cups, crosses, chests of various sizes –- from small jewelry boxes made of silver to the large ones with either elaborate wood carvings or enameled or made of precious metals, all dating back to the 11-12th centuries. The chests and chalices were given to the church by kings and queens to make the Royal chapel and the monastery look richer. Whatever is left after Napoleon’s troops ransacked the place is what you can see in the museum. There is also a library, which is basically a large hall with beautiful ceiling in Plateresque style and an enormous collection of bibles. The most precious book in this collection is a Visigoth bible dating back to the year 960.

The visits to the royal pantheon are guided only, the guide that we had was a young guy who spoke several languages. The tour is in Spanish, but I kept asking him about the things that I didn’t understand since I have very limited knowledge of Spanish and he quickly translated most of the tour in English. To preserve the memory of the pantheon in your mind, the tickets to the pantheon and the museum have a view of the arched ceilings with Romanesque paintings. After your tour is finished, there is a bookshop, where you can buy some postcards and books on Leon and this unique church.

The cathedral is hard to miss. Called by Spaniards Pulchra Leonina (for the purity of forms) or Catedral de Santa Maria (its official name), it is a very Gothic church built in typical French primitive Gothic style of the 12th century that influenced Spanish style in the 13-14th centuries. This is the third cathedral that was started in Spain during the 13th century in Gothic style following the cathedrals in Burgos and Toledo, each of which is worth visiting as well (each of the cathedrals is truly a marvel of architecture – I visited all of them). Leon cathedral reminds of the cathedral in Reims and Amiens to those who have been there. The façade dates back to the 16th century. One of the architects of the Leon cathedral also built Burgos cathedral so you may see some similarity in the two. However, Leon cathedral stands on its own as one of the most amazing cathedrals I’ve seen both in Spain and anywhere else.

Leon lies on Camino de Santiago (Road to Santiago) and lots of pilgrims to this day make the journey. The pilgrimage route was abandoned for a while but since 1960’s people use this road along with the other 5 major pilgrimage routes to get to Santiago de Compostela. When we were driving we saw a lot of pilgrims traveling on foot from city to city. One of the sides of the Leon cathedral façade has a statue of St. James (Santiago) who was typically shown on a horse -- a patron of the pilgrims.

You can see the lacy light stone spires of the cathedral from afar. The West front of the cathedral (through which you enter) has three portals, which are decorated with 13th century carvings, one of the portals called Puerta del Juicio depicts scenes from the Last Judgment, another – the middle one – is Puerta de la Virgen Blanca showing a sculpture of Santa Maria Blanca in the center.

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The cathedral has glorious stained glass windows, which are very well preserved and one is better than the other. The rose windows above the entrance are magnificent and you can tell that they are influenced by the famous Chartres stained glass. Stained glass windows on the sides each have a typical Gothic shape with the narrow rectangular bottom and arched elongated top. There are some that show typical scenes from the bible, and then there are others with intertwining flowers and leaves or geometric shapes on various color backgrounds. The colors are still bright and 1,800 square meters of stained glass create a magical atmosphere inside. All the light comes through these windows, and at times it may seem like it is quite dark inside especially when it’s raining outside. A beam of light from the entrance rose windows and a lamp above the entrance door is concentrated on the magnificent altar and choir stalls, which you can see behind a large glass as soon as you enter the cathedral. Then as you make your way through the cathedral, you can walk up closer and look at them in more detail. The Grand altar (Retablo Mayor) is very well preserved for its age and is as much a jewel of this cathedral as the stained glass is. The Grand altar among others has 5 original panels created by Nicolas Frances that date back to the 15th century. Nicolas Frances also participated in the painting of several stained glass windows.

The cathedral also has two-tiered choir stalls made of dark wood with elaborate carvings; the entrance to the choir stalls shows a triptych of alabaster sculptures. The organs are located on each side above the choir below the beautiful stained glass. Behind the choir is carved and gilded retro choir, which was built in the shape of a triumphal arch in the 16th century.

The cathedral has a lot of chapels, with the oldest chapel of Nuestra Senora la "Virgen Blanca" dating back to the 13th century. Capilla Santissimo has very impressive Gothic carvings in the frame of the door and very beautiful stained glass. In the cloisters you can see another altar (Altar of the apse) with a Madonna in the middle, and 4 levels of paintings on each side of her. Each scene is framed by golden Gothic carvings that look like they are crowning the painting.