Today we left Hornillos del Camino / Isar and headed to Castrojeriz
We walked to Hornillos yesterday and then got picked up and taken to our hotel in Isar so this morning we were picked up at our hotel and taken back into Hornillos to start our days walk.
Isar is a small community very much based on agriculture, and named from the word Yessar meaning abundant land in gypsum ore. The doors / windows in the second picture look like hobbit houses and were possibly (my view only) for the gypsum miners.
The first time that Hornillos appears in documentary writings is in the 9th century, because a defensive line formed of primitive Castilian fortress towers passed through it. At that time it was known as Forniellos, which means small ovens, in which tiles were fired. As we walked through, the landscape became much greener and we started to see a reoccurrence of the poppies that were so prevalent earlier in the walk.
Nearing the halfway point today, we looked down on, and then came to the pilgrim village of Hontanas. As we had left Isar so early, and were in danger of getting to Castrojeriz before noon, we broke our usual habit and stopped for a drink and a cake/pastry. We had a look round the Church of La Inmaculada Concepción, which was originally built in the Gothic style, in the 14th century , although it was neoclassically reformed over time. The large baroque altarpiece is the work of the mountaineer Fernando de la Peña.
As we walked further, past the ruins of an old windmill, there seemed to be more and more poppy fields, really quite stunning in their beauty (of course the camera doesn’t do them justice). We then came to the ruins of the Monastery of San Antón. This was governed by the Antonians, a congregation of monks whose purpose was to care for patients with the disease called “San Antón’s Fire” and for those who came along the Camino de Santiago. The Monastery (or Convent) was the headquarters of the Order of St. Anthony in the different kingdoms of the Crown of Castile and Portugal.
Then Castrojeriz came into view, under the watchful gaze of the Castillo de Castrojeriz. Dated from approximately the 8th century, and reputedly founded by Julius Caesar, it was a significant defensive asset against troops from Northern Europe, Africa and the Hispanic territories. When the husband of the Queen of Aragon, Dõna Lenor, died in 1336 she went to the territory of Castilla y León with her children, for fear that her nephew Pedro IV would kill her. A few years later she was captured and imprisoned in the castle of Castrojeriz and was beheaded in the year 1358.
We stopped and had a look round the Church of Our Lady of Manzano – totally stunning altar pieces. The current building began to be built in the year 1214, as ordered by Queen Berenguela of Castile, daughter of Alfonso VIII if Castilla and mother of Ferdinand III the Saint.
We then arrived at our hotel La Posada de Castrojeriz – still early as this was a relatively short day – but the weather was nice enough for some lunch and a stroll around town.
Tomorrow we head to Fomista.