The Camino de la Lengua Castellana, german the "way of the spanish language" is a 590 km long thematic Route in Northern Spainthat are in the regions La Rioja and Castile and Leon runs. It leads over from San Millán de la Cogolla Valladolid and Salamanca to Alcalá de Henares and thus connects several World Heritage Sites.
Route profile
- Length: 590 km
- Slopes: are mentioned in the individual sections
- Path condition: some paths, some country roads with little traffic
- Traffic load:
- Suitable bike: partly it goes over mountainous gravel roads
background
Planning for the route was initiated in 1998 by the Rioja region. A corresponding foundation was established in 2000. From 2004 EU funds were available to show the way. Three short thematic routes have been defined for each of the larger towns. These are less designed as hiking trails, but are intended to make exploring by car appealing to those interested in culture.
getting there
The northern beginning of the Camino is usually reached by train or bus BurgosIn the vicinity of which all long-distance bus passengers from Northern Europe usually change, or reach Logroño, from where regional buses run to San Millán.
The southern end point of Alcalá can be reached from Madrid.
Public transportation
Are sufficiently available between the big cities of Burgos, Valladolid and Salamanca as well as near Madrid. In rural Spain, many villages are only served by bus once a day during the week.
bicycle
It is a good idea to ride the route by bike.
Route description with sights
The route description leads from north to south.
San Millán - Santo Domingo
From San Millán de la Cogolla to Santo Domingo de Silos it is almost ninety kilometers in a south-westerly direction.
If you follow the Via Verde Sierra de la Demanda you climb up to almost 2000 meters (about 1900 m ascent, 1600 m descent). The landscape is characterized by beech and oak forests. Due to the proximity to the Cantabrian Mountains, this area is exceptionally humid by Spanish standards. Still live here Iberian wolves (Canis lupus signatus). The area still belongs to Serranía Celtibérica a region almost deserted again due to rural exodus.
If you want to make a detour from the path, you should visit the monastery, which is well worth seeing 1 San Pedro de Arlanza
(42 ° 4 ′ 10 ″ N.3 ° 25 ′ 29 ″ W.)Go to Hortigüela Municipality. From there it is to Santo Domingo:
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- on the Camino a Retuerta, 17.7 km (↑ 181 m, ↓ 249 m), or
- above Camino a Contreras and Camino de Ocejo, 18.5 km (↑ 366 m, ↓ 443 m). If you choose this one comes on Sad Hill Cemetery past. Here was the final scene of the western classic The Good, the Bad and the Ugly turned.
San Millán
In the context of the theme, San Millán is “the cradle of written Spanish,” represented by the ancient monasteries as places of education. The modern one, located here Centro Internacional de Investigación de la Lengua Española (CILENGUA) takes care of scientific processing.
The world heritage sites of the monasteries are worth seeing 2 San Millán de Suso and 3 Monasterio de Yuso. They date from the time of the Visigoths in the 6th century. It gives the name Saint Aemilianus of Cogolla. The monasteries are accessible from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., in summer half an hour longer. On the third weekend in June there is a pilgrimage that is traditionally a man's business.
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- accommodation
- The monastery operates its own Hostería, Tel. 34941373277
- Camping Berceo, Término el Molino, s / n, 26327 Berceo, tel. 34941373227
- Hostal Rural La Calera, Diseminado Villar Torre, 57, tel. 34689314352
Santo Domingo
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As part of the theme, Santo Domingo is “the cradle of Spanish sung.” It is open from 10 am to 1 pm and 4.30 pm to 6 pm, on Sundays only in the afternoon. One tends to the monastery Gregorian chant. In 1994/5 the CD Canto Gregoriano with chants by the monks here from 1973 to a world hit with three million copies sold.
The Glosas Silenses, 368 medieval marginal notes on manuscripts of the Santo Domingo Monastery explain Latin expressions that have become obscure and are now an important source of linguistic history. The 4 Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey, founded in the 10th century. was on the site of a monastery from the 6th century. was built by the Benedictines. The art-historically significant cloister was built in the 11th-12th centuries. Century erected. Today's church is a replacement baroque building. The library, which is only accessible to scholars, holds among its treasures the oldest surviving European book on paper, the Missal from silos, from 1151. The monastery museum contains a collection of works of art related to the monastery. The finest pieces, however, have been brought to the museum in Burgos.
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The village itself does not have 300 inhabitants. It is also on the hiking trail Camino del Cid (GR-160), the im Cantar de Mio Cid traces described route.
The 300 meter long gorge should not be missed Desfiladero de la Yecla, which is only about two kilometers from the village.
- Accommodation in Santo Domingo
- Casa Rural Las Condesas, 2 apartments with 6 beds each.
- Hotel-Restaurante Arco San Juan de Silos, 2 *, Tel. 34947390074
- Hotel Silos 2000, Calle Santo Domingo, 74, tel. 34947390132
Detour
- Logroño
Logroño is the capital of the smallest Spanish region, La Riojawhich is known for producing some of the best wines in the country. It is advisable to visit a bodega. The one also leads through the city Camino Francés.
If you hike, the following applies: San Millán, Monastery de Suso → 2 km Berceo → 42 km Logroño (↑ 220 m, ↓ 520 m).
- Laguardia
1 Laguardia
(42 ° 33 ′ 0 ″ N.2 ° 34 '59 "W.) (Álava) is a small town steeped in history, which administratively already belongs to the Basque Country but is still part of the Rioja wine region. If you want to walk to San Millán from here, it's just under 39 km. If you walk from Logroño it is 18 km (↑ 50 m, ↓ 293 m).
The medieval town center, built on a hill, with its narrow streets is surrounded by a city wall that was built around 1200 under King Sancho the Strong. Sections of the city wall with five small city gates are still preserved today. A late Romanesque-early Gothic bell tower (torre abacial) is integrated into the wall. At the parish church of Santa María de los Reyes, built from 12./13.-15. Century the south portal is especially worth seeing.
Anyone who thinks modern architecture with curved metal facades is worth seeing can visit the neighboring village 2 Elciego(42 ° 30 '53 "N.2 ° 37 ′ 6 ″ W.) in the Hotel Marqués de Riscal dismount luxuriously. In the wine cellar La Catedral The nemas-giving bodega keeps wine bottles of all vintages from 1862 until today.
Santo Domingo - Valladolid
It is a total of 127 km (↑ 323 m, ↓ 646 m). Here you walk long stretches of remote, quiet country roads.
Santo Domingo → Nebreda, 18 km country road or 21 km paths (↑ 82 m, ↓ 173 m)
→ Cilleruelo de Abajo 20.5 km (↑ 140 m, ↓ 142 m)
→ Amusquillo 49.6 km (↑ 79 m, ↓ 240 m), country road along the Rio Esgueva
→ to Valladolid, road to Esguevillas de Esgueva, then via the Camino a San Martín de Valvení, 43.1 km (↑ 249 m, ↓ 347 m)
Valladolid - Salamanca
To city Valladolid see the main article.
Valladolid has its place as the “city of the written word” as the home of well-known writers. These included José Zorrilla, author of the Don Juan Tenorio, Jorge Guillén, Rosa Chacel, Miguel Delibes, Francisco Umbral, José Jiménez Lozano i.a.
Valladolid → Salamanca are a total of 117 km (↑ 548 m, ↓ 430 m).
Salamanca - Avila
To city Salamanca see the main article.
Salamanca was the place of publication of the first grammar of the Spanish language in 1492, Gramática de la lengua castellana compiled by Antonio de Nebrija. The university was also a refuge for learning in other ways.
Salamanca → Ávila are a total of 101 km (↑ 863 m, ↓ 526 m).
Ávila - Alcalá
To city Avila see the main article.
The stretch between Ávila and Alcalá is 140 km long and passes Madrid to the north. You conquer around 1700 meters of ascent and descent.
The path goes through the nature reserve Cuenca Alta del Manzanares in which hiking trails are also marked.
Alcalá de Henares
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Alcalá is already a suburb of Madrid that from there with the Cercanias (S-Bahn) line 2 (direction Guadalajara) from Madrid-Atocha can be achieved in 40 minutes.
In Roman times the place was called Complutum. Some excavated remains can be visited (Campus Laudabilis). The name derives from this Madrid University Complutense here. She was as University of Alcalá was founded here in 1499, but was then moved to the capital in 1836. The city was chosen as the destination of the Camino because it was the birthplace of the national poet Cervantes. The house where he was born is a museum.
References to literature and maps
- El Camino de la Lengua Castellana, an Itinerario Cultural Europeo; ²2005; [Spanish, English, French, German]
- López Varela, Raquel [ed.]; Viaje por el Camino de la Lengua Castellana; La Coruña 2010 (Everest Group); ISBN 978-84-241-1058-1 , pdf
- Ignacio Sanz; El Camino de la Lengua; Segovia 1994 (Artec)
- Valdez del Alamo, Elizabeth; Palace of the mind: the cloister of Silos and Spanish sculpture of the twelfth century; Turnhout 2012; ISBN 9782503517117
- History of Alcalá:
- S. Rascón Marqués; Complutum, el Campo Laudable, Qala’t Abd al Salam y el Burgo de Santiuste. Centros urbanos y suburbios de Alcalá de Henares en la Antigüedad y la Edad Media; Cordoba 2010
- Ciudad romana de Complutum, ed. Madrid region
Web links
- Map sheets of the Mapa Topografica 1: 25000 for the province of Burgos: Template: Commonscat
- Fundación Camino de la Lengua Castellana, Spanish brochures to download, background information. (As of early 2021, it should be noted that the documents have not been updated since 2008-10. All brochures are in Spanish, which does not seem illogical given the subject.)
- Tourism in La Rioja (German)
