Castrojeriz

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. 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. Historically, there was a Jewish community in Castrojeriz. In the same year that the town was granted its charter, 974, Count García Fernández ruled that the fine imposed for killing a Jew should not exceed the fine for killing a Christian peasant. The Jewish community in Castrojeriz was one of the earliest recorded in Spain. It ceased to exist after the 1492 expulsion of the Jews. Castrojeriz 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.

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Castrojeriz is a stopover point on The Camino Francés. You can reach Santiago de Compostela in 20 days.