Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar was born a few kilometres from Burgos, was exiled twice by his king, fought in the pay of a Muslim ruler and ended up governing Valencia on his own account. His legend began almost at once, with a poem written a century after his death, and today he rests beneath the crossing of one of Europe's great Gothic cathedrals, right on the Way of Saint James. Twelve stops between the bridge of his companions, the statue of the knight, the house where the Catholic Monarchs received Columbus, the gate Burgos raised to placate Charles V, the Gothic facade with its openwork spires, the tomb of the Cid and Jimena, the Constable's Chapel and the figure that opens its mouth, the church of the legendary oath, the site of his house, the castle blown up by the French, the monastery of the powerful abbesses and the charterhouse where Isabella the Catholic buried her parents. Approximate audio duration: 22 minutes.
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Burgos: el Cid que sirvió a reyes moros y cristianos y la catedral que lo guarda
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar nació a pocos kilómetros de Burgos, fue desterrado dos veces por su rey, combatió a sueldo de un rey musulmán y terminó gobernando Valencia por su cuenta. Su leyenda empezó casi enseguida, con un poema escrito un siglo después de su muerte, y hoy descansa bajo el crucero de una de las grandes catedrales góticas de Europa, en plena ruta del Camino de Santiago. Doce paradas entre el puente de sus compañeros, la estatua del caballero, la casa donde los Reyes Católicos recibieron a Colón, la puerta que Burgos levantó para aplacar a Carlos V, la fachada gótica de las agujas caladas, la tumba del Cid y Jimena, la capilla del Condestable y el muñeco que abre la boca, la iglesia del juramento legendario, el solar de su casa, el castillo volado por los franceses, el monasterio de las abadesas poderosas y la cartuja donde Isabel la Católica enterró a sus padres. Duración aproximada de audio: 22 minutos.
Tour stops
12 stops · ~22 min of audio · 9.43 km on foot (~2 h 20 min walking) · about 2 h 45 min in total
You are standing on the San Pablo bridge, above the river Arlanzón. On both sides, along the parapets, stone figures watch you go by. They are the companions of El Cid.
The statues were placed here in 1955, the same year as the great equestrian statue in front of you. Burgos wanted nobody to enter the city from this side without meeting its hero and his people.
Notice the woman. She is Jimena, his wife. There are also warriors from his band, such as Álvar Fáñez and Martín Antolínez, and a bishop, Jerónimo, whom the Cid put in charge of the church of Valencia.
And there is one figure that su…
2
The Knight Who Had No Single Side
Look up. The horse surges forward, the cloak flies back and the sword points ahead. This is the statue of El Cid, by the sculptor Juan Cristóbal, unveiled in 1955. It is the image almost everyone has of him.
The real man was called Rodrigo Díaz and was born around the middle of the eleventh century in Vivar, a village some ten kilometres north of here. He grew up at the Castilian court and became the military right hand of King Sancho II.
When Sancho was murdered in 1072, Rodrigo went into the service of his brother, Alfonso VI. The relationship was difficult. In 1081 the king exiled him.
T…
3
The House Where Columbus Returned
You are in front of a palace of golden stone. Over the doorway, a huge carved cord frames the coat of arms and gives the house its name: the Casa del Cordón, the House of the Cord. It is the Franciscan cord, a symbol of devotion.
It was built in the late fifteenth century for Pedro Fernández de Velasco, Constable of Castile, and his wife, Mencía de Mendoza. The constable was the kingdom's highest military officer after the king. You will meet them again inside the cathedral.
In 1497, in this palace, the Catholic Monarchs received Christopher Columbus on his return from his second voyage to A…
4
A Gate to Appease an Emperor
In front of you is the Arco de Santa María, Burgos's great gate onto the river. It looks like a fairytale castle, with turrets and battlements. But what you are looking at is, above all, a political message.
This was one of the gates of the medieval wall. Between 1536 and 1553 the city turned it into this triumphal arch. Why? Because a few years earlier, in 1520 and 1521, Burgos had been among the Castilian cities that rose against Charles V in the Revolt of the Comuneros.
The rebels lost. And Burgos needed to win back the emperor's favour. This facade was a way of saying sorry in stone.
Lo…
5
The Lace Spires
You are in the Plaza de Santa María, facing the cathedral's main facade. Raise your eyes to the very top. The two spires look like lace: the stone is pierced and you can see the sky through it.
The first stone was laid on 20 July 1221. It was set by King Ferdinand III and Bishop Mauricio, who had travelled through France and Germany and came back wanting a cathedral in the manner of the great churches of the north.
Work moved fast for the period. By 1260 the church was consecrated. But it kept growing for three more centuries, with chapels, towers and a great lantern over the crossing.
The …
6
The Tomb Beneath the Star
You are at the crossing, where the naves meet. First look up: the lantern of the crossing tower opens like a star of stone, more than fifty metres above you. Then lower your eyes to the floor. There, under a simple slab, lie the Cid and his wife, Jimena.
Rodrigo died in Valencia in July 1099. Jimena held the city for almost three more years. In 1102, with the Almoravids advancing, Valencia was abandoned, and she carried her husband's remains back to Castile.
She buried them in the monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña, about ten kilometres from Burgos. There they stayed for centuries, venerated …
7
The Constable's Star and the Flycatcher
Walk towards the east end, behind the high altar, to the Constable's Chapel. As you enter, look up. The vault is an eight-pointed star, and in the centre the stone is pierced to let in the light.
It is the funerary chapel of the same couple who owned the Casa del Cordón: Pedro Fernández de Velasco and Mencía de Mendoza. It was built between 1482 and 1494 to a design by Simón de Colonia, son of the architect of the spires. Their marble effigies lie in the middle.
It was Mencía who drove much of the work while her husband was away at the war of Granada. She outlived Pedro by almost twenty year…
8
The Oath That May Never Have Happened
You are in front of a small church of plain stone, a few steps from the cathedral. It is Santa Águeda, which everyone in Burgos calls Santa Gadea. The building you see is largely fifteenth and sixteenth century, but a much older church once stood here.
Tradition places here one of the most famous scenes in the life of El Cid. After King Sancho was murdered in 1072, his brother Alfonso was due to inherit the throne. And there were suspicions that he was behind the killing.
According to the legend, Rodrigo forced the new king to swear in this church, three times and before everyone, that he ha…
9
The Site of the House
You are on Calle Fernán González, in front of a small stone monument with pillars and coats of arms. It is the Solar del Cid. According to tradition, this is where Rodrigo's house in Burgos stood.
The monument is not medieval. It was raised in 1784, in the age of the Enlightenment, when the city wanted to mark the spot in stone. By then nothing remained of the original house.
Think about it for a moment: in the eighteenth century, almost seven hundred years after his death, Burgos was still tending the memory of the Cid. The cult never stopped. What changed over time was the meaning given to…
10
The Castle That Was Blown Sky-High
You have reached the top of San Miguel hill. From the viewpoint, look down: the cathedral spires are almost at your height, and behind them the city stretches to the river.
This hill is where Burgos began. Here stood the fortress around which the city grew at the end of the ninth century. In the Middle Ages it was a royal residence and a prison for nobles.
What you see today is mostly ruins and reconstruction. The destruction has a date. In 1812, during the war against Napoleon, Wellington's army besieged the castle, then held by the French. It tried for a month and had to withdraw.
The fol…
11
The Abbesses Who Ruled Like Bishops
You are in front of the monastery of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, on the edge of the old town. High walls, a tower, a severe doorway. Behind these walls lived, for centuries, one of the most powerful women in Castile: its abbess.
It was founded in 1187 by King Alfonso VIII and his wife, Eleanor of England, daughter of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. They gave it to Cistercian nuns, many from noble and royal families, and conceived it as a pantheon for the dynasty. Both founders are buried here.
The abbess of Las Huelgas held exceptional authority. She governed dozens of villages an…
12
The Daughter Who Buried Her Parents in Alabaster
You are at the Charterhouse of Miraflores, among pine trees on the outskirts of Burgos. From outside, the church is plain, almost severe. Go in and walk to the far end: in the centre, before the altar, is an alabaster tomb in the shape of an eight-pointed star.
In 1442 King John II of Castile gave the Carthusian monks a hunting palace he owned here. After a fire, the church was rebuilt to plans by Juan de Colonia, the architect of the cathedral spires, and finished by his son Simón.
But the person who turned this place into a jewel was the king's daughter: Isabella the Catholic. She wanted t…
How long does the "Burgos: El Cid, Who Served Muslim and Christian Kings, and the Cathedral That Keeps Him" audio tour take?
It has about 22 minutes of audio across 12 stops and a 9.43 km walking route (~2 h 20 min on foot). Plan roughly 2 h 45 min in total, or split it up: you can pause and resume anytime.
Where does the tour start?
At stop 1, "The Bridge of Companions" (coordinates 42.33975, -3.6979). The app guides you from stop to stop with a map.
Is it free?
Trevurs is a free app for iOS and Android. There is also an optional Premium version, from USD 1.99, with unlimited offline downloads, access to every tour and no ads. It also helps keep an independent app alive.
Why use an audio tour instead of a guided group tour?
No group to keep up with and no guide to wait for. Start at any time of day, on your own schedule. Go at your own pace: pause, rewind or skip any stop. No need to commit 2 or 3 hours to a single tour: do one stop or the whole route. Works offline once downloaded.
What languages is this audio guide available in?
This tour is available in Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian. Switch languages anytime from inside the app.
Do I need wifi to listen to this tour?
No. Download the tour over wifi before you go, then listen without any data connection.
How do I access this tour?
Download Trevurs on iPhone (App Store) or Android (Google Play), then open Burgos and pick "Burgos: El Cid, Who Served Muslim and Christian Kings, and the Cathedral That Keeps Him". No account required to start.
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