Charming Villalcázar de Sirga (Video)
Source: YouTube Channel MrManutebolo: Charming Villalcázar de Sirga (Palencia)
Charming Villalcázar de Sirga (Palencia)
Church of Santa María la Blanca
The Church of Santa María la Blanca is a fortress-church built by the Orden de los Templarios in the late 12th century, during the transition from Romanesque to Gothic, with further work continuing into the 14th century. It is built of ashlar masonry, and the original design was highly ambitious, although it was never completed.
Located on the Camino Frances, in Villalcázar de Sirga, King Alfonso X the Wise composed the Cantigas de Santa María, inspired by one of the images kept in the church, as well as by the fact that it served as the burial place of the remains of Infante Don Felipe, the king’s brother.
Palace of the Counts of Villasirga
Dating from the 18th century, it is now the town hall. Several Gothic heads appear on its façade.
Former Parish Church of Saint Peter
The oldest church in Villalcázar de Sirga is the Iglesia de San Pedro de Villalcázar de Sirga, dating from the 11th century. It belonged to the nearby Monastery of Saint Zoilus in Carrión de los Condes. It was soon overshadowed by the magnificent Santa María la Blanca, which eventually absorbed the old parish, and where some of its pieces can still be seen today, such as the 12th-century baptismal font.
This large single-nave building was a parish church until 1560, when the Count of Osorno merged it, along with that of La Virgen del Río, into Nuestra Señora la Blanca. The coffered ceiling shows some light craftsmanship. From here come the old baptismal font now in the current parish church, the small holy water stoups, the carving of St Peter, and a few altarpieces from the church
