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30-539: Pico Espigüete (2450 m) is a mountain in the Montaña Palentina, the mountainous far northern part of the province of Palencia in Castile and León , Spain. Despite not being the highest peak in the area, it is its most emblematic summit, alongside nearby Curavacas . It is located in the municipality of Velilla del Río Carrión . It is located north of the hamlet of Cardaño de Abajo and south-west of Cardaño de Arriba, in

60-460: A chapel dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Castillo and a necropolis. The castle had completely disappeared by the 19th century, when its stone was used for the construction of the train line between Bilbao and La Robla . From 1636 until 1801, Guardo belonged to the province of Toro , before being incorporated into Palencia, to which it still belongs today. For much of its early history, the village relied on rearing cattle and agriculture and remained

90-460: A fresh Mediterranean climate (type Csb), close to the boundary with a type Cfb oceanic climate. The following table indicates the climatic averages for the locality: Situated on a hill in the east of town in a neighbourhood known as El Otero (The Hill). It was built in the 14th century in a florid Gothic style. Inside there is a Romanesque font dating back to the 18th century. Palacio del Arzobispo Bullón (Archbishop Bullón's Palace) This palace

120-561: A profound economic crisis aggravated by the scarcity of services (such as a hospital and law courts) and a sustained period of alarming depopulation, the latter of which remains an issue in much of rural Spain to the present day. The town is situated on the banks of the Carrión river on the southern slopes of the Sierra del Brezo, a mountain range that separates the Cantabrian Mountains from

150-527: A significant proportion of its population since Francoist times due to rural to urban migration. The major towns in the northern Montaña Palentina are: Guardo , a former coal mining town; Aguilar de Campoo , a historic town famous for its biscuit production and Cervera de Pisuerga , a tourist town situated at the beginning of the Ruta de los Pantanos (the Reservoirs Route) and Barruelo de Santullán , which, as

180-563: A small settlement up until the modern era. Guardo's industrial development paralleled the discovery of coal in the region towards the end of the 19th century, as well as the construction of the La Robla to Bilbao narrow gauge railway, which transported said coal to the seaports of Santander and Bilbao, as well as to the Altos Hornos de Vizcaya in the Basque Country. With the onset of mining in

210-499: Is a homage to the figure of the miner and is considered the town's most emblematic monument, often serving as a meeting place for many Guardenses. In November 2018, 11 years after the demolition of the old town hall, Guardo's new administrative building was inaugurated and is also home to a police station and an auditorium with capacity for 400 people. Parque Fuentes Carrionas ('Source of the Carrión' Park) A small park situated west of

240-457: Is a transition area in which taxa typical of central and northern Europe are mixed with others characteristic of the Mediterranean world. The climatic conditions make it lack vegetation, developing only some lichen and small plants characteristic of the high mountains. Among the latter it is necessary to highlight a variety of sempervivum that only occurs in this peak, discovered in 1935 by

270-456: Is given in the following chart: [REDACTED] Media related to Province of Palencia at Wikimedia Commons Guardo Little is known about the pre-medieval history of Guardo. The name of one of the town's suburbs, Valdecastro, suggests the existence of a some kind of Celtic fort, although no historical sources can confirm this. The origin of the town's name has been extensively discussed. According to Quirino Fernández, it could come from

300-463: Is located in the upper town and is well-known for its splendid Barroque façade dating back to the 18th century. It was declared a Bien de interés cultural and was restored in 2022. A 4-metre high bronze figure depicting various coal-mining imagery suspended on a concrete plinth above a pool and fountains. The monument was inaugurated in July 1975 and was completed by the sculptor Jacinto Higueras Cátedra. It

330-509: The Meseta Central . Guardo's average elevation is 1123 metres above sea level. The majority of the town is modern, mainly constructed during the first half of the 20th century, although there is a small historic section on a hill to the east. The centre of the town is on the left bank of the river. The right bank contains the railway and industrial facilities, many of which are no longer in operation. The municipality of Guardo, in addition to

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360-633: The Latin 'Bucca ad ardum' or 'Mouth of the Heights', which could be translated as a pass of difficult access, whereas Julio Caro Baroja links it to the Celtic word 'ward', or Land of Storms. Guardo is first mentioned in the 10th century as 'Buardo' or 'Boardo', as a village linked to the nearby San Román de Entrepeñas Monastery in a document about property transfer. Forming part of the Counts of Saldañas' estate, its castle, which

390-647: The Spanish Civil War, the Nationalist uprising encountered no opposition in the region, which ensured that armed resistance to the Francoist state remained minimal in the decade following the conflict. By the 1980s, with Spain's accession to the European Economic Community and the decline of coal mining due to both its economic infeasibility and European environmental objectives, the whole region entered

420-430: The area at the start of the 20th century and the influx of people from other regions seeking employment in coal extraction, the character of the town underwent a radical change as the old urban centre was surrounded by new housing. The town's population would increasingly increase until it reached a high point in the 1960s, when it was more than double the present population. Alongside the town of Barruelo de Santullán to

450-455: The centre of the province's coal mining industry, was the largest town in the province until the 1960s. Towns in the centre of the province include: Saldaña , known for the famous mosaics at the nearby Roman villa of La Olmeda, Herrera de Pisuerga , a village known for its summer activities and Crab Festival and Carrión de los Condes , a key monastery town on the Camino de Santiago . To the south of

480-607: The city of Palencia are Venta de Baños , an important railway and industrial exchange, as well as Villamuriel de Cerrato , a village to that owes its development to the Renault factory and its proximity to the capital. During the Middle Ages, the Visigoths ruled Palencia. Basílica de San Juan, the oldest Visigothic church in Spain, was built in 661 in the province's Baños de Cerrato . During

510-429: The eminent botanist Paul Leon Giuseppi , and named in his honor Sempervivum Giuseppii . The geologist and naturalist Casiano de Prado is recorded as the first to climb it, in 1854, and so did Aymar de Saint-Saud in 1892, on one of his visits to Picos de Europa . Province of Palencia Palencia is a province of northern Spain , in the northern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León in

540-513: The former being under 200 metres and the latter being just over 200 metres from the border at their closest point. In Palencia large protected areas such as the Natural Park of Fuentes Carrionas and Fuente Cobre-Montaña Palencia are located. The term historical region in Palencia, refers to those regions created in the fourteenth century, under the name merindades. Cantabrian Mountains are located in

570-527: The highest peaks of the natural park (2450 m), characterized by peaks such as Curavacas (2528) and by the valley bottoms, with a difference in altitude that can reach over 1000 meters. Its limits are established by morpho-structural features: to the north, the thrust fault that directs the waters of the Arroyo Mazobres ; to the east, the synclinorium complex that sinks its roots in the Arroyo de las Lomas ; to

600-480: The municipality of Velilla del Río Carrión , within the Montaña Palentina Natural Park , 26 km from the regional centre of Guardo and 126 km from the provincial capital, Palencia . Its western foothills belong to the town of Valverde de la Sierra ( León ). It is a pyramidal limestone mass, visible from a distance due to its isolation from any other peak. The south face has smooth reliefs while

630-545: The municipality oscillates between 1836 metres on the summit of Peña Mayor de Guardo and approximately 1100 metres on the banks of the Carrión as it flows towards the village of Mantinos to the south. Guardo is situated on the Camino Olvidado a Santiago, or the 'Forgotten Way' of St James, a route of the Camino de Santiago that was used by the very first pilgrims travelling to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia . Guardo has

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660-521: The north face has vertical walls. Due to its composition, it suffers variations in its appearance depending on the season and lighting, being covered with snow most of the winter. On 27 June 2000, the declaration of the Fuentes Carrionas y Fuente Cobre-Montaña Palentina Natural Park was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado —revised on 28 May 2010— to which Espigüete belongs. It is one of

690-527: The north of the Iberian Peninsula . It is bordered by the provinces of León , Cantabria , Burgos , and Valladolid . Of the population of 176,125 (2002), 45% live in the capital, Palencia which is located on the Canal de Castilla . There are 191 municipalities in the province, of which more than half are villages with fewer than 200 people. The majority of the province is very sparsely-populated and has lost

720-473: The northeast, Guardo became one of the main areas of conflict in the Montaña Palentina during the failed Revolution of October 1934 . The rebels assaulted the Civil Guard's barracks, killing a gendarme and setting fire to the building. The conflict ended with the arrival of the army and the fleeing of the revolutionaries into the nearby hills, before they eventually surrendered. After this event, as well as during

750-465: The northerns parts of the province. The 8,268 feet (2,520 metres) high Curavacas peak is located in the province. The major commercial products produced in the province are barley, wheat, sugar beets, hemp, linen and woolen clothes, porcelain, leather, paper, and rugs. Food processing and metallurgy are major industries. The province has three judicial districts–one each in Palencia, Carrión de los Condes and Cervera de Pisuerga. The historical population

780-509: The thirteenth century a university was founded in the province. It was the first university in Spain and one of the first in the world. It was later shifted to Valladolid. The province is bordered on the north by Cantabria , on the west by the province of León , on the east by the province of Burgos and on the south by the province of Valladolid . Two exclaves of the province, Cezura , and Lastrilla , are enclaves within Campoo , Cantabria, with

810-402: The titular town, also comprises the hamlets of Muñeca, Intorcisa and San Pedro de Cansoles. Guardo itself is 91 km away from Palencia , the provincial capital, 145 km from Valladolid , 137 km from Burgos and 85 km from León . It is the capital of the comarca of Alto Carrión and is by the far the largest settlement in this mountainous region of northern Castille and Leon. The elevation of

840-474: The town centre on the banks of the Carrión river. It takes its name from Fuentes Carrionas , a glacial lake that constitutes the traditional source of this river. The town's main economic activity was coal mining, an industry that commenced several decades after the heavy mining operations in the neighbouring Asturias and León provinces since the coal in Guardo was found deeper into the ground and one had to await for

870-523: The west, it is drawn against the metamorphic slopes of Caladillos and Carrascal ; and to the south, its margin is formed by the prolonged slate and sandstone spines of the Cervera Formation . Despite its appearance, the Espigüete has numerous hollows in its interior, where there are huge canyons with subway rivers and lakes, deep pits and caves that make it a real treasure for speleologists . It

900-501: Was strategically situated on a hill above the banks of the Carrión river, was used to monitor the possible Muslim raids and to control the border with the Kingdom of León and the County of Castile . In the 13th century, King Alfonso VII ordered for the castle at Guardo to be "maintained and for its occupiers to be perpetually garrisoned". The fortress comprised a tower to monitor local travel,

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