For the Sierra de la Demanda, Burgos: Villasur de Herreros

As was already ventured when speaking of Valmala, the Sierra de la Demanda, located in Burgos and bordering Soria and La Rioja, is a very special geographical area, which still retains many of its ancient mysteries.

Not in vain, as was also said, has always been associated with one of the great myths of the Middle Ages, possibly introduced into the Iberian Peninsula by Cistercians and Templars from the twelfth century, as is the legendary quest for the Holy Grail.

Its natural wealth, where it is possible to review large areas of forest, contributes to make the place one of the areas where the most rainfall is registered.

Far from being a factor that amilane the traveller, it makes him feel, even more so, those worlds of dream and unreality, which are generally associated with these prodigious zones, where Nature unfolds with force all its generous grandiosity.

Although many of its ancient elements have been lost, the village of Villasur de Herreros, located not too far from Valmala, still maintains, in the ancestral character of its houses, a traditional architecture that powerfully attracts your attention.

Probably of Romanesque origin, the enormous mole of its parish still conserves some interesting elements, including the annexed garden, where some anthropomorphic tombs - nowadays rainwater receivers - and other elements recall the medieval cemetery it had in times, as specified in a tombstone dedicated by the neighbours themselves.

The village, as used to be frequent in the past, is practically cut in two, by a general road, which, except in summer, is usually quite quiet.

The existence of this town has been known since the 9th century, when it was repopulated by the powerful Ansúrez family.

And if it were not for some modern elements, such as lighting, anyone could come to the conclusion, seeing the characteristics of their houses and the state in which some of them are, that this village, which only in the last censuses had just over two hundred inhabitants, still remains in the Middle Ages.

With the old noble coats of arms practically gone, it is still possible to find some house, of modern construction, which incorporates this sign, also modern, of position and ancestry.

It is not uncommon, therefore, to find among the elements of some of these shields, mystical figures more than well known by ancient traditions, such as the eight-pointed star, the cauldrons -which remind us of the Celtic deity Dagda- and that no less symbolic animal, present in all legends and traditions, which is the wolf.

It also has a Mining Train Museum inside the old chapel dedicated to the figure of San Roque, as this, together with forestry, livestock and agriculture are the main activities that provide sustenance to the people of the place.

It is not strange, therefore, that although mechanized today, you can still see the old wagon wheels leaning against some wall, which help to give the town a decidedly more romantic and charming appearance.

Without forgetting that already in his name, he has a figure, that of the blacksmith, who was formerly considered as a superior being, a demigod, because he not only knew the elements of the earth, but also was able to dominate something as determinant as fire.

WARNING: Both the text and the accompanying photographs are my exclusive intellectual property.

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