Briviesca
Briviesca is a municipality and a Spanish city located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, head of the judicial district of Briviesca, capital of the comarca of La Bureba and province of Burgos, autonomous community of Castile and León. According to the demographic data of 2017, the municipality has 6,861 inhabitants, being the 4th most populated in the province. The municipality of Briviesca is made up of five towns: Briviesca, Cameno, Quintanillabón, Revillagodos and Valdazo.
The first settlements date back to the 1st century BC, when the Autrigones, that extended by all the current region of the Bureba and the Upper Ebro valley, established here their capital. Subsequently Briviesca, by then called Virovesca, was already considered an important nucleus of population, where the Romans inhabited in the crossroads of two important Roman roads.
This location, and the boom, in the Middle Ages, of the Camino de Santiago, made Briviesca grow little by little until it reached its maximum splendor in the Renaissance. Nowadays, its location halfway between Miranda de Ebro and Burgos has contributed its industrial and commercial development.
Briviesca has wide green spaces open to fields and mountains, as well as a prominent Monumental Complex with several BICs: the Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor; the imposing Monastery of Santa Clara, within there is an important Gothic cloister; the cloister of the "Hospitalillo"; the Plaza Mayor, typical Castilian; its houses and palaces, as well as the Church of San Martín. Close to Briviesca the Santa Casilda's sanctuary is also found.
Briviesca stands out for its large industrial estate "La Vega", in which important industries have been installed since the 70s, although today it is mainly made up of small industries and storage warehouses, especially farm implements, which is the main economic activity, not only of the city, but of the entire region. In the last decades, this has led to Briviesca increasing considerably of population. Nevertheless, due to the economic crisis that started in 2008, this luck was interrupted by losing an average of almost 100 inhabitants per year.
Name
The origin of the name Briviesca is not known exactly, but it seems to be of proto-Indo-European origin and it means "place, head or regional capital" or "center or residence of the chief". This is based on the analysis made of the two elements that seem to conform it: the root uiro- and the suffix -uesca.There are those who believe that it can be derived from Burovio, a god worshiped by the Autrigones.
The first document that refers to Briviesca is "Natural History" of the Roman geographer Pliny the Elder, who cites "Virovesca" as the capital of the Autrigones.
Geographic Location
The city of Briviesca is located in the northeast of the province of Burgos, halfway between Burgos and Miranda de Ebro, in the valley that forms the river Oca between the mountains of San José and de los Pinos. This valley opens onto an extensive plain that is La Bureba, in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León. The Oca River runs throughout much of its layout. Its geographic coordinates are 42 ° 33'00 "N latitude and 03 ° 19'00" W longitude and it is 718 meters above sea level.Briviesca has not always been located where it does today. The current situation dates from the 14th century. Previously it was located in the nearby mountains, since at that time the defense was the most important. In the fourteenth century and after the purchase of the then Villa by the granddaughter of Alfonso the Wise, Blanca of Portugal decided to move it to the current location mainly because it facilitated better access and therefore better commercial communication.
Transport
Road
It is located at km 280 of the N-I and on the third exit of the AP-1. It is directly connected with other regional municipalities such as Oña, Poza de la Sal or Frías through a regular bus service; and with the smaller towns through the Transport to Demand, so that they can make their purchases and carry out procedures in Briviesca. It is also directly connected with other Spanish cities such as Irún, San Sebastián, Vitoria or Madrid through a daily bus service that covers the Madrid-Irún line. The Burgos-Logroño line, by Haro, also stops in Briviesca. And of course with the capital of the province Burgos. The city currently has two bus stops, the main one located on Avenida Felix Rodriguez de la Fuente, next to the fire station and the secondary school, and the other one located on Avenida Alberto Alcocer, along with the institute.Briviesca has also a taxi service that allows you to move around any point of the city as to any surrounding municipality. The stop is located on Calle Medina, near the Plaza Mayor.
Railway
Briviesca has a railway station, considered of second order, which runs the Madrid-Irún railway line. Although the Madrid-Hendaye line was inaugurated in the middle of the 19th century, it did not have a station until 1902.Currently, three types of lines stop at the Briviesca station:
- Regional Express: Briviesca joins with cities such as Miranda de Ebro, Zaragoza and Vitoria in a daily train; and also with Valladolid, Burgos and Madrid in two more weekends.
- Arc: It joins Briviesca with Hendaya and with La Coruña with two daily frequencies.
- Intercity: It joins Briviesca with Miranda de Ebro, Vitoria, San Sebastián, Burgos, Valladolid and Irún with six daily frequencies and some less on weekends.
Plane
Briviesca is located 30 km from the Burgos Airport, nevertheless, it currently does not have commercial flights.Symbols
Anthem
The writing of its letter was entrusted to Fray Justo Pérez de Urbel and the composition of the melody to Rafael Calleja Gómez.Its premiere took place on August 16, 1929. The act was described by all the presents as the most emotional and transcendental of the time.
Since then, it has become a sign of identity and symbol of the city of Briviesca. Every August 16, the day of San Roque, its interpretation takes place at half past two in the Plaza Mayor. The anthem constitutes the summit event of all the patronal celebrations and, in the last years, the tenor Miguel de Alonso has been the attendant to interpret it in front of six thousand natives and visitors.
Shield
The current shield of Briviesca, is composed of three elements. In the upper strip, on a red background, three heads, two of inclined Moors and one of a Christian, horizontal, which would be explained as a sign of coexistence between cultures; in the center, also on a red background, three parallel strips of gold, which would allude to the streets of Briviesca and its straightness; at the lower end, water waves that would remit to the Oca river; and adorning the shield, a mural crown of gold.Flag
The current flag of Briviesca has been recently created, it has not been the result of a study or municipal agreement. As mayor Antonio López-Linares, it was considered advisable to provide the city with a flag that could be hoisted at the local festivities. To do this, an old tapestry was used, which on moss green was the city's coat of arms.History
The origins of Briviesca and La Bureba
Although the existing prehistoric information in this zone is scarce, several deposits have been found that allow to assure the human presence from the Paleolithic, with remains of importance in the caves of Penches, La Blanca and El Caballón, all of them close to Oña. Later, from the Iron Age testify the vestiges found in Briviesca, Miraveche, Pancorbo, Poza de la Sal, Soto de Bureba and Villanueva de Teba.The Autrigones
The Autrigones were one of the pre-Roman peoples who settled in the Iberian Peninsula.
From the 3rd century BC, the Autrigones occupied a large area of land around this upper area of the Ebro Valley. Virovesca was mentioned for the first time in 77 AD. Other Autrigon settlements were located nearby, such as Salionca, Segisamunculum, Vindeleia, and the aforementioned Tritium.
Jewish History
A Jewish community once was present in Briviesca, with he first documentation of Jewish presence dating to 1240. The Jews in Briviesca suffered from various problems, such as anti-Jewish legislation and the consequences of war. The community existed until the 1492 expulsion of the Jews.
Demography
Briviesca had a continuous growth due to the boom in housing construction caused by the housing bubble that attracted a lot of foreign population, multiplying the presence in the city by seven in just ten years. In that time, Briviesca reached an historic maximum population of 7937 inhabitants in 2009. Nevertheless, due to the economic crisis, a recession in the census has happened due to the return to their place of origin of many of these immigrants. Even so, Briviesca is still the fourth most important city in the province after Burgos, Miranda de Ebro and Aranda de Duero.The 15% of the population registered in Briviesca is foreign and comes from 40 different countries, according to the last rectification of the register made by the City Council. On January 1, 2016, the population of the municipality amounted to 6,948.