Ledigos (Palencia) (0)

Did you know that... Ledigos

It is located about 52 km northwest of Palencia capital, sitting on the plain of the stream of the Templars. The town belonged for a long time to the bishopric of León, although its only church, which has always existed in the village, was linked to the Mitra Compostelana in the 13th century. This dependence originates in the year 1028 when Doña Urraca, mother of the king of León Bermudo III, offered in donation this place to the Apostle Santiago, donation that was confirmed by Alfonso VII. Fernando III the Saint in the year 1218 stipulated that the only payments and services that Ledigos would have to make were exclusively for the church of Santiago de Compostela represented by the Cabildo, so there is no doubt where the village church receives the name and its invocation to Santiago, this, together with its membership in the Mitra de Compostela, link Ledigos with the pilgrimages.

A little more history

The municipality of Ledigos was the jurisdictional territory of the Order of the Temple. According to documents from the 11th century town, a short distance from the village, there was a populated place, Nuestra Señora de Vallejera, which depended on San Salvador del Moral and in this place a hermitage was built under the title of Nuestra Señora de Vallejera, in which they used materials that came from the demolition, in 1752, of an old pilgrim hospital that under the name of San Lázaro, was located on the edge of the Way and that belonged to the brotherhood of Nuestra Señora de Vallejera.

What to see in Ledigos?

In Ledigos, the parish church of Santiago, renovated in the 17th century, is located at the top of the village. It is made of brick and has a single nave covered with a groin vault. The altarpieces have various sculptures and paintings from the XVI-XVII and XVIII centuries.

To discover

Its belfry is a modern brick construction, as the previous bell tower collapsed in the last century. A stone landmark next to the road to the Población de Arroyo indicates the location of the now defunct Hospital de San Lázaro, and the Cañada Real Leonesa runs through the municipal district just 2 km from the town centre.

Festivities

The patron saint festivities of Ledigos are on 10 June and 25 July in honour of Santiago. San Isidro is also celebrated in the locality on 15 May.

Traditions

Popular tradition tells us that the church of Ledigos is the only temple along the whole route in which there are representations of the three Santiago: the pilgrim, the apostle and the matamoros.

Curiosities

Ledigos and its surroundings formed part of one of the Templar establishments, temples, that existed in Castilla. The order reached great importance with its active participation in the Reconquest, defending the border territories between Castilla and the Muslims.