Molinaseca (León) (0)

Did you know that... Molinaseca

Surrounded by rounded mountain ranges in whose valley it sits, on the banks of the river Meruelo, it is located very close to Ponferrada. With an important strategic location, Molinaseca has been for centuries the natural way from Bierzo and Galicia to the plateau. This is where the Via Augusta used to run and of course, since the Middle Ages, the Jacobean route. Molinaseca was first named in the 11th century, but when it appears in the writings as an independent population centre it is in the 12th century. It was real property and depended directly on the royal authority, although it was donated to Count Ramiro Froilaz, nephew of the Cid, who in 1193 distributed the lordship in thirds, giving a third to the Monastery of Carracedo, another to the Abbess of Carrizo and the third to the bishop of Astorga. The origin of Molinaseca is linked to the Way of Saint James and to the Pilgrim's Bridge through which one enters the village. In the eleventh century the pilgrims who arrived here were welcomed in the hospitals that Molinaseca had, which were possibly four. Of this time they are also their first hermitages. At the end of the 12th century, this important Jacobean enclave was granted a charter. Today Molinaseca is a dynamic and modern town but without losing the aspect of a traditional place that has seen centuries of history go by.

To discover What to see in Molinaseca?

Like a watchtower, taking care of the village and before crossing the Meruelo, is the Sanctuary of Las Angustias, a baroque building from the late seventeenth century, whose head seems to be embedded in the mountain. To enter Molinaseca the visitor is offered the beautiful bridge called the Pilgrim, Romanesque style with seven arches, which over the river Meruelo serves to get used to what the Royal Street is going to offer, houses emblazoned with balconies, some wrought iron and others of wood, palatial houses with their towers ... To this Royal street they end narrow alleys with rustic constructions. The end of the street is marked by the Santo Cristo transept, which apparently occupies the same place where there was an older one. At the top of the village, the parish church of San Nicolás de Bari is of medieval origin, although the current temple has a 17th century neoclassical style. It has an elegant bell tower and a large clock. In the interior of the temple the sculpture of the Crucified Christ stands out, in which his features give him a painful fragility, that could be realized between the years 1300 and 1340. Molinaseca also has an attractive natural beach where the backwater of the river incites to fight the heat of the summer days at the same time that they resemble a great mirror where its bridge is looked at and admired. And so that nothing is left to chance, it is essential to enjoy, in its numerous inns, its rich gastronomy.

Festivities

The patron saint festivities of Molinaseca are on 15 and 16 August in honour of the Virgen de las Angustias and San Roque.​

Traditions

It is tradition in Molinaseca and on the occasion of the festivities of the Virgen de las Angustias, to procession the image of the Virgin, known and called very affectionately by the people of the place the Preciosa, through the streets of the village. For this event the balconies are decorated with shawls and flags and from them flower petals are thrown to the step of the Virgin that on this occasion is carried on shoulders by the women of the town dressed in black dress and scarf.

Curiosities

On August 17 is celebrated in Molinaseca the Feast of Water, where the only requirement is to come armed with boilers. Its origin comes from the year 1954 when in the revelry of the celebration of a wedding the guests had the idea of opening a little the floodgates, as was usually done to water and clean the streets of the town, the water ran through the streets and those present began to wet each other with buckets. Since then it has been done every year until it has become a traditional party.

The Legend

The wooden doors of the Shrine of Angustias had to be protected with metal plates because the pilgrims and devotees took them in small chips as relics.