Población de Campos (Palencia) (0)

Did you know that... Población de Campos

It is situated halfway between Carrión de los Condes and Frómista, in one of the gentle undulations of the Palencia countryside and next to the course of the river Ucieza. Población de Campos, whose name derives from the Latin word Populatio, originated at the end of the 9th century, although remains of possible Roman and Vacean settlements have been found. It was the head of the Bailiwick of the same name, also known as the Nueve Villas de Campos, belonging to the Order of Malta and lordship of the military Order of San Juan, whose title was given to it by King Alfonso VII in the year 1140 and on the day on which Saint John the Baptist is celebrated.

A little more history

The Way of Saint James has crossed the town since the 10th century, hence its French street, and at its peak it had two hospitals, Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia and San Miguel. Population of Campos has had the title of villa from long ago. Infante Felipe, brother of King Alfonso X the Wise, whose sepulchre is in the church of Santa María de Villasirga, temporarily occupied this encomienda or lordship of the San Juan order in the year 1267.

What to see in Población de Campos?

The parish church of Santa María Magdalena, which dates back to the 16th century, although it has been subsequently refurbished, is situated on a hill overlooking the village, the streets of which follow an upward course towards it, from where the roofs can be seen with Arabic-type tiles crowning the houses, built of brick and adobe, that surround it. In the centre of the town a small building from the 13th century reminds us of the knights of the Order of Malta, the hermitage of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, where decorative remains have been found that could make us think that it is older, as they seem to be from the Visigothic period.

To discover

In a field, between trees and bushes, on the outskirts of the village is the hermitage of San Miguel, from the mid-13th century, where the Romanesque style is joined to some other proto-Gothic element. Its surroundings are a beautiful place to enjoy the peace and rest that nature offers.

Festivities

Población de Campos celebrates its patron saint fiestas in honour of Santa María Magdalena around 22 July..

Traditions

It is a tradition in the Población de Campos that on the eve of San Roque, on the 15th of August, the members of the brotherhood organise a small festival with candy bars and games for the children, and on the 16th of August a mass is celebrated in honour of the saint they celebrate, San Roque.

Curiosities

In the beginning, the bailío or baile was the manager and representative of the real or stately administration in a certain territory. The Bailía de Población de Campos was formed by a good number of villages in which the Order of Malta had properties located in Tierra de Campos, in the mountains of Palencia and in Cantabria. This lordship ended when at the end of the 19th century the Cortes of Cadiz abolished the lordly regime in Spain and then the State confiscated the goods of the order.