Tosantos (Burgos) (0)

Did you know that... Tosantos

It is located in the anteroom of the Montes de Oca, one of the last foothills of the Iberian System, in an area of undulating landscape. Tosantos first appeared in a written document in the 10th century under the name of Tolsanctos, which was later repeated in several documents. It was constituted as a town hall in the nineteenth century belonging to the party of Belorado within the region of Old Castile.

What to see in ​Tosantos?

In the village there is a beautiful parish church dedicated to San Esteban, inside there is a Baroque altarpiece with interesting 17th century reliefs and a 13th century enamel cross. In the adjacent square an enormous horse chestnut tree gives charm to the enclave. The caves of the Arancones in a crag to the east of the village are a group of hollows, most of them inaccessible today, without defined forms as is often the case with this type of excavation in soft plaster, it is believed that it was the work of the moors.

To discover

But what stands out most in the silhouette of the village is its cave hermitage, dedicated to the Virgen de la Peña, excavated in the rock and showing only its façade to the outside. It is a small temple in which the main chapel is separated from the rest by an iron fence, being in it the altar and the altarpiece with the shrine that keeps the image with the Child Jesus, Romanesque sculpture of the twelfth century. Crowning the façade is a belfry with two large bells, one of which is called De la Virgen, because, according to tradition, it accompanied the image when it was found. The hermitage was the local parish church until the village church was built.

Festivities

Tosantos celebrates its patron saint fiestas on 30 May in honour of San Fernando. On September 8 the festival is to honor its patron saint the Virgen de la Peña. On this day the procession goes up to the hermitage with the dancers dressed in their typical costumes.

Traditions

It is a tradition that the festivities of the Virgen de la Peña are enlivened, among other acts, with diverse games, among which the ascent to the chestnut tree and the hunting of the rabbit stand out.

Curiosities

The festival of Neighbours and Pilgrims, which takes place every year in August in Tosantos, has as its purpose the meeting of the pilgrims who have passed through here with the neighbors of the town.

The Legend

Legend has it that when the Moors arrived in Oca and razed it, the Christians, inhabitants of the place, hid the Virgin under a bell in this cave, which became a sanctuary after its discovery.​