Villadangos del Páramo (León) (0)

Did you know that... Villadangos del Páramo

It is located at one end of the moor of Leon and has a beautiful view of the valley. From Villadangos del Páramo some historians say that it could have been a Celtic castro, and that in Roman times it was a point of passage on the road between León and Astorga. During the Muslim conquest, in the Middle Ages, and because of it and its bloody struggles, the town suffered a depopulation until the end of the ninth century early tenth that the kings of Leon carry out a repopulation of the area. It was also the scene of the fights for the kingdom of León between the Aragonese of Alfonso I el Batallador and the Galician supporters of Doña Urraca, this happened in the year 1111 in the place known as La Matanza. From the 12th century until the 16th century Villadangos del Páramo was an ecclesiastical lordship, then became a civil lordship and Carlos III in the 18th century created the title of Marqués de Villadangos. At present in its nucleus is located the seat of the city council of its name that is formed, besides by him, by the districts of Celadilla del Páramo and Fojedo del Páramo.

To discover What to see in Villadangos del Páramo?

In Villadangos del Páramo, its parish church, built at the end of the 17th century at the beginning of the 18th century and dedicated to the patron saint of the village of Santiago Apóstol, is well worth a visit. Its high belfry, which is a tower with a bulrush crowned by two bells that were melted in around 1707, was restored in 2002. Inside the church stands out the altarpiece of the high altar, of churrigueresco style, and in the center of the same one an equestrian statue of Santiago Apostle with the sword in high and to both sides two pictures in which it is represented the apparition of the Virgin of the Pillar to the Apostle and the Battle of Clavijo. In the entrance door to the temple you can see two polychrome reliefs of the sixteenth century in which Santiago again appears leading the fight against the Moors.

Festivities

Villadangos del Páramo celebrates its patron saint Santiago on 25 July, also celebrates Easter and in August enjoys a medieval fair and market that commemorates the Battle of Villadangos.

Traditions

Villadangos del Páramo celebrates an ancient tradition known as the Burning of May. In the month of May, a tree was placed in the town square, which the boys had previously been in charge of felling, and it was decorated with ribbons, fruits... and there the young people went to have fun and enjoy until, on the last day of the month, the tree was burned. Now the tree is crowned with a straw doll and the last night of the month is burned in the square.

Curiosities

Villadangos Lagoon or El Estanque as it is popularly known, is at the exit of the village. At present it is one of the most valuable wetlands in the province of León, it is classified as a Wetland of Special Interest and has an extraordinary biological and scenic richness. Among the animals that live here you can see the marsh harrier, the bittern, or the water cock. During the migration season, other species are also seen, such as herons among others.

The Legend

Oral tradition tells us that in the past, on the eve of the birthday, a ribbon was placed on the neck of the birthday girl in which small presents and gifts had been sewn. Then this ribbon was hung from the same nail from which the calendar hung.