The city began to be called Caput Castellae ("Cabeza de Castilla" or "Head of Castile"). A similar literal composition have the cities Burgas in Bulgaria and numerous cities containing the Germanic burg "city" such as Hamburg. When the city was founded, the inhabitants of the surrounding country moved into the fortified village, whose Visigothic name of Burgos signified consolidated walled villages (Gothic baurgs). There are several possible origins for the toponymy. In 2015 it was named "City of Gastronomy" by UNESCO and has been part of the Creative Cities Network since then. Burgos was selected as the "Spanish Gastronomy Capital" of 2013. The Cathedral of Burgos is a World Heritage Site. The museum features remains of the first hominins in Europe, which lived in this area 750,000-800,000 years ago. The Museum of Human Evolution opened here in 2010. In 2008, the international Burgos Airport started to offer commercial flights. At the regional level, Burgos forms part of an economic axis together with the cities of Valladolid and Palencia.
Declared in 1964 as Pole of Industrial Promotion and in 1969 as Pole of Industrial Development, the city has grown since then in terms of economic activity. In a long-lasting decline since the 17th century, following the start of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Burgos became the headquarters of the Francoist proto-government. 11th century chieftain Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ( El Cid) is connected to the city, as he was born near Burgos and was raised and educated there. It forms part of the Camino de Santiago.įounded in 884 by Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, Burgos soon became the leading city of the embryonic County of Castile. The municipality has a population of about 180,000 inhabitants. It is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of the Arlanzón river tributaries, at the edge of the central plateau. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos ( UK: / ˈ b ʊər ɡ ɒ s/ BOOR-goss, US: / ˈ b ʊər ɡ oʊ s/ BOOR-gohss, Spanish: ) is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León.