EL BIERZO
CHAPTER 1
GRAPTOLITES tell us about El Bierzo. It was a dark sea many years ago. Small sea creatures with many arms lived here. You can find many fossils in Salas de la Ribera.
CHAPTER 2
CAVE DWELERS lived in caves. They painted animals and human beings with blood and stone powder on the walls.
You can see some prehistorical paintings in Sésamo.
CHAPTER 3
THE CELTS built forts. They lived in huts with roofs made of straw. They were round. Women were equal to men. they were farmers and warriors.
You can visit a celtic fort in Chano in the valley of Fornela.
They also lived in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
CHAPTER 4
THE ROMANS lived in El Bierzo.
They liked gold! Many Romans built tunnels and channels to get the gold. The force of running water demolished the mountains and a unique landscape was created.
From Orellán you can see chestnut trees, caves and reddish peaks . It is awesome!
CHAPTER 5
LA TEBAIDA is a group of mountains, valleys and rivers. It was the best place to meditate. Monks lived in monasteries as the Monastery of Montes.
The landescape is awesome!
Some examples are Peñalba de Santiago (a village), the valley of Silence and the river Oza.
CHAPTER 6
SAINT JAMES WAY
goes through El Bierzo.
Many people from different countries walked to Campus stellae (Santiago de Compostela). The pilgrimns had a great difficulty in Ponferrada. It was the river Sil. In order to solve this problem, the bishop Osmundo ordered to build a bridge with iron railings (pons ferrata). The name Ponferrada comes from this latin expresion.
Some spectacular places on the Way are Molinaseca, the Templar Castle in Ponferrada, Villafranca, Vega de Valcarce,...
MAP
You can find all the places mentioned above on this map.