SIERRA DE ATAPUERCA TOURIST INITIATIVE CENTER
SPANISH/ENglish
Church of San Martín de Atapuerca - QR1
Apse and portico
The first reference to Atapuerca, appears in the year 963, in a document of San Pedro de Cardeña, as Adtaporka, when Doña Fronilde, daughter of Count Fernán González, donates lands in the "Serra de Adtaporka to the Monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña ".
Atapuerca, is a town located 17 km from the city of Burgos. It currently has about 170 inhabitants, including its district of Olmos de Atapuerca, its main economic resources are tourism and agriculture. It houses in its municipal area two World Heritage Sites: The Atapuerca Sites and the Camino de Santiago. In its term, the Battle of Atapuerca was fought on September 1, 1054, facing the kings and brothers Fernando I, King of León and Count of Castile, and García III, King of Pamplona, the outcome of the Battle of Atapuerca with the death of Navarrese king, laid the foundations for the birth of the kingdom of Castile. On the penultimate Sunday of the month of August, on the north slope of the Church of San Martín, its historical representation is celebrated, declared a Festival of Tourist Interest of Castilla y León and distinguished as the Best Local Development Initiative in Castilla y León.
It has a square bell tower and Renaissance oculus, a rectangular apse with buttresses and a classicist doorway with pilasters, a semicircular arch and pediment, a low arched portico and a wrought iron grille, added later in 1895, all in an admirable ashlar masonry. limestone.
The wooden door to access its interior has a smaller one for access, its nails are made of wrought iron and with a pointed head, it is surrounded by a square with scalloped edges, having as the only decoration in the lock the vase-shaped handle.
The Church of Atapuerca, a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles, is dedicated to Saint Martin, bishop of the French city of Tours, patron of the town and head of his parish. Located to the north, on a hill that dominates the entire town, it is isolated from any other building. Most of the construction dates from the 16th century, with a later addition of the Sacristy already from the 18th century and more worked ashlars.
