Lerma Attractions

35km/22mi from Burgos on the Madrid road is the ancient little town of Lerma (alt. 752m/2,467ft), which was founded in the eighth century. The old town with its circuit of walls and collegiate church, situated on a hill above the Río Arlanza, can be seen from a long way off. Lerma owed its prosperity to Philip III's favorite the Duke of Lerma, who embellished it in the 17th century. The old town is entered through a massive gate flanked by two round towers, from which there is a steep climb to the large square on the far side of which is the imposing palace of the Dukes of Lerma, built in 1614 by Fray Alberto de la Madre de Dios. To the left, past the Town Hall, are steps leading up to the wall-walk, from which there are extensive views of the countryside of Castile, with the Río Arlanzón flowing through it. At the western tip of the old town stands the collegiate church (1616), in which can be found the bronze tomb of Bishop Cristóbal de Rojas of Seville.