Potes

Potes sits at the confluence of the Deva river and its tributary the Quiviesa, a position that has made it a focal point for the Liébana valley since early medieval times. No physical remains from antiquity survive within the municipality, though historians believe the area was inhabited in prehistory. Pre-Roman Cantabrian peoples known as the Concani may have lived here, and the Romans likely routed a road called the Burejo through this territory, running from Pisoraca over the Puerto de Piedrasluengas pass.

The town was repopulated during the reign of Alfonso I of Asturias, and its first written record dates to 847, when it appears as Pautes. A century later, a church of San Vicente is mentioned, already dependent on the Monastery of Santo Toribio. By the late medieval period the territory was held by a count, and Potes received royal privileges in 1299 and 1305. The 1351 Becerro de Behetrías records it as belonging to Don Tello, son of Alfonso XI.

Like the rest of the Liébana valley, Potes was drawn into the conflicts between the Manrique-Castañeda and Mendoza noble families during the later Middle Ages. Around 1444, King Juan II settled the matter in favour of the Marquis of Santillana. The Mendoza family made Potes the capital of Liébana and built the large Torre del Infantado. The nearby Torre de Orejón de la Lama and the bridge of San Cayetano date from the same period. The town's first municipal ordinances were drawn up in 1468.

In the early modern period Potes remained a seigneurial town, with its mayor appointed by the Duke of Infantado. Emigration to the Americas brought wealth back, funding the construction of notable buildings in the town. Potes gained its own municipal council in 1822 and became the head of a judicial district covering several surrounding municipalities.

During the Civil War, on 31 August 1937, Republican forces deliberately burned the historic centre, describing Potes as a stronghold of Carlism. The town was rebuilt under Francoist restoration criteria. Despite this, the old quarter was designated a protected historic ensemble in 1983.

Potes has three protected cultural assets: the historic town as a whole, the church of San Vicente, and the Torre del Infantado, the medieval tower that serves as the town hall and is currently undergoing restoration. Once work is complete, the town hall will move to the Convento de la Villa. The old quarter contains a number of other buildings worth exploring, particularly in the neighbourhoods of La Solana and El Sol.

Potes also lies on the Ruta Lebaniega, which connects the coastal Camino de Santiago with the Camino Francés.

Potes grew up where the Quiviesa meets the Deva, at the point where the four valleys of Liébana come together, and its name recalls "Pontes", for the medieval bridges that cross its rivers. The town first appears in writing in 847, as Pautes, and its old quarter has been protected since 1983; the neighbourhoods of La Solana and El Sol are especially worth walking.

The town's great landmark is the Torre del Infantado, built by the Mendoza family, who made Potes the capital of Liébana. The Torre de Orejón de la Lama and the bridge of San Cayetano date from the same period. The church of San Vicente mixes Gothic, Renaissance and baroque features, and the former Convento de San Raimundo, founded in 1608, holds an exhibition about the district. Potes also lies on the Ruta Lebaniega, which links the coastal Camino de Santiago with the Camino Francés.

Potes joined Los Pueblos Más Bonitos de España in 2019. The label is awarded by a private association, not the state: a village applies and is audited against around 40 criteria, from how its historic buildings are conserved to the upkeep of its streets, and members are reviewed and can lose it. Potes is one of 7 members in Cantabria, out of 126 in Spain. See all heritage towns in Cantabria.