Salazar

Salazar was historically one of the places that made up the Partido de Campo, one of three divisions of the old Merindad de Castilla la Vieja, administered under the Corregimiento de las Merindades de Castilla la Vieja as a royal jurisdiction with a local magistrate. When the old regime fell, it was absorbed into the constitutional municipality of Merindad de Castilla la Vieja, within the partido of Villarcayo in the region of Castilla la Vieja.

The whole of Salazar's historic centre has been declared a protected heritage site. Walking through it, you notice quickly why: the village holds a striking number of manor houses built to a high standard, some constructed entirely in dressed stone, with entrance halls and carved family coats of arms still intact.

Three religious buildings stand out. The Gothic church of San Esteban contains a notable alabaster figure of Christ. The Ermita de San Bartolomé is a building of two distinct parts — the right-hand section is the church itself, and the left-hand section appears to have served originally as a hostelry; the two date from different periods. The Iglesia del Cristo is older still and includes some reused elements, among them a window grille that may be Mozarabic in origin.

The most emblematic structures in the village are the Torres de los Salazar. Built between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, they consist of two towers joined by a central body. This was the ancestral seat of the Salazar family, who played a significant role in the history of the comarca and in the broader development of Castile. At the rear of the building, a Renaissance-style loggia gallery survives.