Logbook · 4 places

What to see and do in Hospital de Órbigo

What to see and do in Hospital de Órbigo (Astorga, León): 4 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Activities · 1 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Hospital de Órbigo

Medieval jousts of the Paso Honroso 550 m
Bridge of el Paso Honroso 550 m

Towns near Hospital de Órbigo

Spain › Castile and León › León › Astorga › Hospital de Órbigo

What to see and do in Hospital de Órbigo

Hospital de Órbigo
Village
Hospital de Órbigo is a town in León of around 950 inhabitants that takes its name from the pilgrims' hospital founded by the Order of the Knights of San Juan de Jerusalem, around which a settlement formed in the late 16th century opposite the older Puente del Órbigo, which arose in the Middle Ages next to the church of Santa María. Its 13th-century medieval bridge, with nineteen arches and today known as the puente del Paso Honroso, was the scene of the clash between the supporters of Teodorico and Requiario in the year 456 and, according to tradition, of Almanzor's passage towards Córdoba with the bells of Santiago. In the jubilee year of 1434 it was the scene of Suero de Quiñones's Passo Honroso, which the town has commemorated since 1997 with medieval jousts every June.
Bridge of el Paso Honroso
Monument
A medieval bridge of nineteen arches over the Órbigo river, built on the Roman road that linked Legio (León) with Asturica Augusta (Astorga). Its disproportion to the river's current flow is explained by the river as it was before the Barrios de Luna reservoir was built; it has been a monument since 1939. It owes its name to the Paso Honroso, the tournament that the León knight Suero de Quiñones organised in 1434 with the permission of King John II: for a month, from 10 July to 9 August, he challenged every knight who crossed the bridge to fight or leave a token of cowardice, as a penance of love for his lady Leonor de Tovar. Every Thursday he wore an iron ring that could only be freed by making a pilgrimage to Santiago after breaking three hundred lances.
Medieval jousts of the Paso Honroso
Activity
Since 1997, on the first weekend in June the village re-enacts the tournament of 1434 on its bridge, with jousting on horseback, a medieval encampment and a market. The festival is declared of regional tourist interest.
The Paso Honroso of Suero de Quiñones
Historical milestone
In the Jacobean Holy Year of 1434, the Leonese knight Suero de Quiñones obtained a license from John II to challenge for a month all who crossed the bridge, in order to break three hundred lances and free himself from the iron collar he wore for his lady.