Logbook · 4 places

What to see and do in Valencia de Don Juan

What to see and do in Valencia de Don Juan (Esla-Campos, León): 4 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Valencia de Don Juan

Castle of Valencia de Don Juan 450 m

Towns near Valencia de Don Juan

Spain › Castile and León › León › Esla-Campos › Valencia de Don Juan

What to see and do in Valencia de Don Juan

Valencia de Don Juan
Village
Valencia de Don Juan is a León town of about 5,100 inhabitants, set on a hill beside the Esla river, in the southern part of the province, and also made up of the locality of Cabañas. In Roman times it was called Comeniaca or Castrum Covianca, and in the early Middle Ages Coyanza or Coyança —a name still recalled by its coat of arms and the demonym coyantino— until in the 13th century it came to be called Valencia and finally Valencia de Don Juan, in honour of the infante John of Portugal, the town's first duke. It is the ancient Coyanza where Ferdinand I convened a decisive council in 1055, and the site of the castle has been occupied for about 3,250 years. Its 15th-century Gothic castle overlooks the Esla river, and the February Fair has been held there since 1920.
Castle of Valencia de Don Juan
Monument
A 15th-century fortress of military Gothic raised on a hill beside the Esla, on a site inhabited since the Bronze Age. Declared a monument on 3 June 1931, its moat today houses the city's municipal auditorium.
Council of Coyanza
Historical milestone
The Council of Coyanza, held in 1055 in the present-day León town of Valencia de Don Juan, was convened by King Ferdinand I and Queen Sancha of León with the aim of reforming the Church, with the attendance of the bishops of Oviedo, León, Astorga, Palencia, Osma, Calahorra, Pamplona, Lugo, Iria and Viseu. Among its main agreements were the adoption of the Roman rite in place of the Visigothic rite, which subordinated the dioceses to papal authority, and the requirement that monasteries follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, later developed at the Compostela councils of 1060 and 1063. It is believed that the choice of this town, then called Coyanza, reflected the ties of Queen Sancha, who held it by inheritance; a monument to the king commemorates it today.
Prieto picudo wine of the Tierra de León Designation of Origin
Food and drink
Reds and rosés made from the native prieto picudo grape, sometimes accompanied by mencía and verdejo, covered by a designation of origin whose seat is in the city. The wine used to be aged in cellars dug into the knolls.