Habsburg and Bourbon Spain
Villafranca del Bierzo
Today: Spain
- Years
- 1492–1833
- Role
- A marquisate and the religious capital of El Bierzo
In 1486 the Catholic Monarchs turned the lordship into the marquisate of Villafranca del Bierzo, and in 1529 the viceroy of Naples, Pedro de Toledo, had its Cluniac abbey made a collegiate church of canons. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was the religious capital of El Bierzo: in the mid 18th century it had 41 clerics and 131 religious. In 1822 the Cortes made it head of the province of Villafranca del Bierzo, which the division of 30 November 1833 shared out between Orense and León.
What to see today
- Colegiata de Santa María de Cluny (Colegiata de Santa María del Cluniaco): Church, c. 1529 to 1729
- Iglesia de San Nicolás el Real (San Nicolás el Real): Church, 17th century
- Monasterio de San Andrés (Abadía de San Andrés de Espinareda): Monastery, 1778 to 1780