a city in northern Spain in the region of Old Castile on the Arlanzón River (a tributary of the Duero). Administrative center of the province of Burgos. Population, 104, 000 (1968).
Burgos is an important transportation junction and commercial center. It is a focal point for the wool industry and the production of artificial fibers. There are also food-processing, chemical, timber, furniture, and cellulose-paper factories in the city.
Burgos was founded at the end of the ninth century during the Reconquista. In the tenth century it became the center of a county by the same name, which was part of the Kingdom of Navarre. From the 11th to the 13th centuries Burgos was the residence of the Castilian kings. During the Middle Ages it was one of the major economic centers of Spain. The inhabitants of Burgos took an active part in the Comuneros Uprising (1520-21). Toward the end of the 16th century the city lost its importance. Between 1936 and 1939 the government of the fascist rebels was based in Burgos.
Burgos has preserved its irregular medieval plan, the ruins of a Roman fort, city walls from the 11th through the 14th century, and several buildings in the Gothic and plater-esque styles. The major monuments are the Gothic cathedral (13th-16th centuries), the Church of San Esteban (1280-1350), the church at the Miraflores Monastery (1454-88), the palace Casa del Cordón (plateresque, late 15th century), and the town hall (1791, architect V. Rodrigues). There is an archaeological museum in the palace Casa de Miranda (1545).