The Cartularies of Valpuesta from the monastery Santa María de Valpuesta, in Burgos, are considered to be the oldest known documents containing words written in the Spanish language.[2]
The province has an area of 14,300 km2 (5,500 sq mi) and a population of approximately 375,000 of whom nearly half live in the capital. The other locations higher than 20,000 inhabitants apart from Burgos are Miranda de Ebro and Aranda de Duero, both very industrialized. The Sierra de la Demanda, the northwesternmost end of the Sistema Ibérico, is located in Burgos Province.[3]
Transportation is developed through a wide net of highways and roads. Besides, the province is served by the Burgos Airport, and was to have received High-speed railAVE around 2016.
History
Province of Burgos in 1590.
In the Atapuerca area, archaeologists have found evidence of occupation by hominids and humans for more than one million years. Discoveries have included the earliest hominid skull in Europe.
In the fifth century, the Visigoths drove back the Suevi. In the eighth century, the Arabs occupied all of Castiles. Alfonso III the Great, king of León reconquered the area around the middle of the ninth century, and built many castles for the defence of Christendom. Gradually the area was reconquered. The region came to be known as Castile (Latin castella), i.e. "land of castles". In the eleventh century, Burgos became the capital of the Kingdom of Castile.
Population development
The historical population is given in the following chart:
The province of Burgos is divided into 371 municipalities, being the Spanish province with the highest number, although many of them have fewer than 100 inhabitants.
