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anyone else have a problem with Burgos Cathedral Plaza?

David

Veteran Member
Time of past OR future Camino
First one in 2005 from Moissac, France.
Have been meaning to ask this question for some time now ... have you had a negative experience when entering the square, or plaza, in front of Burgos cathedral?

The first time I walked under the arch into the square I suddenly felt a strong feeling of dread, despair, death, painful death - it was really quite horrid. I felt that something awful had happened there, something really awful. I dove into a cafe and had a brandy! (that one in The Way, strangely enough) then left, I couldn't even go into the cathedral.
I have since been back there well over a dozen times and always felt the same.

I had kept this to myself - for obvious reasons, everyone seems to rave about the place! - but a little while ago I was talking over a bottle of claret (or two) to my oldest friend - we've known each other since the year 67 - and as he has done a couple of caminos I asked him what he thought about Burgos.

His reaction was really strong, he felt exactly the same as me, and a mutual friend also felt the same. The second time he was there he was walking with an Australian chap. He didn't say anything about his feelings about the square and the Australian really wanted to visit the cathedral. When they got there the Australian couldn't even go in - he started looking around and saying it was blood, blood and murder and he couldn't stay there, had to get away - they legged it out of there ...

so including me that is four people who have felt this awfulness in the square in front of the cathedral - I don't want to scare those who are about to go - be not afraid, nothing happens - it is just that I thought I would put this out there and see if anyone else has picked up on 'negative vibes' (man) when they arrived there :|
 
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The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
Spent two days recovering in a hotel across from the cathedral (recovering from Tendinitis). No problem and my ankle healed up. Loved it.
 
David said:
I thought I would put this out there and see if anyone else has picked up on 'negative vibes' (man) when they arrived there :|
Did you investigate why this might have happened to you? Or to the others you communicated with?
At what time of day and from which angle did you approach the square? Were there many people, was it noisy, confusing? Were you physically in top condition, i.e. well fed, rested and relaxed, having taken sufficient liquids (and body salts)?
What was the weather like: rainy, overcast, sunny, windy, any other climatic phenomenon, such as particularly high or low temperatures? :?:
 
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Very strange! I also have not felt comfortable in Burgos and wouldn't want to stay an extra day there. No feelings of foreboding or blood and murder though. I have been there three times now and it has mostly been cold and windy, maybe that is why! I get the totally opposite feeling in Leon, I love it and it's warm friendly atmosphere. Always rest there.
It would be good to research the history of Burgos.
Heather
 
Isnt El Cid buried in the Burgos Cathedral? Perhaps it has something to do with that...just a thought!
 
Burgos is my least favorite city that I have been to along the parts of the caminos i have done, no blood just a very bad and unfriendly wibe to the place....

also burgos was where i was atempted mugged (but i disliked the place even before)

this year i have plans to walk straight through without stopping or looking sideways....
 
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I have to say that Burgos is my favorite city on the Camino. I have been there several times and we spent about four days in a hotel just across from the cathedral at the end of our first stage on the Camino. The first time I ever saw Burgos was on a gloriously sunny evening in June and in spite of the fact that I have since visited it in heavy rain I always see it in my minds eye as a sunny warm wonderful place. I love the cathedral and the square and the steps and the changes in level around it. Mind you, I know I am not a "psychic" sort of person. I don't pick up vibes, bad or good, but am fascinated when other people do. Burgos, like everywhere else on the Camino is steeped in history, Yes El Cid is buried there. I wonder what could cause such an unexpected reaction? Has anyone had a similar reaction to other places on the Camino?
Anna
 
David,
The aussie you mention without a doubt comes from Sydney ...he will know where we come from just south from his abode.
However i agree with you guys that it is a city that is missing some spark.
Have been through there 4 times now , we don't think about stopping.
Not sure about the square , just the city , keep going after one nights rest.

If you incorporate other ways [ caminos] please believe me Burgos does not rate a mention where to stay.
Buen Camino
 
Could it possibly have something to do with The battle of Burgos which took place in the square?

I have not yet walked the camino myself it will be my first time this summer. It will be interesting to see if I notice anything different there, I will let you know in that case :) . Thank you for sharing this with us David.

Therese
 
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If violent events in the history of Spain lingered in its plazas for centuries, travel through the country would be like going to a horror show.

To me this sounds like a mild panic attack.

Having suffered from those for some years, I can say that it really is "all in your head". Perhaps the name or a visual clue triggers in you some traumatic or unpleasant unconscious memory that manifests itself as an inexplicable dread.

In other words, you may suffer from "Burgosphobia"! :lol:

Now seriously, the best way to treat panic attacks is cognitive-behavioral therapy. That is: expose yourself gradually to the "threat" and don't feed your fear or negative thoughts while you do it, and eventually you may enjoy an expensive cup of coffee in a cafe in the plaza and laugh at the whole thing. These things happen in the Camino.

Trying to understand what you associate with the word Burgos or with what you know about the place (you mentioned a historical event: what heave you read or heard about that, and why does it bother you so much?) also helps.

As to other people feeling the same thing in your company be aware that panic attacks can be contagious, specially for someone who is physically debilitated and naturally susceptible to suggestion. Like a very mild version of collective hysteria, no offense intended.
 
Ha - none taken .. the other people were there on different occasions .. I don't have panic attacks though I do agree with you that cognitive therapy is a good thing in some instances - doesn't alter the fact that the menacing and hungry tiger in front of you is a menacing and hungry tiger though :lol:

I'm 64, have been in a number of odd situations - back in the year 71 I suddenly woke up at 3am once when I lived in Wales and went for a glass of water to find a man coming out of our cellar carrying our felling axe - his mission was to "take the light out of the world" and that light was in humans of course .... I talked to him for three hours until whatever he had taken wore off - so I'm not a nervy sort of person ... there is just something about that square (to me and to three other people at least) ....

who knows about these things - we could all have seen the same film when we were children that had that square in it with something horrid going on - who knows ....

but - strange world isn't it. :| :wink:
 
Surf to Google
select Google maps
Type in "Catedral de Burgos, Burgos, España"
Switch to "Satellite view" if not active.
Zoom in to maximum and look what's happening on the plaza.
 
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I have been to Burgos several times and once on the camino last autumn. I love the Cathedral and have no problem with El Cid, the new museum on the development of mankind is also great. But I did get a negative feeling, not overwhelming but persistent nevertheless and I still feel it, about the city generally and was glad to leave. I couldn't attribute this to anything I saw or experienced there and about which I had no complaints whatsoever apart perhaps about the signing of the camino route in the city outskirts.
I have been puzzled about it and have been unable to explain it. I would certainly go back there and it will be interesting to see if I get the same feelings again. The only thing I have come up with is that Burgos was Franco's headquarters for much of the Spanish Civil War. He was happy there because it is a deeply conservative area. In many ways the heart of old Spain. I have a deep dislike of fascism so maybe it was that but I think it is deeper and has something to do with violence of some form there.
It is something I can get over though, just something I have to live with and maybe there is a message there from the camino.
 
Didn't particularly like Burgos, not while on the Camino and not while I was there as a regular tourist. Found the cathedral too abundant, much more preferred the cathedral of Leon for the simpler style. All in all I also prefer Leon on the whole, much more open atmosphere.
Must admit that I was in Burgos on easter monday - evening after all the festivities so it was extremely quiet.
Of the bigger cities I like Logrono, Leon, Pamplona. Had a claustrophobic feeling in Ponferrada...
 
It's just another place...........my memory.........Truged the John Brierly route all the way to city ( and worker in JCB was glad to see me ). On entering Burgos I heard sounds of differernt marching bands AND actually waited and marched along with them!!! So passed the city albergue and ended up in albergue in the park......where new adventures began.
Buen Camino
 
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bromeliad said:
In other words, you may suffer from "Burgosphobia"! :lol:
We did at the time of staying in the albergue "El Parral"!
A year later we could stay in the new albergue municipal in town, and last time stayed luxuriously in the albergue Emaús. As time passes experiences improve and worries diminish! :)
 
I´m with Richeyboy. Maybe you are catching the vibe from Burgos´long history of heavy strait-laced fascism, and all the gruesomeness that went with it. If you want a very interesting, funny, and oddly contemporary take on Burgos´ cathedral/square/downtown just as the Civil War began (and you can read Spanish) look at ["Inquietud en Paraiso,"[/http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inquietud-en-para%C3%ADso-%C3%93scar-Esquivias/dp/8493406074¨] a novel by Oscar Esquivias, a native son. It´s a scream!

If you want an instant break from all that heaviness, just step into the UGT/Socialist bar on the block just above the cathedral, up the street from St. Nicolas church. The lighthearted chatter and old photos of "Che" and "La Passionara" will bust up your fascist funk for sure... and last I looked they were serving cañas of Estrella Galicia. (If you got your Fellow Traveler pin from the Commies at the Ruesta albergue you´re in for a long night of fellowship.)
Solidarity Forever,
Reb
 
I didn't get a bad vibe in Burgos. The only camino place I ever had something like that was an albergue on the Via de la Plata. I think it was the one in San Pedro de Rozados a bit before Salamanca. I had strange troubling dreams there that night and the friend I was walking with reported something similar...
 
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I did my second Camino last year and always looked forward to Burgos - Cathedral, Plaza, El Cid, etc... I had one of the most beautiful experiences of the Camino in Burgos last year. Having stayed in the Albergue near the Cathedral the first time I did the Camino, this time I wanted to stay in Albergue Emaus. I know it was a way bit out of town. Upon entering the city just outside the Church of San Lesmes, we asked an elderly lady for directions to the Albergue. She did not only give us directions but walked with us to the Albergue, toured us around Burgos - the Cathedral, the Square, the Museum, etc... She even paid for the Cathedral entrance in spite of our protestations. She just loved her Burgos and wanted us to enjoy it as much as she loved it! She was a gracious and generous Burgalesa and a true guardian angel! She truly made my stay in Burgos extraordinary! I definitely would stop and enjoy Burgos anytime!

Blessings,
Manny D
 

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