LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY

The Historical Centre of Bernedo is located upon a small rise, at the foot of the Sierra de Cantabria which separates the region of the Montaña from that of Rioja, commanding a wide, fertile valley through which the River Ega flows. It is at the crossroads or junction of several natural routes, which has made a great impact on its history.
One of the routes leads from Navarre to the lands of the River Ebro, running from east to west. The other, known as the "Route of the Mule Drivers" or the "Way of the Valencians, Aragoneses and Castilians", led to San Sebastian and France and was very busy in the 18th century.
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    HISTORIC EVOLUTION AND URBAN STRUCTURE

HISTORY		  
It is not known exactly when Bernedo was founded. On the 'Reja' of San Millán, from the year 1025, it doesn't appear as a tributary since it was then under the jurisdiction of Navarre. What is known, however, is its defensive importance, since it possessed a castle in the times of Alfonso I el Batallador. The continuous political disputes led to the construction of numerous fortresses in strategic positions (Ocio, Peñacerrada, Bernedo, Marañon, and Santa Cruz de Campezo).
Bernedo received its Charter from the Navarrese King Sancho VI el Sabio in 1182. It remained under Navarrese rule until 1476, when it passed over to Castilian jurisdiction. In 1485, it came to be part of the Entailed Estate of the House of Ayala, in which it remained for two generations. In 1521, it passed into the hands of Don Diego Martínez de Alava, following the War of the Comunidades. From 1576 to 1584, the governorship of the castle of Bernedo was taken over by Juan de Quintana, of the Esquíbel family of Vitoria. In the 18th century, the governor of the fortress was Tomás Rivas y Verástegui and his son, the Marquis of Legarda.
URBAN GROWTH  
In terms of urban planning, Bernedo falls into the type of defensive citadel based around a castle and adapted to the terrain on which it was built, thus conditioning its layout. There are three longitudinal streets, of which the central one is the widest and various transversal alleyways joining them together.

 
TYPES OF BUILDING  
The urban housing fell into this Gothic plan, having a frontage of 5 or 6 metres and variable depth. There would be two entrances, normally at different heights. The house of the nobility, of a regular ground plan and a compact size, was built between the 17th and 18th centuries. Aside from these, there are other outstanding buildings, which, on the whole, are anomalies.
     STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
 

The structural elements of the Historical Centre are: the city walls (which limit the extension of the town) and the adjacent areas: the Puerta (Gate) de la Sarrera, the Northern Border (remains of the gate), the Eastern Border (remains of the gate), the Portal de Angostina, the Castle fortress, the Church of the Nativity and Hermitage of Santa Teresa, the alignments of the streets and the walls of the plots of land and the open spaces within the city walls.
Within the walled enclosure there are three streets which run, rising and falling, from east to west, crossed by connecting alleys and passageways. The layout of the plots is Gothic, with slight later variations where two or more are taken up by one dwelling.

 
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