Las médulas el bierzo castilla y león

Cueva de valporquerotourist attraction in spain

I had been warned that Las Mundulas has very different landscapes depending on the time of the year, but to visit for the first time these places of the Bierzo leon茅s聽opt茅s聽 for doing it at the end of autumn … and I found them breathtakingly beautiful.

The conclusion is that Las Mulas in autumn have a very special attraction, but this natural site declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco is so impressive that it is worth visiting at any time of the year.

But at the beginning of the summer, the contrast between these rocky pinnacles of a strong copper color and the green of the thick forests is complemented by the yellow of the chestnut blossom, a type of tree that floods this area in the northwest of the province of Leon.

To extract the gold found inside the mountains, the Romans decided to use the method known as Ruina Montium, with which the mountains were literally burst in order to facilitate the final collection of the gold dust.

This method involved creating a network of canals over 100 kilometers long, largely dug into the rocks, which allowed water to be brought from higher mountains and then stored on top of the mountains that were to be burst.

Ruina montium

The Romans were a stubborn people. And very, very ingenious. They left proof of both things wherever they went during their imperial power. And we have palpable proof of this in the heart of El Bierzo. There, around the first century of our Era, the Roman civil and military machinery put into operation the largest open-pit gold mining in the whole empire.

Among those deposits, the largest of all those known to Rome until then, was Las Médulas. But in addition to gold, they faced the enormous challenge of extracting it. And this is where the Roman engineers demonstrated an enormous capacity to provide imaginative solutions to a problem that, in principle, seemed difficult to solve.

That is to say, the gold mines of the northwest peninsular were not exploited for their commercial value, but for their strategic value as supporters of the monetary system. When at the beginning of the 3rd century the empire went into crisis and the currency lost its value, the interest of the Romans in all these mines vanished forever. In fact, although the deposit of Las Médulas still contains gold in the same proportions as it did then, the difficulty of extracting it is so high and the reward so low that no one has ever thought of continuing with its commercial exploitation. Yesterday, as today, it would not cease to be a ruinous project of madmen.

El bierzo turismo

Este artículo incluye una lista de referencias generales, pero permanece en gran medida sin verificar porque carece de suficientes citas en línea correspondientes. Por favor, ayude a mejorar este artículo introduciendo citas más precisas. (Enero 2010) (Aprende cómo y cuándo eliminar este mensaje de la plantilla)

CriteriosCulturales:  (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)Referencia803Inscripción1997 (21ª sesión)Superficie2.208,2 ha (5.457 acres)Coordenadas42°28′9,8″N 6°46′14,7″W / 42.469389°N 6.770750°W / 42.469389; -6.770750Coordenadas: 42°28′9.8″N 6°46′14.7″W / 42.469389°N 6.770750°W / 42.469389; -6.770750Localización de Las Médulas en Castilla y LeónMostrar mapa de Castilla y LeónLas Médulas (España)Mostrar mapa de España

Las Médulas (pronunciación en español: [laz ˈmeðulas]) es un histórico yacimiento minero de oro cerca de la ciudad de Ponferrada en la comarca de El Bierzo (provincia de León, Castilla y León, España). Fue la mina de oro más importante, así como la mayor mina de oro a cielo abierto de todo el Imperio Romano[1] El Paisaje Cultural de Las Médulas está catalogado por la UNESCO como Patrimonio de la Humanidad. Estudios aéreos avanzados realizados en 2014 con LIDAR han confirmado la amplia extensión de las obras de la época romana[2].

The history of las medulas

Las Médulas, in the province of León, is one of the most interesting natural and historical sites in the region of El Bierzo. Las Médulas are the largest open-pit gold mine created by the Romans, and they are spectacular!

Although there is evidence of previous exploitations in the area, the truth is that Las Médulas were converted into a gold mine with the arrival of the Romans, under the command, at that time, of the Emperor Octavian Augustus.

It should be noted that most of the workers at Las Médulas were probably slaves, so labor was very cheap, but in reality only 3 grams of gold were collected for each ton of earth removed.

To visit the Médulas, you can do it from Ponferrada (province of León) or from O Barco de Valdeorras (province of Ourense). The ideal is to have a couple of days, because although the most famous can be visited in one day, there are very interesting hiking trails that are worthwhile.

It can be accessed by the A-6 or the N-VI, from Ponferrada or from Villafranca del Bierzo, to connect with the N-120. Next to the village of La Barosa, take the turnoff to Carucedo. By the N-536, from Ponferrada, to the villages of Borrenes or Carucedo. From Ourense, on the N-536, to Puente de Domingo Flórez.