Sigüenza In Pictures

The city of Sigüenza, the town of Atienza and some additional 15 villages are part of the 'Paisaje Dulce y Salado' Landscape. They follow a medieval type of territorial organization emerged after the Christian conquest of the territory in the 12th century, which set between both towns one of the most important inland salt mines in Europe. At the time, there was a complex power balance between the Bishop Estate of Sigüenza and the Atienza family estate belonging to the kingdom. On top of that, important aristocratic families like the Mendoza’s tried to seize control of the salt mines and their profits. Therefore, this is one of the most important and ancient salt mines in Iberian Peninsula, already documented as such in the 12th century. The salt mines are distributed along the upper Henares river basin, especially around the Salado ('salty') River. They later belonged to authors´ family. The river was named in opposition to the Dulce ('fresh water') River, South of Sigüenza, where villages of great historic and heritage value are preserved