San Millan de la Cogolla

San Millán de la Cogolla is a municipality in the autonomous community of La Rioja in Spain. It is located at the foot of the Sierra de la Demanda (Iberian system) on the eastern slope that separates the Meseta from the Ebro valley, at 728 meters above sea level. sea level and on the banks of the Cárdenas River.

Toponymy

In a bull of 1199 by which privileges were granted to the monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, it appears named as Coculla, which comes from cuculla, hill, top of mountain. It is typical of high places and with a defensive character, and must correspond to the time of the Reconquest.

History

Municipal Term of San Millán de la Cogolla.

Monasteries of San Millán de Yuso

San Millán de Suso

The municipality took its name from Saint Millán (an evolution into Spanish of the Latin name Æmilianus or Emiliano), an anchorite who was a student of San Felices and lived from 473 to 574, and creator of the mixed community of hermits from Suso, which would later give rise to one of the most important cultural centers of medieval times in southern Europe.

At that time there was a church called San Jorge in the place, which would be the town's parish church until 1542, where the tomb of Santa Potamia, a disciple of San Millán, was found. This hermitage, from the XII century, is currently preserved at the entrance to the town, next to the Cárdenas River, and is considered one of the oldest consecrated churches in La Rioja.

The town is made up of four neighborhoods:

• The oldest neighborhood is traditionally called Santurde, which, according to data existing in the monastic archive of the monastery of Suso, already existed in the centuryIX.
• After the construction of the Monastery of Yuso, the town was extended to it forming another neighborhood, called Barrionuevo, which currently occupies the entire practice of the town.
• Another neighborhood, created from the centuryXIV, is the Prestiño, which surrounds the Monastery of Yuso in its northern and eastern part, in which stands out constructions related to the monastery, such as the former hospital of the Monastery and mills and warehouses that were transformed into dwellings over time.
• The most remote district is Place del Río, located 2 km up the Cárdenas. It is a quiet and peaceful place surrounded by meadows, choperas and classic mountain prints.

Between the 16th and XVII, the monastery of San Millán de Yuso (or below) was built, of great proportions called the Escorial de La Rioja since the 1960s. This monastery was one of the most influential in medieval times in the Iberian Peninsula and was the religious center of many areas of La Rioja, Burgos, Soria, Palencia and Álava.

In 1997 the monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla, Suso and Yuso were listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.

Demographics

As of January 1, 2010, the population of the municipality amounted to 278 inhabitants, 183 men and 95 women.

Graphic of demographic evolution of San Millán de la Cogolla (municipal) between 1857 and 2018

Population of Law (1857-1897) according to population censuses of the century INEXIX.Population of Law (1900-1991) or resident population (2001) according to population censuses of the INE.Population according to the 2018 INE Municipal Register.

Population by nuclei

Economy

Royal Visit to the Monastery of San Millán de Yuso in April 2008

Traditionally agriculture (cereal, potato, beetroot), livestock (bovine and sheep) and logging (beech, oak and pine) have been the main productive sectors of the town, although now the tourist impulse generated by the monasteries has It has contributed to establishing tourism as one of the main economic pillars of the area, and an important hotel complex has been created, with hotels, restaurants and related recreational activities.

Another important activity, as it is located in the Sierra de la Demanda, next to the National Reserve, is big game hunting (deer, wild boar and roe deer), wood pigeon stalls and small game reserve with quail and partridge as main attractive.

Administration

Mayors since the 1979 elections

Period	Name	Party
1979-1983	Santiago Lerena Alesanco	UCD
1983-1987	Santiago Lerena Alesanco	AP
1987-1991	Millán Ángel Baltanás Lorenzo	PSOE
1991-1995	Millán Ángel Baltanás Lorenzo	PSOE
1995-1999	Eladio Cañas Ureta	PRP
1999-2003	Eladio Cañas Ureta	P
2003-2007	Eladio Cañas Ureta	P
2007-2011	María Pilar Mendoza Martínez	PSOE
2011-2015	María Pilar Mendoza Martínez	PSOE
2015-2019	Raquel Fernández Tejerina	P
2019-	Raquel Fernández Tejerina	P

Monastery of San Millán

Within the urban area is the Monastery of San Millán, formed, in turn, by the primitive Monastery of San Millán de Suso ("from above") and the Monastery of San Millán de Yuso ("from below"). The Escritorio de San Millán is one of the oldest in Europe, and was a very important center of culture, proof of this is the magnificent collection of codices that are preserved. Among the most important are Codex 60, where the Emilian Glosses are found, some of the first words in Basque and Spanish through Latin annotations and in the Romance language, for which reason San Millán is known as the Cradle of Language. Gonzalo de Berceo, the first known Castilian poet, served the monastery as a notary. The library and the archive are considered one of the best monastic complexes. The historical, literary, artistic reasons, as well as the monumental complex, made possible its declaration as a World Heritage Site in December 1997. Currently the Monastery of San Millán de Yuso is inhabited by friars of the Order of Augustinian Recollects.

Both the Yuso and Suso monasteries were declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the Monument category on June 3, 1931.

This monastery burned in flames after the expedition of Almanzor in the spring of 1002 belonging to the campaigns of Almanzor in the final stage of the Caliphate of Córdoba.

Parties

Ark of San Millán

• On the Sunday of Pentecost, the Monastery of Valvanera, the patron of La Rioja, is also in the Sierra de la Demanda. The pilgrimage is made on foot through the mountain, passing through the summits that limit the Najerilla and Cárdenas river basin.
• On the third Saturday of June the men of San Millán approach the Cave of the Holy in Rome. This custom dates from 1604, to request the help of San Millán with a disease that the women of the valley suffered.
• On the 16th of July in Lugar del Rio are the celebrations of the Patrona la Virgen del Carmen.
• The 26th of September is celebrated La Traslación, a party commemorating the transfer of the remains of San Millán. According to the legend, due to a miracle of the Holy One, King Sancho III ordered the construction of the Monastery of Yuso.
• On November 12, the feast of San Millán is celebrated, and on November 17th, the feast of Santa Gertrudis, patrons of the people.

Illustrious people

• Juan de San Millán. Born in 1492, eminent professor of theology, Carlos I appointed him bishop of Tuy in 1574. He attended the Council of Trent intervening in the discussion of several decrees. Philip II appointed him bishop of Leo in 1564. He gave an important sum of money so that the inhabitants of the Valley of San Millán could buy the "Mother of San Millán" to the Abbey, thus achieving their independence.
• Antonio Segura. Painter at the service of Philip II in the decoration of El Escorial. Carlos V gave charge in his will to paint the main altarpiece of the Monastery of Yuste. Possibly he was wounded in a king's house by Cervantes himself.
• Maria de la O Lejárraga. He was born in 1874 and was the wife of Gregorio Martínez Sierra. He published with his name Counts Breves.
• Leandro Nieto Bolandier (1893-1960). Religious Augustine. Palawan Prefect (Philippines).
• Father Joaquín Peña. Fraile Agustino Recoleto. Missionary in China. Member of the Royal Academy of History, librarian and archiver of the Monastery.
• Tarsicio Lejárraga. 15/08/1914 - 25/12/2002. The Monastery of Suso (1962-1979).