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Briviesca (Municipality, Castilla y León, Spain)

Flag of Briviesca, two versions - Images by Ivan Sache, 9 January 2014

Presentation of Briviesca
Symbols of Briviesca

See also:

Presentation of Briviesca

The municipality of Briviesca (7,627 inhabitants in 2012, therefore the 4th most populous municipality in the province; 8,120 ha; tourism office website) is located in the northeast of the Province of Burgos, 45 km of Burgos. The municipality is made of the town of Briviesca and of the villages of Valdazo and Revillagodos. Briviesca is the capital of the Bureba region.

Briviesca was known in the Roman times as Virovesca, mentioned in 77 by Pliny the Elder as the capital of the Autrigones. Located during the Roman and Visigothic periods on neighbouring hills, the town was transferred to its today's site in the beginning of the 14th century, when purchased by Bianca of Portugal, the niece of King Alfonso X the Wise. The new site of the town, no longer a strategic place, facilitated commerce and communication. The new town was designed according to an orthogonal plan, which yielded to Briviesca the nickname of "well-drawn". Bianca of Portugal granted in 1313 a charter to the town, superseding the old charter granted in 1123 by Alfonso VII. The States General, conveyed for the first time in 1188 in León by Alfonso IX, gathered in Briviesca in 1387, conveyed by John I of Castile. It was decided there to award the Crown Prince of Castile with the title of Prince of Asturias, still bore by the Crown Prince of Spain.
The title of ciudad was granted to Briviesca on 16 August 1894 by Regent Marí:a Cristina.

Ivan Sache, 12 January 2014

Symbols of Briviesca

The flag of Briviesca is light green with the municipal coat of arms in the middle.
The flag, "of recent creation", was never officially approved. During the tenure of Mayor Antonio López-Linares (1971-1979), the need to hoist a town's flag during the local festival was fulfilled with a green piece of fabric charged with the coat of arms (tourism office website).

The coat of arms of Briviesca was adopted on 27 September 1927 by the Municipal Council.
The upper part of the shield shows three heads on a red field: two slanted Moor's heads flank a Christian's head placed horizontally. The heads represents the cohabitation of cultures. The lower part of the shield shows three horizontal stripes on a red field, representing the rectilinear design of the town's streets. The base of the shield is made of waves representing river Oca. The shield is surmounted by a mural crown or (tourism office website).
Different versions of the coat of arms appear to be used on the flag (photo, photo).

Ivan Sache, 12 January 2014

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