Ponferrada - Basílica de la Encina

After the Romans had conquered the place in the Astur-Cantabrian Wars (29–19 BC) and the area became the largest mining center of the Empire during the Roman period, where gold and other metals and minerals were extracted. The Romans also imported grapevines.

The modern name of the city derives from the iron reinforcements added to the ancient bridge over the river Sil, commissioned in 1082 by Bishop Osmundo of Astorga to facilitate the crossing of the Sil River to pilgrims in their way to Santiago de Compostela.

In 1178, Ferdinand II of León donated the city to the Templar order for protecting the pilgrims on the Way of St. James in their road to Santiago de Compostela.

The church of Santa María, built at the beginning of the 12th century, was replaced by a new building that was completed in 1670.

The name “Nuestra Señora la Virgen de la Encina” goes back to the legend of the portrait of the Virgin Mary. The carving is said to have been brought from the Holy Land by Toribio, Bishop of Astorga, and then later hidden from the Moors. Centuries later, Knights Templar found it in an oak tree.