Santa Clara Square

Secluded square, between the monastery of Santa Teresa and Santa Clara. In the center of the same, are the remains of the famous hero and guerrilla during the War of Independence, D. Jerónimo Merino Cob, "El Cura Merino". In 1808 the French armies plundered the villages of the region to stock up on supplies; he, a perfect connoisseur of the whole area, confronted them with a party of 2,000 men, controlling the Camino Real, seizing convoys and couriers of the French. For his victorious actions he was named Captain and Lieutenant Colonel successively. He won 58 battles against the French troops, among them the capture of Roa, the rescue of Burgos, Ezcaray, Hontoria del Pinar, Quintana del Puente and the brilliant intervention in the battle of Vitoria. Napoleon said of him that "he preferred the head of that priest to the conquest of five Spanish cities". He was named Field Marshal by Fernando VII. Later he fought on the Carlist side in command of 11,000 men. He died in exile in Alençon (France) in 1844; and since May 1968 his remains rest next to the "Balcón de Arlanza".