Burgo de Osma

El Burgo de Osma grew beside its cathedral as the seat of the bishops of Osma, below the older fortified town across the river. Its Gothic cathedral and ecclesiastical buildings gave the small settlement an importance beyond its size. In the sixteenth century Bishop Pedro de Montoya strengthened the town's walls, supported a hospital for poor people and pilgrims, and advanced work on the cathedral. The University of Santa Catalina, founded in 1550, added a centre of learning to the bishopric.