Villarcayo

Villarcayo lies beside the Nela in the Merindades of northern Castile. In 1560 Philip II chose it as the administrative centre of the district, and the general assemblies of the Merindades began meeting there instead of at Miñón. Each merindad sent representatives of both the lesser nobility and the taxpayers. A tower built in 1566 and an archive protected by three separate keys reflected the town's new role in the government and justice of the surrounding country.