Uznayo

Uznayo brings together religious buildings, traditional house styles and routes, each with a clear focus. The Iglesia de San Cosme y San Damián is an example of Montañés Baroque; the routes highlight an uphill climb across meadows, the water and architecture of the Nansa Valley, and old stone bridges. When planning your trip, you can take the village’s architecture and the specific features of each route into account.

Getting Around and Architecture

Uznayo can be reached via a turnoff at La Laguna and is 3 kilometers from the main road.

Religious Buildings

The Iglesia de San Cosme y San Damián is an example of 18th-century Montañés Baroque. Its architecture includes a polygonal apse and a nave with two bays. The multi-sided shape of the apse and the division of the nave into two bays describe the church interior both at its end and in its internal layout.

Another religious landmark is the Humilladero de las Ánimas, an 18th-century wayside shrine. Its stone-carved relief depicts the Souls in Purgatory. The church and wayside shrine thus both date from the same period, but have different design features: an apse and a divided nave in one, a figurative relief in the other.

Houses and Ensembles

Uznayo’s traditional architecture includes houses built from stone and timber from the local valley, as well as distinctive solanas, designed to let in warmth and light. Two houses in Uznayo date from the second half of the 18th century.

The El Duerno hydraulic ensemble consists of a spring, a livestock watering trough and a washhouse, arranged in a line. Its components bring together different functions in a clearly structured ensemble.

Invernales of considerable ethnographic value have been preserved in the area around Uznayo. They draw attention beyond the village’s individual buildings to the cultural heritage of the surrounding area.

Routes and Their Highlights

Stage 3 of the Los Pueblos de Polaciones Route

After leaving Uznayo, Stage 3 climbs uphill across meadows to the Collado de Lombraña. The entire stage runs through the ZEC Valles altos del Nansa y Saja y Alto Campoo Special Area of Conservation and lies within the restoration area for the Cantabrian brown bear. This route therefore combines a specific path across meadows with two protected-area designations.

Senda Fluvial del Nansa

The Senda Fluvial del Nansa is a themed walking trail from Uznayo to Puente Pumar. Its themes include water and the Nansa Valley’s industrial and public architectural heritage connected with the river. Water and architecture are both central to the trail.

Uznayo–Puente Pumar Route

On the Uznayo–Puente Pumar route, two old stone bridges are crossed in the first 0.4-kilometer section. This gives the opening section a specific architectural highlight.

Discover more destinations: Bárcena De Cicero, Santa María De Cayón, Anaz, Peñacastillo, Santander, Castañeda, Tresabuela, Guarnizo, Santoña.

For the regional travel overview: Cantabria.