The Cerca de Villaño (Basque: Villañoko esparrua[2]) is a small exclave belonging to Orduña, itself an exclave of Biscay (a province of the Basque Country, Spain). It is located in Villaño, a hamlet in Valle de Losa, Burgos. Its area and limits aren't known with certainty, and due to its small size and obscurity it isn't shown in most maps.[3]

Cerca de Villaño
A ruined house in the exclave
A ruined house in the exclave
Cerca de Villaño is located in the Basque Country
Cerca de Villaño
Cerca de Villaño
Location within the Basque Country
Coordinates: 42°58′09″N 3°07′21″W / 42.96917°N 3.12250°W / 42.96917; -3.12250
CountrySpain
Autonomous communityBasque Country
ProvinceBiscay
ComarcaArratia-Nerbioi
MunicipalityOrduña
Area
 • Total0.36 ha (0.89 acres)
Elevation
807 m (2,648 ft)
Map

The early history of the enclave is unclear, but it was part of Orduña by the early sixteenth century.[1] The municipal authorities of Orduña used to visit the exclave regularly until 1951 in order to check the border markers.[4] Around the same time, in 1950, the few inhabitants of the enclave were registered as inhabitants of Valle de Losa, and the exclave fell into obscurity.[5]

In 2015, a member of the Juntas Generales of Biscay requested the Biscayan government to reaffirm the exclave's status as part of Biscay, but his proposal was rejected.[6] In 2022, the municipality of Orduña started the procedures to survey the exclave and include it in its urban planning documentation.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b García Galán, Nicolás (2017). "Territorios separados en España: origen y situación actual" (PDF). Espacio, Tiempo y Forma. Serie VI Geografía (in Spanish) (10): 151–153. doi:10.5944/etfvi.10.2017.18696. ISSN 1130-2968. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Villañoko Esparrua - Places - EODA". Euskaltzaindia. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  3. ^ Errazti, Izaskun (14 December 2017). "El cachito de Bizkaia que está en Burgos y no sale en los mapas". El Correo (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  4. ^ Garayo Urruela, Jesús Mª (1994). "La Cerca de Villaño: enclavado del municipio de Orduña en la provincia de Burgos". Boletín de la Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País (in Spanish) (1): 197–208. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Orduña investiga su jurisdicción sobre La Cerca de Villaño". Diario de Burgos (in Spanish). 25 March 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Los grupos junteros se citan en la próxima legislatura para eliminar las cesantías de los altos cargos forales". Europa Press (in Spanish). Bilbao. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  7. ^ Loza, Gonzalo (21 March 2022). "La 'cerca de Villaño' en medio de Burgos, más cerca de ser oficialmente Bizkaia". Cadena SER (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 May 2022.