Territorio Artlanza

Who made it

Territorio Artlanza is the work of one man: Félix Yáñez, a sculptor born in 1960 in Quintanilla del Agua. The son of a bricklayer, he learned to work clay by watching a neighbour in the village and lived for some thirty years selling ceramics at craft fairs, mainly in Madrid and Castilla y León. He began by decorating the area around his workshop to hide some woodsheds and a garage, with help from his father and father-in-law. In 2008, when the crisis wiped out sales at the fairs, he carried on alone and on a grand scale. He gathered posts, tiles, doors and adobe from the spoil heaps of the surrounding villages, neighbours gave him old objects, doors and balconies, and visits grew "like a snowball". Today the website is signed by his son Darío.

What you see

It is a themed sculpture that recreates, at full scale, a Castilian village from the Middle Ages to the last century. It covers more than 30,000 m², and the house presents it as the largest sculpture in the world made by a single person. Among Castilian-style façades there are about fifteen small museums with farm tools and utensils, display cases and two corrales de comedias. At the end of the route is the children's area that began during the 2020 lockdown, with coloured houses, comic characters, its own version of Burgos cathedral and buildings of the Arlanza valley, made mainly with tiles. In a neo-Romanesque building is the workshop and the room where Félix models and exhibits terracottas, now only to order; on its porch, the ticket office.

What the visit is like

The visit is self-guided and outdoors, following a route, so you need to be prepared for the weather; on very windy days it may close, and they announce it on social media. Halfway round there is a picnic area with tables and benches, water machines, snacks and coffee, and the toilets are in the Felipe Segundo corral de comedias. At the end, a shop sells ceramics, souvenirs and local products. There is a first aid kit at the ticket office. The website does not give the duration or wheelchair accessibility.

It is open every day, including weekends and public holidays, from 10:00 to 18:00. It costs €10 for adults and €5 for children aged 5 to 14. Dogs are not allowed in, except guide dogs or small dogs carried in arms or a backpack, nor is smoking. Children must not climb on the buildings, roofs, balconies or trees. You park on the street itself, next to the swimming pools, respecting the yellow line.

Groups, schools and activities

In April, May and June there are educational workshops for primary school groups, of up to 50 pupils, always by booking. In summer the place fills with activities: the National Chamber Theatre Festival in the corrales de comedias, flamenco, cinema and poetry, a quick-paint contest and traditional games. It can also be hired for filming, photo shoots, tastings and weddings. For groups, call 651 100 999 or 649 129 877, or write to [email protected]. The website is in Spanish and has a page in English.