Cohiño: Circular Route, Buildings and Historical Traces

Cohiño is a stop on the “Rincones de Valdeiguña” circular route, where traces of paths, buildings and history come together. The “Rincones de Valdeiguña” circular route passes through Cohiño; before reaching the village, it leads to the ruins of the old Molino de Veguía mill. Behind Cohiño’s square, after a left-hand bend, the circular route leads through the village to Covachona. The sequence from the mill site through the village section to the cave thus connects several named stops along the same route. In this sequence, the route leads from the mill site through Cohiño to Covachona. The route and the buildings can therefore be considered separately without losing sight of their connection. The mill ruins stand at the beginning of this sequence, while the route then continues through Cohiño and onwards to Covachona.

Paths and Historical Traces

The Molino de Veguía mill belonged to the Palacio de los Hornillos. It stands on the left bank of the Los Llares River, next to the La Covachona stream. The Covachona cave served as an air-raid shelter during the Civil War. The spring water at Covachona once supplied the nearby Molino de Veguía. Thus, the mill, river, stream and spring form a closely connected sequence of place and water names. The names of the waterways help distinguish the individual stops mentally, while the mill establishes the connection to the Palacio de los Hornillos. In this manageable section, the building’s affiliation, its location by the river and stream, and the historical use of the cave stand alongside one another. The spring’s former function is therefore just as much part of the mill’s history as its location on the Los Llares and beside La Covachona.

Culture and History

The church of Santa María in Cohiño is a Gothic church dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. It has a single-nave layout and a finely decorated baptismal font made of hewn stone. It also has an 18th-century Baroque altarpiece. Santa María thus brings together its Gothic construction period, its single-nave design and two notable furnishings: a baptismal font made of hewn stone and an 18th-century Baroque altarpiece. The Ermita de San Roque in Cohiño dates from the 17th century. It stands at a crossroads at the exit from Los Llares, in the district of Cohiño. Traditionally, a procession and a Romería take place around the Ermita de San Roque on the feast day of the patron saint. Alongside the church and its furnishings, this traditional festival custom is therefore also part of the village’s history.

Other Local Destinations

Santander, Santotís, Argoños, Santoña, Pesaguero, Santiurde De Toranzo, La Ventona, Cotillo

Cuisine

Cuisine can also be considered as a separate subject area alongside the route, buildings and festival tradition. In Arenas de Iguña, ground maize once formed a staple of the diet; among other things, it was used to prepare Pulientas and Borona. These two named preparations add a specific aspect of the region’s traditional diet to the historical view of the area. Maize is therefore one of the traditional elements of regional everyday history, while Pulientas and Borona name the dishes made from it.

For the overall travel guide: Cantabria.