Enjoy the best bicycle touring routes in the community of Madrid

El destino Sierra Norte de Madrid, íntimamente ligado a una naturaleza bien conservada y protegida a través de diferentes figuras de protección trabaja desde sus inicios por el establecimiento de un destino respetuoso con el medio ambiente, apostando por un turismo sostenible, donde las actividades de naturaleza y deportes al aire libre constituyen uno de sus más importantes pilares.

La bicicleta es uno de los deportes que más aficionados atrae a la Sierra Norte. Las razones son varias: multitud de caminos y pistas de montaña, la variedad y tranquilidad de las carreteras serranas, los puertos de montaña, la existencia de itinerarios señalizados para todos los públicos y por supuesto unos paisajes y una naturaleza idílicos. Y para rematar una gran jornada ciclista la Sierra Norte de Madrid cuenta con una gastronomía propia para que recuperes fuerzas y una variada oferta de alojamientos que facilitarán tu actividad preferida.

La bicicleta de montaña es sin duda la reina de la Sierra, la tradición ganadera y su situación geográfica nos ha legado una gran cantidad de caminos en los que podemos adentrarnos a descubrir los tesoros naturales y patrimoniales de la Sierra Norte, además, de poder recorrer la Sierra de pueblo a pueblo.

Acompañando a este gran recorrido existen una serie de empresas que brindan servicios que facilitan la actividad de los ciclistas como empresas de guías, alquiler de bis, restaurantes alojamientos que ofrecen guarda bicis, pequeño taller y herramientas, lugar para lavar la bici, información sobre rutas… Sierra Norte de Madrid junto con la Asociación CiclaMadrid y de la mano de los empresarios turísticos, trabajan por la especialización del destino, apostando por la especialización del servicio en torno a la bicicleta y el senderismo.

Somos una empresa dedicada al alquiler de todo tipo de bicicletas en Madrid. Organizamos eventos en bici y ofrecemos transporte, así como todos los extras que un ciclista pueda necesitar.

In 1792 it underwent a first rebuilding paid with the alms of the neighbors. The disappearance of the confraternity a few years later would lead to the decay and deterioration of the old temple, until in 1882 the council decided to transfer to this place the Hospital of St Pedro.

In 2003 the building was rehabilitated, having recovered its old use as a hermitage. A small chapel dedicated to St Pedro and attached to the hermitage recalls the presence until not many years ago of the mentioned hospital.

The last stage began in 1829, when the hermitage became a chapel of the parish cemetery. Since then he has undergone a slow but inexorable process of wearing down his original personality for the benefit of this new function.

An important rehabilitation carried out in the year 2005-2006 has returned to the hermitage its old splendor. Its interior space has been liberated from the nineteenth-century partitions that prevented its single nave from being contemplated; and the primitive dedication of the temple, San Juan Bautista, has been recovered.

You can visit inside the hermitage route. More information: 918101141/42

This is a building of unique characteristics, where still today the purchase can be made in the most traditional style.

The historical memory of this place is perceived in the House of the Lonja, in the style of the Manor and with some elements that give back to the past, such as the shield of hidalgo, the balconies of the nineteenth century or the inner courtyard. The Humilladero of the Green Cross located in the birth of the street of the same name, farewell to us of the market square. The Green Cross on a black background was an emblem of the Inquisition, on whose side they painted an olive branch, a symbol of peace, and the other a sword, a symbol of rigid Justice. Also, this was the way to go to Madrid, hence it is also known as the “cross of the good road”.

Inside the chapel dedicated to the Christ of the Great Power, where a statue of the sculptor jenense Antonio Begijar (1938-2002) is venerated, as well as the mural paintings that decorate its interior, realized by Alberto Pirrongelli. The new hermitage has become the main reference of the Park of the Nazarene.

You can visit inside the hermitage route. More information: 918101141/42

The historical park of San Sebastián lies near the historical centre and was built with the goal of serving as a nexus between the past and the present and a meeting place for the town’s inhabitants. An area full of well-tended gardens for the pleasure of inhabitants and visitors alike, it hosts a collection of sculptures that represent some of the historical individuals that, at one time or another, have had links to the town. It is also a good place from which to view the sun set, as the last rays slip beneath the wall formed by the peaks of the Sierra de Gredos. The park is accessible by all.

Of its architectonic set, it is possible to emphasize the sculptural group Tribute to the Democracy of Luis A. Sanguino and the great auditorium. In its surroundings, also we find, the Torso Ibérico, work of Alberto Corazón; The Lady of Francisco Leyro, and, finally, in the Plaza de la Letras, which accesses the Municipal Library, the sculpture entitled Flame, by José Luis Sánchez.

The complex that consists of the Plaza de Segovia and the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción was declared a Monument of Historical-Artistic Interest and later, a Site of Cultural Interest within the category of heritage sites. The Plaza de Segovia is a Castilian town square with an irregular layout and with porticoes on three of its four sides. The balconies and windows are built of wood and wrought iron and present a pleasing contrast with the granite pillars. It is an exceptional witness to the history and daily life of the inhabitants of Navalcarnero and was built between the 16th and 17th centuries. The most emblematic building in this site is the former Casa Consistorial, which dates back to 1588.

The route will lead us now to the road that connects Navalcarnero with Villamanta and, after crossing it, we will go towards the meadow of San Isidro through the path of the Water of Riaza.

In the prairie, presided over by the hermitage of San Isidro, which was erected in the 1970s, we can replenish forces, drink water and rest in the shade of trees. This place welcomes every May 15 a popular pilgrimage.

Urban route
1. Theater square and Municipal Theater Center
2. Church of San José (Plaza de San José)
3. Monument to the closures (in the intersection of the C / Freedom with the C / Real)
4. Church of Our Lady of the Assumption
5. Emmit of the Veracruz
6. Segovia square
7. Historic Park de San Sebastián
8. Plaza del Pozo Council
9. Emmit of San Roque
10. Museum of Wine
11. Emmit of San Cosme and San Damián
12. Lonja House
13. Culture House
14. Chain House
15. Emmy of the Confraternity of Our Brother Jesus Cautivo del Amor
16. Interpretation Center
17. Feliciano Hernández Museum

Today turned into a recreational area, and surrounded by a beautiful quejigar, the trough and a fountain are conserved. On the way, about 200 m before, you can see three fountains, two of which date back to the 19th century.

This plaza is one of the most beautiful in Spain, thanks to its irregular floor, which shows its popular origin, but it does not detract from its harmony. Its present structure corresponds to 1683, when it was closed in all its flanks. Homogeneous three-storey buildings stand out, with arcades, galleries and wooden balconies painted green.

In its origin it was the meeting place where cattle fairs were held. The council bought some houses in 1499 to undertake its meetings, establishing the Town Hall in the same place in which it is today. In 1502 Juana la Loca and Felipe el Hermoso visited Chinchón and its Plaza Mayor. In 1683 it was closed by opening enough holes to give way to processions and chariots.

Reference of the neighborhood that takes its name, with a marked popular flavor, is a simple church erected in the middle of the twentieth century according to the project of the architect Luis M. Feduchi.

The Plaza Mayor of Colmenar de Oreja is a characteristic Castilian town square of harmonious proportions, supported by limestone columns and wooden balconies. It was built in the 18th and 19th centuries to bridge the precipice that separated the old town from the outskirts. It has five entrances and holds two notable buildings: the town hall -with two porticoed floors and a covered passage- and the Casa del Pósito, once a communal granary where the price of wheat was regulated and aid given in times of scarcity.

From the Plaza Mayor we can access the tunnel of Zacatín (1632-1794). It is situated below the town square and is made up of the arches of the bridge above the stream that separated the old town and its outskirts for ages.
The gardens are located behind the Plaza Mayor and are accessed by the Camino del Cristo where you can see the arch of the bridge of Zacatín. The arch was commissioned by Charles IV in the 18th century and sustains the surface of the Plaza Mayor over an area with precipices. This complex feat of engineering, an elongated gallery more than 70 metres long took more than a century to be completed. The construction lasted 118 years, as noted on a plaque on the lintel of the arch.
It is accessible by all. The entrance is handicap-accessible.

The Convent of the Incarnation of the Divine Word, also called the “convent of the nuns” is an interesting architectural complex covering an area of nearly 7000 square metres. It belongs to Augustinian cloistered nuns and was designed by the architect Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás in the 17th century. It consists of three main buildings, in addition to the gardens used by the cloistered nuns. Next to the convent church lies the convent itself and a palace-house that once belonged to the counts of Colmenar de Oreja, lords of the town and the convent’s founders.

Its original structure was rebuilt in the 19th century by a group of theatre lovers and it became a corral de comedias (a theatre playhouse), situated on the site of the former Hospital de la Caridad. After three successive renovations in the 20th century, it acquired its current look, with three floors, and multiple seating areas. It can seat up to 555 people.

It is a museum dedicated to the undoubtedly most universal artist in Colmenar de Oreja. Although his work encompasses several genres, of special note are his historical paintings, which possess a rich and dynamic nature. The museum has a large number of oil paintings, watercolours, etchings or book illustrations by Checa, apart from reference works and bibliography regarding the artist. The paintings, that inspired iconic films such as Ben Hur and Quo Vadis, were painted by Ulpiano Checa and may be seen in the museum erected by Colmenar de Oreja in honour of the artist. It is one of the most surprising art galleries in the Region of Madrid. The building is accessible by all and it also has accessible toilets.

It is located within a magnificent environment of gardens and pine groves that may be reached by a pleasant walk from the Plaza Mayor. In addition to its historical-artistic value, the shrine also holds special value for the town’s inhabitants, as it houses the image of their patron saint, the Cristo del Humilladero. There are other shrines of interest in the town: that of San Roque in the square of the same name, whose twin imposing columns that hold up its portico are worth viewing; while the modern structure of the shrine of San Isidro imitates the traditional form of pottery kilns that are unique to the town; and finally, the shrine to Saint John the Baptist, only opened in June on the feast day of San Juan. The building is accessible by all. The entrance has a small threshold.

Colmenar de Oreja is a great place to walk around in and discover in its corners the echoes of a bygone era -when people did their laundry, watered their animals, or drank from public fountains and wells.
In the tranquil terraced gardens of Zacatín, we can also find the Fountain of Zacatín, now also called the Fuente del Barroco, or the Fountain of the Precipice. It was built in 1779, although water from its wellspring has been drawn since Roman times (2nd century CE). You can hear the water rushing through to the fountain inside the Arch of Zacatín.

The two pipes gave so little water, that it was scarcely enough to drink the cavalry that they used to drink there. His deposit instead is spacious. The water of the left pipe, more abundant and of worse quality, is rolled by gallery of mampuestos, and the water of the right pipe, scarce and of better quality, comes by stone basin covered with tile of stone, that runs to half slope of the Hold it straight. The date of its construction is not known and by the year 1950 the wall of the bottom was completely retracted.

Conceived in a similar way to the Barranco, for simultaneous uses, it consists of a long stonecutter gallery through which water flows to pour two very abundant pipes (one destined for consumption by the public and the other for the livestock of the working cattle that came) in A box uncovered and surrounded by a wall, in the background, and of arches in the front and the two sides, from which it passes to a long trough and from this, successively, to two large laundries and then to a raft, called Pozo Arancón, Which also pours, when it has water, a small spring. It was of great utility because of the great consumption that the neighborhood made. Waters heavily loaded with salts. The whole was restored in 1992.

Small brocal, located in the center of the town, in Plazuela de Domingo del Moral, whose water was extracted from buckets to feed the cattle.

Its waters were also used for various purposes in the nearby canterias. – See more at: http://www.colmenardeoreja.com/wordpress/colmenarte/?p=469#sthash.3P2Zmjju.dpuf

First source built inside the town, which financed the Society of Cosechiers in 1918. The source has four pipes, three of which are responsible for recirculating the water from the next trough.

After the Civil War had to be partially remodeled for which the neighbors of Colmenar de Oreja contributed and several beneficial bullfighting festivals were realized. In its interior it emphasizes the altar of wood sobredorada, formed by small columns and in the center the image of San Roque in carved polychrome wood. Its celebration is celebrated the 16 of August, in which they turn all his anxiety his neighbors of the District of San Roque. It is usually open daily, between 9am and 10pm.

The chain of its façade gave the name, in the XVIII century, to the street of Cadena, today known as the street of Felipe IV, where the stone memorial inscriptions that testify to the great event remain. Its denomination adopts it of the great chain that existed in front of the door of the house, to which were guardacantones of berroqueña topped by balls the size of a human head.

The combination of stone and wood in this space make it a place that identifies it with its Castilian origins. In the park there is a children’s play area. The green space is near the hermitage of the Brotherhood Ntro. Brother Jesus Cautivo del Amor.

In this beautiful park, you will discover the Plaza del Colodro, which owes its name to an old place, which time has been diluting and that historical memory has been in charge of rescuing.

The only remaining church of the four that were present in Buitrago del Lozoya in the 16th century. Of a predominantly Neo-Mudejar style, it has been restored on several occasions, especially after a fire broke out in 1936. Notable elements in its interior include the 15th century coffered ceiling above the high altar which is from the former hospital of San Salvador, built on the order of the Marqués de Santillana. Originally it had three naves, which have now been reduced to one central nave. It was initially built in the Gothic style, but its interior is Neo-Mudejar. It was set on fire during the Spanish Civil War, which caused its ribbed vault to collapse and all the altarpieces and images inside were lost. It was declared a national monument in 1931.
The church is accessible by all.

It is linked to the Mendoza family who governed the town from the 14th century onwards. The building that stands here today dates back to those times or the 15th century when the Marqués de Santillana and other members of the family left their mark on the urban landscape of the town. Attached to the south-east corner of the town wall, it has an almost quadrangular layout with seven differently shaped towers. The Mudejar influence is notable in every corner of this construction. It is almost square in shape and surrounded by seven towers. The towers weren’t all built at the same time, three of them correspond to the original construction while the other four were built at the same time as the new Alcazar, built between the 13th and the 15th centuries.

Work on the convent of Las Clarisas in Chinchón began in the 16th century, although it was founded in 1653. The building was erected according to the plans of Nicolás Vergara “El Mozo”, the master mason of the Cathedral of Toledo.
Its most interesting element is its cloister of two floors. The lower cloister is supported by round arches. The Choir houses the Panteón de los V Condes, sculpted entirely from Italian marble.

An annex to the Parador de Turismo hotel in Chinchón is the church of Nuestra Señora del Rosario which once belonged to the Convent of San Agustín.
It is a Baroque church with one nave and side chapels which doubled as cells for prisoners during the Spanish Civil War.
It possesses some interesting Baroque frescoes in the transept, painted in bright colours, with borders, leaves, columns and other embellishments. In 1846 it was dedicated to the veneration of the Virgin of the Rosary. The church possesses a beautiful Baroque altarpiece which was burnt in a fire in 1929, although the Virgin’s image suffered no damage. Her feast day is celebrated every year on the third weekend of September.

The Castillo de los Condes (Castle of the Counts) is located to the south of Chinchón. It is a private building that retains a large part of its structure, in spite of the vicissitudes of history. While the interior is closed to the public, the outside is worth viewing.
It was commissioned by Don Diego Fernández de Cabrera, the 3rd Count of Chinchón, in the second half of the 16th century. This imposing fortress rises on a small plateau to the south of the old town. What was once a strategic vantage point is now a site that provides majestic views to onlookers. The castle has a quadrangular layout and four round defensive towers at the corners.

The Casasola castle in Chinchón was built in the 15th century. It has a triangular layout and was built in the Gothic style, with a bridge and several defensive towers. It was the home of several politicians and military officers who supported Alfonso XII.

The Roman chapel of San Antón was formerly dedicated to San Esteban. It is an 18th-century construction built on another older Roman construction dating back to the 16th century, which maintains the former Roman apses and recently discovered Gothic paintings. It is probably the oldest religious building within Chinchón’s historical centre.

This Baroque shrine has a brick façade and lintelled door. It was once the church of the old Hospital de la Misericordia de Chinchón (17th century). It has a single nave and an altarpiece with the image of the Virgin and a painting of Santa Lucía.

The Lope de Vega Theatre of Chinchón was built on the ruins of the Palacio de los Condes, which disappeared after the War of the Spanish Succession. It derives its name from the fact that Lope de Vega wrote his work El Blasón de los Chaves de Villalba in this palace.
Built in 1891 by the Sociedad de Cosecheros (the Harvesters’ Society), the interior of the playhouse has a fantastic painting with views and allegories of the city, that is occasionally used as a backdrop and was painted by Luis Muriel.
Throughout the season, it offers a varied theatrical programme, which has made it a landmark in the cultural panorama in the south of Madrid. In 2016, it completed 125 years.

This plaza is one of the most beautiful in Spain, thanks to its irregular floor, which shows its popular origin, but it does not detract from its harmony. Its present structure corresponds to 1683, when it was closed in all its flanks. Homogeneous three-storey buildings stand out, with arcades, galleries and wooden balconies painted green.

In its origin it was the meeting place where cattle fairs were held. The council bought some houses in 1499 to undertake its meetings, establishing the Town Hall in the same place in which it is today. In 1502 Juana la Loca and Felipe el Hermoso visited Chinchón and its Plaza Mayor. In 1683 it was closed by opening enough holes to give way to processions and chariots.

To understand the meaning of the paintings, made by the great artist Alberto Pirrongelli, who decorate the walls and ceilings, it is necessary to know the most important moments of the life of the Saint.To paint the hermitage, Pirrongelli has relied on pictures of great masters and, from them, he has made his own compositions.

Visits: included inside the hermitage route. 918101141

Of scarce flow, its crystalline waters are the most salubrious of the city, that in old time were used for medicinal purposes, being used as purgative. For many years its waters were used by the nearby Municipal Slaughterhouse.

This imposing church which stands very near to the Plaza Mayor has the air of a fortress. It is laid out in the shape of a Latin cross and was built in the 13th century by the Order of Santiago. Various naves were added to it in the 16th century, and in the 17th century, some chapels were built that can still be seen today. The building has been restored several times to repair the damages inflicted during the Spanish Civil War. One of the latest renovations was in 2007 under the supervision of Madrid’s regional government. The church has been declared a Site of Cultural Interest in the monument category. The building is accessible by all.

During the War of Independence was used like headquarters by the French, conserving of this time a fissures in the jambas of its door that made possible the passage of the guns to its interior. The hermitage remains closed all year, opening its doors only in the feast of its saint, the 24 of June. Contains a small reredos of wood with gilded. In the center there is a niche where the image of San Juan Bautista is located.

Was formed a singular reef of whiter whiteness and of extraordinary quality and beauty. The colmenaretes extracted it from the bowels of the earth and made it possible to be used in the Royal Palaces of Madrid and Aranjuez and in countless monuments of Madrid, being a favorite element for sculptors.

The Interpretation Centre is a magnificent place to begin our visit, as it recreates the full expression of Navalcarnero’s culture of wine.
It is located in an original farmhouse which provides a unique setting: Navalcarnero, land of wine. You will learn about certain topics such as the winemaking system, the work in the cellar, the importance of the caves, the sale of wine, its transport and related trades.
Admission fee to the Interpretation Centre is €2 (reduced fee €1.50).

In this corner is also located the monument to Jesus Casas, a costumbrista painter and Son Predilecto of Navalcarnero. In the area, the parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption is majestic and honoring its declaration of Historic Artistic Monument. Started in the middle of the XVI, it cohabits different architectonic styles like Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, classicism escurialense or Hispano-Mudejar, current this last that is appreciated in the decorations of its outer tower. If something strikes the eye is precisely this element, one of the signs of identity of Navalcarnero that, next to the Baroque spire, greet the traveler beyond the limits of the municipality.

In the square, history is manifested in elements such as the monument to Philip IV, who seems to be telling us from his pedestal the celebration of the Royal Wedding in the seventeenth century. For the most observant the sun-clock, it challenges to decipher the exact time of day.

It is a magnificent example of a Castilian manor house, owned by the Delgado family that traces its roots back to the 18th century. Its facade has wrought iron bars and the family’s coat of arms. It is currently used as a centre for cultural activities.

The Plaza de Alonso de Arreo is within the larger Plazuela del Mercado. It is a small square that was recently built and holds the mural paintings of Alberto Pirrongelli, with mythological scenes related to wine production. The Plaza Alonso de Arreo is dedicated to the eponymous governor and native of Navalcarnero who, in 1520, joined the revolt of the comuneros along with twenty armed men, an event that was immortalised by Alberto Pirrongelli in a large mural painting. The Museum of Wine is also located here but is currently closed for renovations. The squares are accessible by all.

Built in the early 17th century, its rehabilitation in 2008 has brought to light interesting frescoes. The hermitage was linked to the Brotherhood of the Veracruz, that in 1652 acquired a lying Christ attributed to Sánchez Barba; Today it is conserved in this hermitage.

Simultaneously, up to three dozen furnaces came to operate. At present, five or six of these buildings remain in the surroundings of the street Afuera de Tinajeros and Calle Convento, protected as pieces of singular and unique architecture. A jar of Colmenar opened the pavilion of Madrid in the Universal Exhibition of Seville in 1992 and another of them decorates the gardens of the House of the Princes of Asturias, gift of the City council of Colmenar de Oreja by reason of its link.

In 1759 Charles III, who had been king of Naples and Sicily, came to the throne. He chose Aranjuez to live, as it reminded him of his Neapolitan city of Caserta and chose this enclave to develop an experimental agroindustrial and livestock project to activate progress from the enlightened perspective. Thus, in 1762 he created the Cortijo Real, similar to San Leucio, near Caserta, also of agricultural experimentation and that served as a supply of good products to the royal palace.

In the beautiful natural landscape of the Real Bosque began to break virgin lands, forming tree-lined streets to access the new orchards, artificial meadows for grazing etc. They brought from Naples cows, buffaloes, sheep, horses, oxen … and to irrigate the lands they built three caces and transformed the historical caz de la Azuda. In addition, they planted 25,000 varied trees and 128,000 strains, raising a fence to protect crops from wild animals. In 1770, King Carlos III had a house built for the director of the cortijo, royal residence, stables, oratory, stables …

Today, when entering the Real Cortijo we find an urban helmet of neoclassic style in which emphasizes the hermitage of San Isidro, in the center. Visiting this enclave allows us to admire the Real Bodega, the Plaza Mayor, the Winery and the Royal House. Its pentagonal perimeter is framed by leafy green areas. And in its environment, the hydraulic systems that distribute the water of the Tagus by the fertile plots are still active. These protected elements are the perfect excuse for a good hiker route.

It began to rise in 1757 at the request of King Ferdinand VI, although it was completed by its successor in 1761. The body of the bridge is built with limestone from Colmenar de Oreja and is about 340 meters long by eleven wide. It is formed by 25 vaults of cannon separated by piles of 4 meters of width. It emphasizes a lion carrying a shield and a tablet or gravestone in whose inscription it refers to the reigning monarch, the author and the date of completion.

This bridge was one of the first raised in the era of the Enlightenment in Spain within the politics of the Bourbons to improve communications of the kingdom. This policy implied the creation of a radial road network linking Madrid with the Royal Sites and the main provincial capitals.

The collection of falúas or fluvial pleasure boats is composed of forty objects, six of which are boats and the rest mastites, models and other elements related to the nautical hobbies of the kings. The museum recalls the courtyas in the rivers and ponds of the Real Sites of Buen Retiro in Madrid, La Granja de San Ildefonso and, above all, Aranjuez.

The oldest and most spectacular boat to be exhibited is the golden gondola commissioned in Naples by Charles II in 1683, for use in the pond of Buen Retiro in Madrid. Chronologically, it follows the Carlos IV façade, built in Cartagena at the beginning of the 19th century. From the reign of Fernando VII dates the falca with dolphins interlaced in the bow and the royal coat of arms laureate in the stern, as well as the pavilion adorned with butterflies and garlands. To the reign of Isabel II corresponds the canoe in mahogany wood with reinforcements of golden bronze, constructed in Ferrol in 1859. Also of Isabel II is the boat of cabotage work of Jose Tuduri de la Torre, dedicated by “Mahon to its queen”. Finally, it exposes the falúa of Alfonso XII, gift of the city of Ferrol in 1879, that was used by the monarch in his stays summer in San Sebastián.

In addition we can enjoy the paintings referring to the Spanish squadron of the nineteenth century, as well as a set of bronze cannons from the reign of Fernando VI and various utensils for navigation of falúas.

In 1561, Philip II ordered the construction of the palace but twenty years later it caught fire. The building we see today is from the Bourbon period. Felipe V ordered his drawing to the architect Pedro Caro Idrogo in 1717, the main facade was realized by Giacomo Bonavia in the days of Fernando VI and, finally, the two lateral wings and the public chapel were work of Sabatini, during the reign of Carlos III. That is why its frontal is adorned by the statues of the three kings who intervened in its construction: Felipe II, Fernando VI and Carlos III.

The ornamentation of the building was made of red brick, which contrasts with the white stone from Colmenar de Oreja used in its baseboards, angles, cornices, balconies, and frames of windows and doors.

In the interior they emphasize the balustrade staircase of rococo style, as well as the Hall of the Mirrors and the Porch of Porcelain, considered the masterpiece of the Factory of Porcelanas of Buen Retiro. The visit goes through a number of spectacular rooms, such as the Salita de la Reina, Isabel II’s Bedroom, the Antechamber of Music, the Billiards Room, the Auditorium and the Queen’s Oratory, the Queen’s Office, the Arab Cabinet, Gala Dining Room, Ballroom, Throne Room, etc.

The decoration of the palace includes impressive frescoes in its ceilings and vaults; as well as innumerable pictures of – among others – Lucas Jordan, Ferrant and Fischermans, Francisco Bayeu, Vicente Lopez and Esquivel; furniture of various styles; and a formidable collection of clocks, lamps and sculptures.

The Royal Site and Villa de Aranjuez was declared a UNESCO Cultural Landscape World Heritage Site in 2001.

The tower of the castle looks out over the crowns of the oaks, pines and cypresses and is one of the most beautiful constructions of the Community of Madrid. The castle is raised in baked brick on stone foundations. It has a quadrangular floor plan and a main gate of Elizabethan Gothic style presided over by a coat of arms of the Laso de la Vega and Guzman families. One of the most famous members of this family was the poet Garcilaso de la Vega, who lived in the castle during the sixteenth century.

The plateresque style dominates the patio, structured around a double gallery with toledan columns and balconada of iron. In the courtyard there is a Gothic well. In the enclosure of the castle and its surroundings there is also the fountain of Garcilaso, which frames the gallery from which a spring springs, as well as the garden of the Mirador, the parish church, the underground of the cellar or the bridge over the brook of the Sotillo , among others.

It is a private property that can not be visited today.

The Plaza Mayor, one of the most beautiful in the Community of Madrid, houses emblematic buildings such as the Town Hall and the Casa del Pósito (communal granary). Although it is similar to other Castilian squares, it has its own personality because the buildings are based on columns and pilasters of stone Colmenar (the same that was used for the sources of Neptune and Cibeles in Madrid). It was built between 1676 and 1794 on a ravine using a system of bridges and arches that rise over the Zacatín Stream.

To its back, the gardens of the Zacatín are located, where you can visit the Arch of the Bridge of the Zacatín, that surpasses the unevenness that exists between the town and the suburbs. Sit next to the Zacatín fountain, also called the Barranco, and enjoy these peaceful gardens full of terraces is to travel to the XVI century.

In a square next to the Plaza Mayor called Plaza del Mercado, there is the church of Santa María la Mayor, which was built by the Order of Santiago in the thirteenth century and does not go unnoticed by its imposing air of strength. The chancel is adorned with frescoes by Czech Ulpiano. Precisely near the church is the impressive museum dedicated to this painter, which is one of the highlights of any visit to Colmenar de Oreja.

Finally, the chapel of the Christ of the Humilladero houses the image of the pattern of the town, about 600 meters from the Plaza Mayor. The hermitage is surrounded by a magnificent environment of gardens that invite to walk and take a moment of rest.

The name of the village comes from Apis Aureliae (in reference to the hives -Apis- and to the name of the pre-Roman castle of Aureliae whose remains are in the province of Toledo).

The brushes of the great master Alberto Pirrongelli have turned this space into a true pictorial jewel, which will delight the public that agrees to visit it.

This is a building of unique characteristics, where still today the purchase can be made in the most traditional style.

The historical memory of this place is perceived in the House of the Lonja, in the style of the Manor and with some elements that give back to the past, such as the shield of hidalgo, the balconies of the nineteenth century or the inner courtyard. The Humilladero of the Green Cross located in the birth of the street of the same name, farewell to us of the market square. The Green Cross on a black background was an emblem of the Inquisition, on whose side they painted an olive branch, a symbol of peace, and the other a sword, a symbol of rigid Justice. Also, this was the way to go to Madrid, hence it is also known as the “cross of the good road”.

It is accessed via the path of the Vereda del Cristo or from the M-322 road direction Villarrubia de Santiago and then turn off, on the left, at the height of a ship that serves as a drying of garlic.

It has a single pipe, but very abundant, that is used to water the adjoining orchard. They were abbreviating in their pylon the horses that passed through there and in general the cattle that circulated in that place. The date of their formation is unknown.

The mural, from 1885, is the work of Manuel Laredo and simulates an altarpiece in the form of a shrine. Since the Renaissance there are many examples of this illusionistic capacity of great masters realized through the application of perspective and hyperrealism.

The hermitage of San Isidro Labrador, Well of Cultural Interest, is a modest construction that dates from 1650 and that was deteriorating with the time. In 1885, the Brotherhood of Labradors who guarded it, commissioned the great mural painting, whose interest lies not so much in its originality, but in the fact that at the end of the nineteenth century decorations like this one continued to be made in Spain.

The center, which is next to the walled enclosure, helps us to understand the origins of the present city of complutense and the main preserved medieval spaces and monuments: the walls and the Archbishop’s Palace, the cathedral or the main street. The exhibition includes an interesting collection of pieces from the period, reproductions of constitutional texts, 16th century sculptures, models and, in particular, virtual reconstructions.

The remains of this medieval fortress, which dates back to the 9th century, include a restored defensive tower and the bases of some turrets. They are located on the Cerro de Veracruz, 630 meters above the left bank of the river Henares, between the hills of Ecce Homo and Malvecino, near the hermitage of Our Lady of Val.

Everything seems to indicate that this fort came to have a defensive system with at least eight towers. Its strategic position allowed it to dominate the passage of the important communication route between Toledo and Zaragoza. After the Christian conquest in 1118, the fortress passed into the hands of the archbishops of Toledo. And its definitive abandonment must have been produced during the sixteenth century.

This file located in Alcalá de Henares is only surpassed by the Federal Archives of Washington and the Cité des Archives de Fontenebleau (in terms of volume of documents). Its consultation is obliged to obtain any antecedent on the architecture, the urbanism, the public works, the education, the culture, the tourism, the economy, the hacienda, the justice, etc. of the contemporary stage, since it receives periodically the documents in which the activity of the different organisms of the General Administration of the State takes shape when they are no longer necessary for the daily management of the offices.

The building, which has a storage capacity of two hundred kilometers of shelving, began to rise in the final months of 1969, and the first revenue of funds was made at the end of 1972, although the works did not finish definitively until the spring of 1973 .

The archive usually organizes temporary exhibitions and admits guided tours of previously arranged groups.

The people from Alcalá refer to this cathedral by its short name, The Magistral, and is dedicated to Saints Justo and Pastor who in 305 were martyred in the place. The current cathedral was commissioned by Cardinal Cisneros to the Egas brothers and although it was built in late gothic style, the main cover combines Mudejar and Renaissance elements. The tower, slightly inclined, was projected by Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón and was constructed in three phases.

In 1519, Pope Leo X awarded him the title of Magistral, a title that only bears another church: that of St. Peter of Leuven in Belgium. The title of cathedral is relatively recent, since it was granted to him in 1991.

The Herrerian cloister houses the interpretation center, as well as a collection of tombstones. It also conserves a reconstruction, from original pieces, of the door of Covarrubias of the Archbishop’s Palace.

The museum is located in those that were anteroom and chapter room. Among his pieces stands out the valuable collection of goldsmiths, such as the chalice of Cisneros, or the flamenco triptych of the Adoration of the Magi.

You can also visit the tower, which offers a spectacular view of the historic center of Alcalá.

Half a century of sculptures compose this collection, an initiative of the sculptor José Noja, which since 1993 has been exhibited in these locations, very close to each other. It covers various styles and techniques, from figurative art, cubism through conceptualism, abstract art, etc.

The majority of the works are of Spanish sculptors, although also they are of the rest of Europe and America. The authors represented are: Agar Blasco, Aizcorbe, Alberto Guzman, Amadeo Gabino, Aurelio Teno, Beatriz Kohn, Berrutti, Camín, Carlos Evangelista, Carlos García Muela, Carlos Prada, Carmen Castillo, Carmen Perujo, Cristóbal, Elena Laverón, Encarnación Hernández, Enrique Ramos Guerra, Ernesto Knörr, Feliciano Hernández, Fernando Suárez, Ferreiro Badía, Francisco Barón, Gaudi Esté, Gil Arévalo, Isidro Blasco, Javier Santxotena, Javier Sauras, Jesús Molina, Joan Llacer, Jorge Seguí, Jorge Varas, José Lamiel, José Luis Pequeno, José Manuel Alberdi, Jose Manuel Alberdi, Jose Noja, Lilianne Frechilla, Luis Caruncho, María Teresa Torras, Máximo Trueba, Miguel Moreno, Nassio, Wolf Noud, Pablo Serrano, Rafael Barrios, Rafael Muyor, Ramiro Arango , Ricardo Beleña, Sebastian, Teresa Eguibar, Torres Guardia, Úrculo, Venancio Blanco, Vicente Ortí, Xabier Laka and Xuxo Vázquez.

It was built as a cloistered convent of Cistercian nuns by order of the archbishop of Toledo, Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas (hence the saint to whom it is consecrated), under the direction of the architect Juan Gómez de Mora, author of the Plaza Mayor of Madrid and the Pantheon of Kings of the Escorial, among others.

Popularly known as Las Bernardas, construction began in 1618. It is located on San Bernardo Street and is a sober brick building with a stone ornament on the outside. Inside it surprises a majestic oval dome, the greater one in its sort made in Spain.

Look at the façade and look at the statue of St. Bernard, a work attributed to the Portuguese sculptor Manuel Pereira whose hands also came out the carvings of the Church of the Company of Jesus, in the street Libreros de Alcalá de Henares. In the upper tribunes of the church is the Cistercian Clausura Museum of San Bernardo, which recreates a cell and a kitchen of cloister, next to part of the magnificent collection of art that for centuries has guarded the monastery.

From the museum, the visitor can look at the church through the various balconies, obtaining a splendid view of the temple and its chapels, decorated with canvases by Angelo Nardi.

The adjacent building is the Archbishop’s Palace, official summer residence of the archbishops and bishops of Toledo and Alcalá, who suffered in 1939 a fire that affected the whole monastic. Thanks to various restoration projects, the dome and the lantern of the crown regained their splendor.

The Corral of comedies from Alcalá de Henares, located in Plaza de Cervantes 15, dates from 1601. At that time, the carpenter Francisco Sánchez offered to build a playground or corral of comedies, in the style of Corral de la Cruz, that next to Corral de la Pacheca and Corral del Príncipe was one of the best known in Madrid. In them they represented the most popular works of the playwrights of the Century of Gold.

Alcalá de Henares has had different uses throughout its trajectory: corral of comedies since 1603, roofed coliseum since 1769, romantic theater from 1831 and cinema projections room from 1927 to 1980, year in which the City Council regained ownership. By then, almost four centuries had passed in which had forgotten its original function.

Attending one of its classical theater performances is a unique experience, as it is one of the oldest Corrals of comedies in Spain. In addition, on certain dates there are guided tours.

Alcalá lived its period of greatest splendor from the late fifteenth century, when Cardinal Cisneros created the Complutense University, origin of the current Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) where he was transferred by Elizabeth II in 1836. In 1977, the University resumed his academic activities as University of Alcalá.

In the fifteenth century, this center was a revolution in relation to the prevailing university system and served as a model for some of the later universities.

Its main headquarters is the San Ildefonso High School, a complex that integrates three courtyards – the one of Santo Tomás de Villanueva, the one of Philosophers and the Trilingüe -, in addition to the Paraninfo or Aula Magna, that welcomes every year the 23 of April the ceremony of delivery of the Cervantes Prize of Literature by the Kings of Spain.

Its admirable façade is by Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, of plateresque style, and constitutes one of the jewels of the Spanish Renaissance. The oldest building of the University is the chapel of San Ildefonso, raised in 1510 and guarding the tomb of Cisneros, carved in Carrara marble by Doménico Fancelli and Bartolomé Ordóñez.

In its press the “Polyglot Complutense Bible” was published, of which two copies are preserved.

The entrance to the university is located in the square of San Diego. Its façade is richly decorated with sculptures and reliefs that stand out even more at dusk.

The statue of the author of El Quijote is in the center of the square and in the south end, a music kiosk built at the end of the 19th century by the Lebrero cast iron and the tower of the old church of Santa María la Mayor. On the east side of the square stands the headquarters of the Circle of Contributors, created in 1893 as a meeting place of the local bourgeoisie. And in the west, two institutions that have marked the history and culture of the municipality: The Town Hall and the Corral de Comedias.

Already in the Renaissance this space, then known as Market Square, was a nerve center of civic life, since here took place both the weekly market, as important celebrations and bullfights.

The most common way to get to Plaza Cervantes is from Calle Mayor. During the Middle Ages, this curious porticoed street was the commercial center of Jewish merchants. Formerly the columns were of wood, but they were replaced by the present ones of stone from century XV. At present, under the arcades you will find small shops, cafes and bars. In this street you will also find the Cervantes Christmas House.
Leaving the Plaza by Pedro Gumiel street, you will arrive at one of the most important monuments of Alcalá: The facade of the Cisneriana University, former Colegio de San Ildefonso, founded in 1499 by Cardinal Cisneros. Today, University of Alcalá.

Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares in 1547 and his baptism was celebrated on October 9 in the missing Church of Santa María la Mayor, as confirmed by his baptismal departure. As a young man he traveled to Spain and worked in Rome, participated in the Battle of Lepanto, where he was injured in one arm. His first novel (La Galatea) was published in 1585, but the fame did not reach him until twenty years later, with the publication of the first part of El Quijote in 1605.

At that time he lived in Valladolid, but moved to Madrid and lived in the Barrio de las Letras, being the neighbor of the most illustrious writers of the Spanish Golden Age: Góngora, Lope de Vega, Quevedo. He died on April 22, 1616, being buried in the Convent of the Trinitarias the following day (April 23, day of the book and day when the Cervantes Prize for Literature fails).

In 1956, this museum was opened to the public in which it recreates the daily life of a wealthy family of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The two-storey house with a beautiful interior courtyard, recreates the different environments: reception room, kitchen, dining room, bedroom of the knight, women’s and children’s bedroom, ladies’ stall, etc.

Both decoration and architecture play an important role in transmitting to visitors the lifestyle that Cervantes took there, immersing them and making them feel like authentic dwellers.

The Casa Natal de Cervantes Museum is located in Calle Mayor de Alcalá de Henares, exactly at number 48. Those who visit it do not miss the opportunity to take a photo next to the statues of Don Quixote and Sancho, sitting on a bench opposite to the main facade.

The permanent exhibition of the museum is organized around a chronological and didactic journey: paleontological fossils, paleolithic, Neolithic, vestiges of the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, an important collection of Roman times (highlighting mosaics) and elements of material culture of the Ancient, Middle and Modern ages, arriving at the archeology of the industrial age.

The temporary exhibitions are organized together with prestigious entities and several samples are produced at the end of the year. Among its dependencies is the Library Emeterio Cuadrado, of restricted use, specialized in archeology, cartography of the Community of Madrid, museology and restoration.

The museum occupies since 1999 the old Dominican Convent of the Mother of God, in the street of Santa María la Rica 3. This building, which has an annexed church, was built between the XVII and XVIII centuries in the historical center of the city, declared Patrimony of the Humanity in 1998.

A mosaic with a fishing scene stands out.
A complex archaeological investigation that lasted for more than a century provided the key to the use of this building, which was part of a large estate on the outskirts of the town of Complutum, and was surrounded by extensive gardens and a mausoleum dedicated to the memory of a patrician family of the place. It was a school for young Romans.

The collegium iuvenum were very refined institutions, which were not accessible to all, since only the children of the more affluent families were allowed to enter. They were the equivalent of what today would be a religious college and fulfilled a double function: formative and playful. On the one hand, they spread knowledge and classical culture in the cities of the Empire and on the other, they ensured leisure. Neither was the religious element left out, which was represented in a temple dedicated mainly to Hercules and Diana. They used to be sponsored by some important character.

Complutum was one of the main Roman cities in the interior of Spain. The city is located in the fertile plain of Rio Henares by means of two successive foundations: the first, towards the change of Era. The second, towards 50 / 60d.C. In this great city of about 50 hectares, the Forum occupied approximately its center. It was the main public space of the city, surrounded by buildings with administrative, judicial, commercial and religious functions.

The monumental façade, the civil basilica, the northern thermal baths, the south portico, the market, the southern thermal baths, the Curia and the Criptopórtico, as well as the road infrastructures of Decumano III and Cardo IV and the network of drains of the city.

One of the most significant elements is the Wall of the Miracle, a Roman wall of large dimensions, belonging to the monumental complex, and has been the object of worship to the Saints Justo and Pastor, patrons of Alcalá de Henares, along the centuries, which has allowed its conservation to date.

Around the area already visited, new works are being developed that will allow the visit to several urban houses: the House of Mars, the House of the Atrium and above all the spectacular House of Griffins, with its magnificent collection of Roman mural painting , on which a cover has just been placed that will allow the visit to the complicated process of excavation and restoration.

The Community of Madrid and the City of Alcalá have recovered these important archaeological remains through the Regional Plan of Visible Yards.

Today it houses the headquarters of the Diocese of Alcalá.

The Palace has been home to important events, such as the death of King Juan I of Castile, or the birth of Catherine of Aragon. It is also the place where Isabel the Catholic received Columbus on January 20, 1486.

Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada ordered to wall Alcalá and to construct a small fortress like temporary residence. The successive archbishops enlarged and embellished it until becoming one of the best Spanish palaces of its time.

The palace is attached to the walls, and an unfortunate fire made only one of the façades, the Renaissance. The architect Alonso de Covarrubias made this splendid façade in which the windows and the shield of the Cardinal-Infante Luis Antonio de Borbón stand out on the upper floor. It is also worth admiring the magnificent 19th-century grille that closes the patio.

Chinchón’s Torre del Reloj or clock tower belongs to the church of Nuestra Señora de Gracia, the oldest church in the city (14th century), which was destroyed during the Peninsular War. This is the reason behind the saying “Chinchón has a tower without a church and a church without a tower”.
The Torre del Reloj is still standing, although it has been restored several times.

It has a simple façade, composed by an access with a half-point arch, framed by two small sills. One of the lateral facades has an arch of similar characteristics, which seems to correspond to another access currently blinded.

In its simplicity, it resembles a Muslim morabite and its main value resides in the interior coffered ceiling in the form of a trough, of a great quality from the point of view of the carpentry of tie. Thus, the interior is covered with ochavada wood roof of moam files, with braces supported with lobed dogs; has a laceration decoration and in the pendentives the motif of napkin is observed in two of them, and the one of tie with cupulines in other two, following the model toledano own of Century XVI.

The temple is a singular and outstanding example of a “columnary church hall”, attributed in its design to Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, one of the most outstanding Castilian architects of the XVI.

The main example of the artistic heritage of Algete is the church of Our Lady of the Assumption, erected with stone and brick in the centuries XVI and XVII. In its exterior stands the tower of five sections. It houses a valuable 17th century altarpiece.

Legend has it that in this area there was a town called San Blas and that one day a gecko fell in a pot and the whole population died poisoned. The truth is that the hermitage of San Blas was consecrated in 1641 and still today stands on the mountains of the Sierra de Guadarrama. The current structure, in the form of humilladero, recovered after the Spanish Civil War.

Every February 3, San Blas festivity, the neighbors of Miraflores go there in pilgrimage, and they give to those who accompany them with a plate of potatoes with cod.

But do not wait until that date to enjoy the wonderful views offered by such a watchtower. The hiking trail, also suitable for bikes, starts in the recreational area Fuente del Cura, signposted from Miraflores in the direction of Puerto de la Morcuera. The route has nine kilometers in total (round trip) with a drop of 250 meters. Upon arriving at the hermitage, located next to the Endrinal stream, an interpretive panel informs the visitor, who is rewarded by the views.

The whole route is marked as a local trail (green and white marks)

It houses a baptismal font, dated in 1492, and the trustworthy copy of the primitive main altarpiece, from the sixteenth century.

From time immemorial, the inhabitants of the valley of the Tajuña have taken advantage of the course of the river to grind the wheat and the ceb

The mill is located ten minutes from the Plaza Mayor, in a pleasant walk along the pedestrianized Calle del Carmen towards the Vega del Tajuña and the exit towards Valdelaguna. Just across the river Tajuña, appears, in a beautiful place, the Mill of the Huerta de Angulo.

The mill operated until 1966, grinding cereal and generating electric energy for the town, although it did not stop completely in its activity until 1984, when it happened to be museum thanks to the municipal initiative, that recovered the old machinery of the building.

It is located near the intersection of the M-302 and M-311 roads in the direction of San Martín de la Vega, three kilometers from Morata de Tajuña. A trail leads to the top of the hill where it is located. This great corten steel sculpture was placed in 2006 and represents two great hands that come together as a sign of brotherhood paying homage to all who participated in the Battle of Jarama in February 1937. The sculpture is raised in an area of ​​trenches and caves refuge.

The museum is on Calle Carmen, 35 and was opened thanks to the initiative and dedication of one of the residents of the municipality, Goyo Salcedo. Many of the objects that can be found there come from the fields surrounding Morata or have been donated by relatives of ex-combatants. Some are restored. The collection includes all kinds of personal objects, passports, ration cards, maps, photographs, leaflets, helmets pierced by bullets, mortars, remains of food cans, lighters, bottles, periodicals, coins, banknotes …

In addition to this museum, Morata de Tajuña offers the opportunity to tour nine routes through the remains of the Battle of Jarama, where you can see remains of a multitude of fortifications, trenches, underground shelters, and monuments to the fallen.

The Jarama battle took place between February 6 and 27, 1937, when the rebel army tried to cut the Valencia highway from Valdemoro and Aranjuez, crossing the highlands that separate the Tajuña valley from the Jarama valley, in an attempt to prevent the supply and communications of Madrid.

The beautiful front altarpiece, carved in 1956, consists of six scenes from the life of Jesus, six others from the life of the Virgin, and has a niche where is the figure of the Immaculate Conception.

The altarpiece located on the left of the temple is from 1948, and on the other side is the altarpiece of the Risen One, next to the altarpiece of San Isidro, flanked by the images of San Antón and San Antonio de Padua. Throughout the chapels you can see images of the Nazarene, the Christ of the True Cross, the Christ of Medinaceli, the Risen One, the Virgin of Solitude …

Visitable
http://www.ayuntamientodemorata.es/

It hosts the Regional Art Collection of the Regional Government and numerous activities and temporary exhibitions.

It develops an ambitious program of exhibitions, mediation and research, which has positioned it among the most advanced art centers in Europe. Located in the heart of Móstoles, the CA2M is a new building that stands on an old traditional construction, the Casona. With a total of 5,886 square meters, the Center includes exhibition spaces, spread over three floors. Its roof terrace hosts cultural activities part of the year.

The temple, belongs to the medieval style called Mudejar, made by Muslim masons at the service of Christians. The formal parallels indicate a date of the first quarter of the thirteenth century, perhaps after the Battle of the Navas of Tolosa (1212). This apse served for centuries, integrated with the rest of the building, to house the Main Chapel with the altar and the main altarpiece. It held a quarter of a sphere vault. This apse is of a unique type in the Community of Madrid, since it participates in characteristics of two Mudejar schools, one predominant in the northern half and the other in the south of the province.

The tower has several phases. The lower part could be a Muslim minaret (X or XI centuries), built for the pre-existing mosque. The body of bells, with eight caliph arches with a letter or box and horseshoe arches and pointed, could correspond to the principles of the thirteenth century, in which the apse of the temple was built. The upper part built to house the clock is much later and could correspond to the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries.

Address: Plaza de Ernesto Peces, 1, 28931 Móstoles, Madrid

www.mostoles.es

El templo fue construido en estilo jesuítico, austero en el exterior, con ciertas características herrerianas y esbozos del barroco. El retablo es churrigueresco.

We can really talk about two walled enclosures, of which 700 meters are currently. In each walled enclosure, called canvas, there are a number of entrance doors to the city, and of all of them, the only one that retains its original structure is that of Madrid, which was completely rebuilt at the end of the 18th century on the Cardinal Lorenzana.

It is very interesting to analyze the wall, since we can find mudéjares walls of the thirteenth century, in the north, near the so-called Puerta de Burgos. One of the architects of the construction of the wall was the archbishop Pedro Tenorio, to which the biggest constructed canvas is attributed. Due to the influence of the religious in the construction, in the interior is conserved the Huerta del Obispo, in which the ecclesiastical court practiced the work of recreation and worship.

The construction of the wall was linked to the development of the Archbishop’s Palace and its defense, and all this derived from the donation that the Emperor Alfonso VII made of the city to the Toledo religious, these being the ones who contributed to the flourishing of the municipality.

If you want to cross the whole wall, which is in the path of the Complutense, it is worthwhile to start the tour in the Plaza de Palacio, pass next to the convent of the Bernardas and go around looking at the museum of outdoor sculptures .

It is very close to Renfe Cercanías, in the street of the Station. The building draws attention because it reminds of another called El Capricho, designed by Gaudí and located in the Cantabrian town of Comillas.

The Laredo Palace houses, besides the Cisneriano Museum, a center of documentation, dependent of the University of Alcalá. It was built between 1880 and 1884 as a private residence of the painter, architect and decorator who gives him name and who was mayor of Alcalá. The Laredo mansion is the best example of 19th century complutense historicist architecture.

Numerous archaeological and architectural remains have been incorporated into the palace from other buildings, including the coffered ceilings and the ribbed vault of the Santorcaz prison castle. On the other hand, the paintings of the hall of the kings are work of own Laredo. It also conserves one of the few interior gardens of the city.

The museum shows an extensive documentary collection around the great patron of the city of Alcalá, Cardinal Cisneros. Among its funds treasures the largest work out of the printing presses of the University founded by the cardinal, the Polyglot Complutense Bible. It was the first one ever made in history. You can also see other important pieces, such as the Polyglot of Antwerp or Bible Regia, commissioned by Philip II.

El edificio corresponde a lo que en su día era la iglesia del convento de San Juan de la Penitencia, fundado por el cardenal Cisneros.

The building was a private residence commissioned by the Mendoza family. Later on, he became a college and was not spared from the ravages of the Napoleonic troops. After being reformed, it passed into the hands of the Lizana family in the 19th century and finally in the 20th was bought by the City Council, which has restored it with the help of the Community of Madrid.

The University Chapel of the Christ of the Doctrines dates from the sixteenth century, specifically in 1581, when Juan López de Úbeda, a priest and licentiate from Toledo who taught theology at the University of Alcalá, promoted his teaching with a seminar for children in the Christian doctrine in some old buildings called Corral de Mataperros, which coincides with the current garden of the hermitage. Such is so that the Christ that Don Juan used in his classes in a short time was known as the Christ of the Doctrines in a popular way.

It was taken by custom that the students of the University entrusted their luck in the examinations to the Christ of the Doctrines, reason why the name of the hermitage received the surname of University.

It is a typical baroque building in Madrid, with a very intimate chapel in which the Christ of the Doctrines resides, the work of the Jesuit Domingo Beltrán.

We can find within it the size of Our Lady of Hope, which is the image cotitulado of the brotherhood since 1945 and that accompanies the Christ in his departure in procession every Thursday Saints.

It has in its interior a collection of religious art of high quality of the XVI and XVII centuries. In 1942, the monument was declared a Cultural Interest.

From its exterior appearance stands the very classic facade of its church, flanked by two towers close to the Italian baroque taste. Columns and pillars establish a very attractive game, and is crowned by a pediment.

It is a building of Latin plant, of a ship, cruiser, apse and numerous lateral chapels. In its interior, stand the original ironworks and altarpieces of the XVIII century, as well as the canvas by Anton Rafael Mengs from its main altar. He also had several paintings by the Italian Giovanni Battista Tiépolo, which today are kept in the National Museum of the Prado of Madrid.

The convent stands in front of the Hospital of San Carlos. The church is now parish. The convent is a cloister of Franciscan Conceptionists.

The church is visitable.

The building is integrated in the formation of the square of San Antonio, neuralgic center of Aranjuez and traditionally known as the square of the Mariblanca, first of the initiatives of the urban expansion of the Real Sitio. It was conceived as a royal chapel, occupying the vanishing point of the square and assimilating itself to a system of arcades that articulate the great space, through a set of curves and against curves.

It fits into a courtly urbanism where Italian influence is evident, due in large part to the author of the project. This influence corresponds to its concept of centralized circular plant, underlined by the dome.

It follows the premises of the eighteenth century in terms of architectural ornamentation and functionality. It is conceived as an integrated space in the square, with the uniformity provided by the archery system, and serves as a connection between the historic center and the nucleus around the palace.

Only the exterior of the monument can be visited.

It is part of the historic gardens of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. Considered the most beautiful of its time, they have served as inspiration to artists such as the composer Joaquin Rodrigo or the painter Santiago Rusiñol. Gorgeous in any season, today they continue to captivate visitors. Each one of the gardens of the palace is representative of a style, according to the time and the taste of the monarch that ordered its creation.

The building is attached to the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and was built in the 16th century during the reign of Philip II. The house is structured around two square patios and is composed of two floors: the lower one, arranged in arcades, and the upper one, where its terrace runs. As building materials were used brick and stone, as well as slate slabs for the deck.

The outside is visitable.

The city was promoted by the Crown around the palace to procure all the necessary services, for the Royal Family and for its court. Thus, in 1747, the king entrusted the architect Giacomo Bonavía with the layout of the new city, which would include a hospital, churches, a market … a whole artistic and historical complex that we can still enjoy today.

Its current limits are determined by the bullring, the road to Andalusia, Infantas Street and the Foso. Of reticular structure, all its houses present similar characteristics, with two heights and big windows, and its streets are spacious and with trees.

A walk through the old town of Aranjuez allows us to enter into a singular sample of baroque urbanism. Large houses, buildings with patios, domes, palaces, convents, balconies, large squares, spacious streets that are testimony of four centuries of history and several different kings.

The House of Trades and Knights and the House of the Infants, that border the square of San Antonio; the church of San Antonio, which houses a very interesting collection of baroque paintings; the garden of Isabel II, very close to the Royal Palace; the Royal Theater; the Plaza de la Constitución; the Mercado de Abastos (Neomudéjar style); palaces like Medinaceli, Osuna or Godoy; the Hospital of San Carlos; the convent of San Pascual … The list of touristic milestones is extensive.

Every year, thousands of visitors come to know the history of Aranjuez, its culture, its gastronomy, its legacy and its incomparable landscapes.

The island, to the north of the palace, is a large green area that hosts a number of trees, wide avenues and several stone and marble fountains representing figures and mythological scenes. It stands out for the decorative fountains found in its walks: Boticaria, Hercules, Apollo, the Clock, the Child of the Thorn, Venus, Diana and Bacchus. All of them are surrounded by gardens composed of boxwood hedges. Castañuelas Cascade also stands out, so named for the noise that the water produces when passing through hollows and protuberances.

Considered the most beautiful of its time, the historic gardens of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez have served as inspiration to artists such as composer Joaquín Rodrigo or the painter Santiago Rusiñol. Gorgeous in any season, today they continue to captivate visitors. Each one of the gardens of the palace is representative of a style, according to the time and the taste of the monarch that ordered its creation. The cultural landscape of Aranjuez is declared World Heritage by UNESCO.

It was commissioned by the kings Carlos IV and Maria Luisa de Parma. It took 13 years to build it, the work being developed in phases. In a first phase, the central nave was lifted and later two side wings were added to the main building. The sumptuous decoration of this palace immediately moves us to the palatial life of the late eighteenth century.

Inside, the Neoclassical style is intermixed with various decorative trends in fashion at the time of its execution, such as the imperial, Pompeian or Rococo style. The palace preserves one of the most important neoclassical ensembles in Europe, as it keeps inside some of the most beautiful ornaments of the time: vaults to the temple, Valencian silk hangings, canvases, watches, bronzes, marbles and soleras of porcelain of Buen Retiro.

Among its rooms stands the Platinum Cabinet, which was used as a dressing table by Queen Marie-Louise of Parma and decorated by the French masters Percier and Sitel, who devised a mahogany boiserie inlaid with gilded bronze and platinum. Other highlights include the billiard room, the Ballroom and the Maria Luisa Hall.

This garden is the work of the French master landscaper Esteban Boutelou, who also worked in the gardens of the Royal Site of the Farm of San Ildefonso. The architect Juan de Villanueva was in charge of the gate, the Chinese pavilion and the temple. Inside you can see fountains carved in Carrara marble, such as those of Narcissus, Apollo, Neptune mounted on his carriage drawn by sea horses or the Swan.

It is part of the historic gardens of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. Considered the most beautiful of their time, they are magnificent in any season. Each one of the gardens of the palace is representative of a style, according to the time and the taste of the monarch that ordered its creation.

The exhibition space has three rooms, two of them for Ethnology and one for Archeology; as well as two exhibition spaces, dedicated, respectively, to the cinema and to the old photograph.

The two rooms dedicated to Ethnology show the distribution of an old dwelling with its different rooms (portal, kitchen, alcove, the courtyard with the chicken coop, the stable, the woodshed and the well) and objects made of ceramics, basketry, etc. Lace, costume, paper and culinary elements complete the whole. It is also possible to get acquainted with the different economic activities once carried out: agriculture, livestock, soft drinks, continuous paper mills, etc.

The third room shows a collection of archaeological objects coming from deposits near the municipality (the Aljibes, the Dehesa, Peña el Gato, the Camorza or the surroundings of the river Manzanares), among which are axes of stone, flint, earthen bowls , a decal of cave paintings, stone mills, remains of Visigothic tombs, medieval and modern ceramics and certain manuscripts.

The museum was opened thanks to the initiative of the City Council and the Cultural Association El Real de Manzanares, whose members donated different objects inherited from their ancestors.

It was erected with stone between the XVII and XVIII centuries and presents a single nave, cruiser and dome of half orange gallonada on pechinas. The bulrush is two bodies and houses three bells. During the Spanish Civil War much of its interior elements disappeared.

The temple, in baroque style, features elements from the 12th, 16th and 18th centuries. It has a Latin cross plant and consists of a single nave with Tuscan columns, cruiser and semicircular arches. Its walls, of masonry with ashlar masonry in the corners, are topped by an upper cornice of carved stone.

The highlight of its interior is the coffered ceiling, which has been restored, consisting of woodworking works.

In it, the miraculous image of Our Lady of the Castle is venerated, found in the ruins of the wall of the castle in the late Middle Ages, a tradition narrated by numerous romances that remain in this locality.

Declared Well of Cultural Interest, it was built by the Cabildo of Toledo on an otero that dominates the passage of the river Tajuña. Around him were the houses of the peasants who cultivated the fertile lands of the Vega del Tajuna. That is why the few remaining remains are mimicked among houses still inhabited.

The first written references to the castle date from 1470. According to observations of the land, the original building could have double walls, six towers, patio, chapel and various dependencies. It was abandoned in the XVII.

It is a modest construction, simple appearance, a single nave with chapels attached to the sides of the cruise and a portico on the south side following the model of the Segovian temples brought by the shepherds who repopulated Hoyo de Manzanares after the Reconquest. In it took place neighborhood assemblies and smaller courts. The belfry on which today a nest of storks, that gives name to the set, dates from century XVII.

By 1970, after years of neglect, the temple had some manifest deterioration in the crumbling deck; conserving only the walls of enclosure until the height of the cornice. Thanks to an exchange between ecclesiastical institutions, owners of the temple, and the City Council, the temple passed to municipal property, which endowed it with a new use as a municipal auditorium. It was then that the primitive portico, of century XVI, had to be replaced by the present one to have to endow the space with new dependencies. The reforms, carried out between 1983 and 1986 also made it necessary to widen the deck from a half-point arch to a lowered arch.

At present, the only remaining religious use remaining in the building is the chapel of the Virgin of the Encina, patroness of the town, located on the side of the Gospel.

Integrated in the surroundings of the Centro Artesanal Torrearte, the museum invites us to make a trip to the past through an interesting sample of implements and tools, donated in large part by the inhabitants of the locality. Its rooms, more than 500 square meters, allow us to know the history and uses of the objects there exposed, the environment, traditions, and customs and peasants in an eminently agricultural environment such as Torremocha del Jarama.

The museum, a nexus of union between the past and the present agricultural and artisan of the locality, presents / displays a singularity: its rooms open to the outer perimeter of the same, allowing to make the visitor, a wide tour by the historical helmet of the population. In the squares of the town are the machines and utensils of greater magnitude, like carts, mowers or jars.

To facilitate the visit, the museum presents two main areas: on the one hand, the seasonal cycle of the cereal and everything that surrounds its production (sowing, mowing, hauling and threshing); on the other, the crops of the vine, the olive and the orchard.

A wide and interesting library, with treaties, books, magazines and old documents from the Historical Archive of the locality, allows us to know the evolution of agriculture in Torremocha, from its origins to the present.

ADDRESS: Polígono Artesanal Torrearte Calle Torrearte, 3 28189

Between 1470 and 1480, during the fight for the throne between the supporters of Juana the Beltraneja and those of Isabel the Catholic, many nobles constructed castles or reinforced those already existing; among them, that of Arroyomolinos, who belonged to Gonzalo Chacón, butler of Isabel la Catolica (this was granted by the lordships of Arroyomolinos and Casarrubios del Monte in recognition of their faithful services).

Built with brickwork in Gothic-Mudejar style and rectangular plant with rounded edges, it has five floors and is topped by a terrace. Inside there are compartments and rooms that were used as warehouse and residence.

For a long time, the keep was the only visible part of what was originally a castle. Archaeological excavations carried out in recent years have revealed that the tower was defended by an artillery barrier and a large moat. The complex also had two auxiliary buildings located on both sides of the tower, one of stables and another of kitchens.

At present it is part of the Network of Castles of the Community of Madrid.

That same day, on the initiative of Juan Pérez Villamil, Andrés Torrejón signed with Simón Hernández, known as the Band of Mayors of Móstoles or Bando de la Independencia, in response to the events that were taking place in the capital against the French.

The old house of Andrés Torrejón is today a historical space recovered by the Town Hall of the town that recreates the uses and customs of the inhabitants of Móstoles in the nineteenth century. The main facade is brick, with a door to the house and two windows of different dimensions, while in the interior, the house has four rooms – closet, living room, bedroom and kitchen, each of them decorated with furniture and significant elements of the time that evoke the daily environment of family life in rural areas.

The center is distributed in three floors of a rehabilitated building, whose center is a patio of lights and the original cellar. The permanent exhibition of the history of Móstoles spans from the nineteenth century to the present day. Also it houses the photographic collection Móstoles 1908, an ethnographic room and dependencies in which cultural activities of all type are developed, from exhibitions of plastic arts to concerts

It presents / displays a single ship finished with a polygonal head with the sacristy in the side of epistle and a tower attached to the left of the front facade in the side of the gospel. Its interior is wide and the altarpiece is of great value. In the Civil War, the temple was burned down and later restored.

Other religious constructions of the locality are the hermitages of San Miguel, of San José and of the Holy Christ of the Blood.

This route was part of the defensive system of the Middle Brand, whose purpose was to confront the Christian advances during the Reconquest, serving as a link to the citadels and watchtowers erected by Muslims.

This small bridge, which consists of a single arch of a half point, stands on a groove of the river Perales and cements its granite construction of the place on natural rock. The only element preserved in ashlar masonry is the one-point, single-threaded barrel vault on which the masonry tympanum rests.

The fortress was built on a hill in the early 14th century. During its first years it was used as a hunting lodge of the royalty, as well as tool of control and defense of the lands and pastures of this territory during Castilian civil wars of the end of Average Age.

Its destruction was linked to the struggle for the Crown between Isabel the Catholic and Juana the Beltraneja in the early fifteenth century. After the defeat of the supporters of the latter, among whom was the lord of the castle, the fort was destroyed and abandoned. During the following centuries it would experience a progressive deterioration, accentuated after the blasting that underwent the tower of the homage in the time of Isabel II, in spite of which much of it has remained standing.

In 2013 and 2014, the Community of Madrid carried out a set of archaeological actions designed to document the complete layout of the fort and its different construction phases.

The warmth of its climate, the richness of its landscapes, the peculiarity of its popular architecture of steep streets and whitewashed houses, and the friendly and open character of its neighbors, surprises visitors and attracts lovers of peace and tranquility . For this reason, Olmeda de las Fuentes has been chosen for years by dozens of painters and artists to settle, establishing their study or place of rest.

The painting collection of the church of San Pedro includes, in addition to those cited, painters such as Pilar Aranda, Luis Cajal and Carmen Navarro, among others. The collection can be seen during Mass hours or by requesting an appointment at the City Hall.

This information point helps the visitor to get to know the fauna, flora, landscape and agricultural activities of the area.

The municipality obtained the title of Villa in 1564 and changed of proprietors in several occasions, among them was Juan de Goyeneche, that had great influence in the locality and created a textile industry. Another man relevant to the Villa was Pedro Páez Xaramillo, first to arrive at the sources of the Blue Nile. In 1953, the municipality acquired the current name of Olmeda de las Fuentes to the detriment of its previous Olmeda de la Cebolla. It was chosen “de las Fuentes” because of the large amount of water existing in the municipality

The natural environment of Olmeda is characterized by being located in the area known as Baja Alcarria, where the páramos, las vegas and slopes coexist. Also, it is possible to find interesting elm trees and a centenarian oak. The most significant fauna refers to birds.

The excavations are located on the banks of the Pinilla reservoir, in an exceptional natural setting. They have found abundant remains of Neanderthals and animals that inhabited the valley for tens of thousands of years. For example, in 2011, four Neanderthal teeth belonging to a minor of 2-3 years of age (named “Lozoya girl”, in reference to the Valley of the same name in which the deposit was located) were recovered. Among the remains of animal species are gamos, horses, deer, spotted hyenas, etc.

Since 2002, an interdisciplinary research project has been developed in Pinilla by specialists in Biology, Archeology, Geology and Restoration. These sites contain, in addition to anthropological remains of Neanderthals, some of the most complete Pleistocene vertebrate fossil associations of the Iberian Peninsula.

For more than 100,000 years, mammals and fish inhabit the Alto del Lozoya Valley along with the hominids, from which several molars and lithic utensils have been recovered. In addition, the fact that some remains are burned and fractured reflect that the human being used frequently the fire and also used stone tools in their daily life.

Guided tours can be booked on the website http://www.elvalledelosneandertales.com

It offers beautiful views of the Lozoya Valley.

It has three naves separated by Tuscan columns and semicircular arches covered by Mudejar coffered ceilings. A chapel next to the gospel, that of the Rosary, is a good example of Baroque art, and another on the side of the epistle, adjacent to the Cruiser, has one of the best vaulted vaults of plaster of the Community. The main altar is covered by ribbed vaults of thirds and has a pentagonal apse with buttresses on the outside.

In the building, which is restored, different elements related to the activity of the forge (bellows, anvil, tools, chimney, water heap …) can be seen. The museum treatment includes an audio system that transports visitors to a forge fully functioning. In the exterior we can see other works related to the own forge: the Old Fountain of the XVII-XVIII century, the foal of herrar and the trough.

For more than six centuries, the imposing monastery of Santa María de El Paular has dominated over Rascafría. Located within the majestic landscape of the valley of Lozoya, it holds around fifty paintings by the Venetian painter Vincenzo Carducci. Situated two kilometres away from the town, the architectural complex of the Monastery of Santa María de El Paular consists of the monastery, the church and a palace. The palace, which was originally built to house the Spanish monarchs, was converted into a hotel in the 70’s and is now temporarily shut down. The charterhouse of Nuestra Señora de Santa María de El Paular was the first Carthusian foundation in Castile and an important cultural and economic centre for many centuries, until it was dissolved in the 19th century. In the mid-19th century, a Benedictine community dedicated to monastic life and hosting guests and visitors made it their home. The monastery is a gem of monastic art, as it holds an extensive collection of paintings by Vincenzo Carducci. Visitors can admire 52 of the 56 original paintings, on loan from the Prado Museum.

This parish, which dates back to the 15th century and was declared a Site of Cultural Interest, has been reformed and restored many times. It offers an interesting mix of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and contemporary elements. Divided into three naves, the inside hosts many interesting pieces of art from the El Paular charterhouse, such as an 18th century statute of Saint Michael created by Luis Salvador Carmona.

Feito (Madrid, 1929) was a pioneer of Abstraction at the beginning of the fifties, when he founded the group El Paso, along with other painters such as Antonio Saura, Manolo Millares and Rafael Canogar. His works hang from the walls of the best museums in the world.

More than 150 works can be seen in Oteruelo del Valle. It is a set that allows to study the artist’s pictorial evolution, since it runs through his entire graphic path. Predominant the etchings and the series dedicated to the victims of the attacks of 11 of March in Madrid. The collection began with the series Peñalara, Octubre, Camorritos, Pingarrón, loose works of Beijing and the works Rascafría and Oteruelo.

It conserves a Romanesque sculpture of the Virgin and Child.

You can reach the scarce remains of the tower by the M-532 road, which connects Fresnedillas de la Oliva with Zarzalejo. Towards kilometer 2 forks a road towards the west, which leads to the hamlet of the Dehesa de la Sierra. Once past this point, another road to the south gives access to the fencing of the private estate where the tower is located.

Located in the middle of nature, the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex tracking station tracks the vehicles that NASA sends to space.

In its visitor center we can enjoy while learning with videos, photographs, exhibitions, children’s activities … and with unique objects such as a moonstone and a suit by the astronaut Miguel López-Alegría. In these installations we can visualize missions as important as the exploration of Mars with ‘Curiosity’ and ‘Opportunity’.

This space communications center created by NASA and INTA (National Institute of Aerospace Technology) is equipped with six huge antennas. Surely the smallest will enjoy with the close-up view of the antenna of 70 meters in diameter and 8,500 tons with which every day beat the record of human telecommunications by coming into contact with the probe Voyager I, located almost at 15 light-hours from Earth.

The oldest bridge in Buitrago de Lozoya, it connected the medieval quarter of the walled fortification with the neighbourhood of Andarrío, one of the most primitive in this area. It is difficult to estimate when exactly it was built, although it is said to have been between the late 14th century and early 15th century. Used as a communications and cattle route, it has a single round arch made of masonry and granite ashlar. The bridge is accessible by all.

The museum offers since 1985 the possibility to contemplate a series of works that Pablo Picasso gave to Eugenio Arias, his barber since 1948 and his close friend to the end. Born in 1909 in the village of Buitrago del Lozoya, Eugenio Arias lived in exile in France after the Spanish Civil War. In Vallauris, on the French French coast, Arias set up a hairdresser, which Picasso attended frequently, so that a friendship was forged between the two that largely received his tribute to this museum.

The bullfighting motif, so beloved by Picasso, is probably the most repeated in the collection. Also worthy of note are the works related to Arias’ barber and barber profession, such as two pottery painted pottery or the box where he kept his professional instruments, which Picasso decorated with care. The museum also has a library centered on art and the figure of Picasso.

Ubicado en una antigua posada fundada a principios del S. XIX para hospedar a segadores, arrieros y gentes de paso. Muestra las costumbres y la forma de vida de nuestros antepasados, donde destaca la antigua maquinaria de la fabricación de Anís./n
Las numerosas salas y espacios que pueden contemplarse evocan otras pocas en la que los habitantes rurales usaban su ingenio para construir y adaptar a su trabajo diario, máquinas, utensilios y herramientas con las que sus “faenas” fueran más llevaderas… Sombrías alcobas, pintorescas cocinas, aperos de labranza, antigua maquinaria dónde se destilaba el famoso anís de Chinchón.

It is the defensive construction of this better preserved type of the Community of Madrid, and was declared a national monument. In the last years it has enjoyed an important revitalization thanks to successive works of improvement and conditioning.

The construction of the wall usually dates back to the Muslim period, probably around the 11th century, with the intention of protecting the town from the Christian incursions from the north of the Peninsula, which were carried out through the port of Somosierra. During the following centuries, once in Christian hands, the enclosure was rebuilt and reinforced significantly, although in general the primitive route was always respected. At present, a small part of the old section can be visited in a controlled way, while other more recent sections are freely accessible.

The part of the wall that borders the river has a smaller height and thickness than that located in the area that lacks this protection, where it was necessary to erect several towers, such as the Clock Tower, and other military constructions, such as the castle or Alcázar , to ensure their defense. Some sections of remains of the antemuralla are conserved and added to the wall towards the river built with the intention of favoring the access to its channel in case of necessity.

The visit of the wall of Buitrago del Lozoya, a construction that keeps and defends the main secrets of the town, is inexcusable for any visitor, who can contemplate from there the incomparable mountain environment in which the population is framed.

It is a small and simple building. It has a wooden choir sheltered with balconies and an 18th century wooden crucifix presides over the presbytery. In its interior they emphasize a relief of century XVI; a Gothic carving of the Virgin and Child; an immense display cabinet that keeps the mantle of the Virgin of the Angels; and the baptismal font (the carved stone foot is original from the 16th century). Several niches shelter the images most adored by the inhabitants of Valverde de Alcalá: the Virgin of the Angels, from the fourteenth century; the Virgin of the Rosary, of the XVIII century, San Isidro Labrador and San Antonio with the Child, baroque of the XVIII century. It crowns the whole a tower of three bodies in coated stone masonry.

Declared Good of Cultural Interest in 1930, numerous personalities of the last century were visited, among others, Antonio Maura, who died in its stairs in 1925; Indalecio Prieto or General Miaja, who directed from there the Battle of Brunete; or Franco, who, after inheriting it in 1940, made it a refuge and, later, instead of recreation and farm.

Located on a small plateau at 1,011 meters above sea level, it crowns the top of Canto del Pico, granite formation of the Sierra del Hoyo, whose rough slopes dominate trees such as oak and cork oak. The whole is an exceptional viewpoint given that it can be seen from around 30 municipalities in Madrid.

The building, of great eclecticism, housed numerous architectonic and decorative elements representative of the Spanish art of the centuries XII to XVII, some of which was auctioned in 1928 in New York by the aristocrat. In its day it housed the Gothic columns and capitals of the Castle of Curiel, doors brought from the Convent of the Salesas Reales of Madrid, different ornamental motifs of the Collegiates of Logroño and the Seo of Urgel and the Gothic cloister of the Cistercian monastery of Santa María de la Valldigna, returned in 2007 to its place of origin.

In its gardens, located far from the house, is said to be the oldest juniper of the Community of Madrid. Designed by the same count, they are of romantic inspiration.

The remains of the Roman villa are to the north of the town of Villanueva del Pardillo, in a patch of sandy countryside located on the left slope of the Palacios stream. They are vestiges that reproduce the model of traditional Roman agricultural exploitation where next to the residence of the owner or urban pars, are diverse buildings destined to the transformation of the different products collected in its surroundings or pars fructuaria.

The extent and nature of the entire reservoir is not yet known even though an area of ​​more than 1,000 m2 has been excavated.

Mute Witness of History, it still retains today its primitive physiognomy of medieval fortress. It was reconstructed twice: in 1589, after the destruction suffered during the rebellion of the comuneros of 1521, following plans of Juan de Herrera (author of the Real Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial); and, by Ventura Rodríguez in 1738, who would add a fountain that is conserved to the entrance of the castle in which still the fresh water runs. Illustrious guests of the castle were also the famous Countess of Chinchón, immortalized by Goya, and her husband, Manuel Godoy, minister of Carlos IV.

Constructed in sillarejo, masonry and granite of the quarries of El Escorial, it presents / displays square plant articulated around a great central patio with arqueros of stone of point and four towers in the corners, oriented towards the four cardinal points.

Its character of strength is evident in the bulky perimetral walls of up to three meters of thickness although in fact always had residential palatial use. It is evident its residential character in the reception ladder of the cloister type, the presence of large windows and roofs topped with spiers and lanterns, and by the absence of barbacanas or hollows from where to shoot ammunition.

At present it houses the historical archive of the Ministry of Defense offering, every year, an interesting musical cultural program during the summer period.

It was built as a playground for the palace nobility, and it was in the hands of Teresa de Borbon and Villabriga, Countess of Chinchón, and her husband Manuel Godoy, minister of King Charles IV (immortalized by Goya in 1801 in a table that can be seen in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando).

It is a large Castilian house of two heights surrounded by magnificent gardens with orchards, crossed by the stream of La Madre. They are accessed from the rear façade by beautiful solid brick stairs. Two sturdy towers with side aisles adorn the façade. They emphasize in the whole the elegant geometric arrangement of the abalconados windows, the baseboards and the granite cornices, the entrance porch with a coat of arms and the roof of Arab tile with two pyramidal spiers that crown the towers.

It was rebuilt and restored to its original state in 1995 thanks to the Vanderbilt Museum in New York, which provided photographs of paintings of the seventeenth century exhibited there that reproduced the façade of the building.

Created under the initiative and the effort of the women belonging to the workshops of Mucha Tela 2000-2003, stands out for its didactic value. All the costumes on display have been handcrafted after a thorough preliminary research that reflects the cultural, social and religious foundations of each era.

Following a chronological criterion we can admire from the first clothes and adornments that indicated the social status of its wearer within the tribe to models of Haute Couture of the XX century happening through tunics, Egyptian, Greek or Roman; garments of the Low and High Middle Ages, when the tunics and overalls are orientalized; Renaissance ruffles and doublets; corsets, mriñacas and baroque, extremely sophisticated puppets; polisones and romantic Levites; and different garments, according to the moment of the day, that supposes the revolution in the dress of the twentieth century.

In the museum it is possible to also know the regional costumes of Villanueva del Pardillo, gala and diary, inspired by Segovia with details from the Madrid tradition, mainly the goyesca.

The collection completes a sample on the history of ordered undergarments also following a chronological criterion.

Located on one side of Plaza Real, San Martín church owes its origins to an interesting anecdote as it was built following a complaint lodged with the Council of Castile by the locals back in the 17th century. It’s dedicated to San Martín de Tours -immortalized by El Greco in 1597- the patron saint of welders, weavers, traders in general and textile manufacturers. The local festival is on 11 November. The work on the current building began in 1634 after the locals began a long legal proceeding (1622-1628) with the Court of Castile against those receiving the tithes. They were accused of not fulfilling their obligation of maintaining the temple. Due to financial hardship, only one-third of the project would ever be finished. The Herrerian style building has a very sombre yet monumental floor plan with three naves and a barrel vault ceiling. There is a seven-metre-high central dome over the transept. On the inside is a Baroque high altarpiece with a painting attributed to Rivera’s disciple, Lucas Jordán, which represents Saint Martin sharing his cape with a poor man. One of the chapels features a 15th-century altarpiece with the Virgen de la Nueva, the town’s patroness. Visitors can also see the Romanic style baptismal font and the Gothic style ivory carving of Nuestra Señora de la Estrella. At just 4 centimetres, this carving was owned by Alphonse X until he lost it during a hunting expedition in the area. At least that’s what’s written in “Las Cantigas”. The organ in the temple was built in 1894 by José Marlasca.

Right in the heart of San Martín de Valdeiglesias stands the majestic castle, Castillo de La Coracera, which was built in 1434 by Álvaro de Luna. It was the home of Isabel I of Castille upon being proclaimed the heiress of Castille following the Treaty of the Bulls of Guisando. Along with the one in Manzanares el Real, it’s the most important castle in the entire Autonomous Region of Madrid. Almost entirely open to visitors because of its incredible state of conservation, it evokes the tragic fate of Álvaro de Luna who was the most powerful man in medieval Spain. Don Álvaro de Luna was in great favours with King Juan II, the father of Enrique IV and his sister Isabel, the future Queen of Castile. Accused of witchery and conspiracy, he was decapitated in Valladolid in 1453.

The Coracera castle is a typical feudal castle as it reproduces the basic fortified palace style residence that was common back in the early 15th century. There are three cubes. It’s known for its crenellated battlement, parapets, blazons and sharp arrow-holes. The Torre del Homenaje was the place where this gentleman stayed and where legal documents were signed such as the loyalty or servitude pact. The inner belt of the building was comprised of the main grounds where life mainly occurred in the courtyard. Nearby there are service buildings such as kitchens, rooms for the garrison and knights and some of the storehouses. The inner wall was taller and thicker than the outer one and had a gallery that connected the towers.
La Coracera once had up to four defensive walls. The outermost belt was comprised of a shorter wall which surrounded the grounds protected by a moat. It only had one entrance which featured a drawbridge. The latter would be destroyed in the event of a siege to prevent enemies from getting inside.
From the crenels and, particularly the Torre del Homenaje tower, visitors can take in an extraordinary view of the Sierra de Gredos and the vineyards planted by the Benedictine monks in the Middle Ages. Not surprisingly, San Martín de Valdeiglesias is known for its wines.
The castle is handicap-accessible.

St Mary the Royal, Historical-Artistic Monument, is an archetypal example of the Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries although, due to the great number of works and modifications carried out in it during its almost seven centuries of active life, its primitive and original configuration of Romanesque monastery has been blurred; manifesting in him all the architectural styles that arose in Spain, throughout that long period; from the Romanesque of the thirteenth century to the baroque of the early seventeenth century.

It was founded by a Visigothic figure, erected on a ‘Mozarabic chapel’ inhabited by hermits. It was founded by a Royal Privilege of King Alfonso VII of 1150 who grouped the twelve hermitages of the area in the community of the Holy Cross, subject to the Benedictine rule. In 1177 the Monastery was incorporated into the Order of Cîteaux under the auspices of King Alfonso VIII. Under this Order would remain until its closure following the Law of Disentailment of Mendizabal of 1835.

The most remarkable of the monastery is the church that is situated in the highest part of the site, orienting the axis of its ship towards the Holy Land, avoiding, thus, casting shadow to the cloister. This, attached to the right side wall of the nave of the church, constitutes the central axis of the liturgical and monastic activity. To the cloister the church, the chapter room, the armarium (Library), the refectory, the accesses to the zone of monks and converts and the portería converge.

In 1974, the architect from Madrid Mariano García Benito ended the plunder and his abandonment buying his ruins thanks to an advertisement appeared in a Madrid newspaper, which offered its sale. Since 2004, it belongs to the Monasterio Santa María la Real Foundation of Valdeglesias.

The church, declared of Cultural Interest and built in several phases that began in the sixteenth century, presents a single nave and the most outstanding elements are the square brick brick tower and inside the chapel of the Virgin of the Rosary.

The House-Palace of Gózquez de Arriba -included in the system of sets and related elements with the Monastery of the Escorial- is an agricultural building commanded by Felipe II. The construction is of toledano rig and presents / displays a great central patio and a set of galleries dedicated to the elaboration of wine.

To enjoy other patrimonial samples it is advisable to stroll through the streets of San Martín de la Vega and observe, for example, the Plaza de la Fuente which, as its name suggests, houses a 19th century fountain built in stone. Next to it has been discovered an old trough of livestock.

The ships and the tower are of masonry and the headboard of masonry, material that also was used in the edges and outer abutments. The plant is of Latin cross, completing the central nave with two sides separated of this by two semicircular arches. The head, the upper part of the temple and the cruise ship date from the 16th century, and the lower nave was built in the 18th century.

In its interior they emphasize two baroque altarpieces: the great altarpiece, from 1749, carved in walnut wood without polychrome, and the altarpiece located in the arm of the gospel of the cruise, which is of gold and polychrome wood and houses the image of the Virgin of the Carmen.

The altar, carved in limestone, has a front decorated with plateresque motifs from the beginning of the 16th century. The painting of Saint Louise de Marillac, co-founder of the Daughters of Charity, enjoys great devotion.

In addition, it has two baroque baptismal stacks. The oldest, from the end of the XV century, is hexagonal and is located in front of the entrance of the church. The most modern pile, placed on a pedestal of stone, presents on its edge an inscription in which it can be read “me fecit year of 1748”.

The bridge was erected in masonry with granite stone from the area and has an eye with a slightly pointed arch, shaped like a donkey’s back.

The interpretation center is located in the town hall of this small municipality and its purpose is to publicize the research undertaken in the local archaeological excavations since 2005. In it can be seen a replica of one of the most important pieces found by the archaeologists, of Titulcia, also well-known like Medusa of Titulcia. It is a ceremonial dish of Carpet culture (4th-3rd century BC), whose original is in the Regional Archaeological Museum of the Community of Madrid, in Alcalá de Henares.

Also in the urban helmet they emphasize the church of Santa Maria Magdalena (of century XVI); the hermitage of Solitude; the cave of the Moon, which some theories relate to the Knights Templar, or excavations of Roman ruins that are often active in spring and summer.

This municipality is located in the Region of Las Vegas, in the margins of the Regional Park of the Southeast, reason why it offers interesting natural routes. Wine lovers who visit the town have an appointment with the wineries Viña Bayona.

The work of the bridge began in 1891 and has three straight stretches of 50 meters each, which support in two intermediate stacks and two stirrups, these being prolonged in accompanying walls finished in wings to access the river banks, executed on the basis of ashlars of stone. Each section is saved with a truss beam, formed in its skeleton by strings and vertical bars at the ends. The inner latticework forms a mesh of crosses of San Andrés without vertical uprights. The bridge, very light and sensitive to overloads, has seen its reinforced structure to adapt it to traffic and has had different reconstructions due to various floods (1935 and 1947).

Of medieval epoch it emphasizes the Tower, that today is cultural center. Located on the hill of the first settlement of the town, it was the Church of San Miguel until the end of the 19th century. In origin, of Romanesque style, it presents some Roman and Arab architectural elements, which makes suppose that it occupies the site of a Roman building reconverted, later, in mosque. From the medieval period it preserves the Mudejar apse, the wall and the tower from whose bell tower you can enjoy magnificent views.

Of Bourbon period they are the Source of the Caños, of neoclassic style and invoice of granite, ordered to construct in 1785 by Carlos III; the Bridge of the Rosary, located in the Old Way of the Escorial, called thus by an old hermitage that existed in its environs; and the old Pósito or Panera Real, whose origins date back to Fernando VI, now the Church of San Miguel.

After the Civil War, the General Direction of Devastated Regions planned the reconstruction of much of Guadarrama. Of that intervention are the Plaza Mayor, in the form of a semicircular open cobbled square, and the Quarter of Ravaged Regions. The Plaza Mayor, inspired by Brunete, is made of granite. In it they emphasize the City council, whose style remembers to the Monastery of the Escorial; the Olma, one of the singular trees of Madrid; and the bronze statue of El Abuelo. In the Quarter of Ravaged Regions, which occupies five blocks, rise several unique buildings, former residences of day laborers and cattlemen of the municipality.

Other places of interest of the old town are the Potro de Herrar, from the 20th century, and the municipal park, built in 1949 where La Nava was, a large depression of three or four meters deep.

It opened in 2003 on the initiative of Fernando Agudo Platero, whose grandfather, soldier in North Africa, brought in 1900 the seed of the black melon, a species that has now disappeared, to Villaconejos.

A valuable photographic archive, composed of more than a thousand photographs and a curious short film, illustrates and explains the history of the sowing and harvesting process and how was the life of the meloneros (farmers dedicated to the collection of the melon) during the time that lasted harvest until its distribution and sale. They complete the funds, all types of farm implements and housing, donated mostly by local residents.

In its facilities you can learn a very peculiar language, typical of the melon culture, which defines its flavors and states: passion, very mature; vinao, with excess sugar that makes it ferment too much and knows wine; arretestinao, of meat tight and with taste of pipe; cucumber, unripened, green; scaling, when its flesh has holes; cushion, without ripening for having cut prematurely; etc.

The enclosure is composed of three floors: basement, where are the warehouses and two rooms, the exhibition and projection; low, with the reception area, entrance, showroom and various facilities; and, first, where is the library, the administration and another showroom.

Built between 1562 and 1595, in berroqueña stone, it had a length of 36.9 km, height between 1 and 1.5 meters and width of about 50 centimeters. Its main purpose was to serve as a limit and demarcation of the properties acquired by Philip II to endow the monastery with its own resources (La Herrería, La Fresneda, La Granjilla, El Campillo and Monesterio). It also served as an element of defense against intruders; of protection of the pastures destined to the oxen used in the construction of the monastery; as dehesa and real forest of hunting; and as a sanitary belt for a smallpox infection.

Later Charles IV would raise the height of the wall, raising the jumps, so that the hunt could enter but not leave and solve, in this way, the problems that, since Philip II’s time, had been causing the animals of the hunting ground real in the crops and livestock of the local peasants.

It is accessible from Zarzalejo following the so-called circular small route of 8 km. and medium difficulty. On the way to the Quemadillo, we ascend to the Entre Cabezas pass, where we find a fountain that serves as refreshment for the senderista. After leaving this, a few meters higher, we will have reached our destination. From there, ascending towards the summit of the Machota Grande (1,464 meters), you reach the rock of the Fraile, a peculiar mass of berroqueñas stones that remember the figure of a praying monk.

The descent gives us spectacular views of the Sierra de Guadarrama, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Mount Abantos, etc.

It is a baroque building in which combine architectural elements of different styles resulting from reforms and later rehabilitation works.

It consists of a central nave covered with vault of cannon and six lateral chapels, three on each side, open to that one by arches of half point that at the time housed small Baroque and neoclassic altarpieces, now lost. Only the altar of the Baroque style, decorated with leaves and clusters of vine and Solomonic columns, has survived to the present day, which keeps the image of the Christ of Health, patron of Valdemoro, rebuilt in 1939 after his disappearance in the Civil War.

Los lienzos del castillo aún se alzan en el cerro Horcajo, confluencia de los ríos Aulencia y Guadarrama. Desde estas ruinas se disfruta de hermosas vistas de una inmensa dehesa de encinas y del Centro Europeo de Astronomía Espacial (ESAC).

De pequeñas dimensiones y planta rectangular, tiene un doble recinto de murallas, seis torres cilíndricas en las aristas de los muros y un torreón o torre del homenaje de unos veinte metros de alto. Los muros tienen un grosor de 1,50 metros y cerca de seis metros de altura. También alberga recintos subterráneos.

La primera noticia que se tiene de la fortaleza data de 1450. En el siglo XV el castillo pasó a manos de Alfonso Álvarez de Toledo, noble de la Corte del rey Juan II de Castilla, y, posteriormente, a diferentes manos privadas.

Durante la Guerra Civil sirvió como fortín en las batallas de la Carretera de la Coruña y de Brunete.

The building stands out in its rural surroundings by the design, since it is built in concrete, with large windows and woodwork of iron beams. It exhibits funds obtained through donations, purchases and objects belonging to the Barreiros family that gloss the achievements of the work of one of the most relevant figures of the industrial development of Spain in the automotive sector in the fifties and sixties.

Starting from a small workshop in Orense, Eduardo Barreiros (1919-1992) was able to build a large industrial complex. The diesel engine became for the Spanish synonymous of this businessman. In 1963 he became associated with Chrysler and over the years the company became Chrysler Spain.

Visitors can access and touch the different objects of the exhibition, such as cars, trucks and tractors, which makes it possible to understand the mechanical work and at the same time manual, the production of engines at that time. In addition, the facilities and objects are adapted to the visually impaired.

The museum also has an important documentary background.

Strolling through its old town allows us to know interesting examples of traditional Castilian architecture. Of particular note are the Plaza de la Constitución, built between the 16th and 17th centuries, with arcades and balconies of two bodies, except on the northern front, with three; and the source of the Villa, built in 1605 on Colmenar stone, crowned by the first known shield of the town.

There are also interesting examples of the old houses of work, typical of the Sagra in Madrid, whose different dependencies were distributed around a patio attached to the main room and a large corral which opened blocks, sheds and barns. Of interest are also the colonies of vacationers, formed by palaces erected in the center of lush gardens.

Other places of interest are the parish church of the Assumption of Our Lady of the second half of the seventeenth century, declared an Artistic Historical Monument in 1981; the convent of Santa Clara, of the XVII century, with an important major altarpiece inside; the hermitage of the Holy Christ of Health, of the XVIII century; the convent of La Encarnación, from 1616; the Clock Tower, from 1672; the old Town Hall, from the 16th century; the House of the Inquisition, house of work of century XVII; the lay hospital of San Juan Bautista, founded in 1566, from which the original balcony is preserved; the Old Prison, a group of private dwellings of the sixteenth century reconverted in the local penitentiary; and, the House of the King or school of San Jose, pertaining to its day to the Jesuits until its expulsion of Spain in 1767.

Inaugurated in 1616, it was built on plans of the architect Juan Gómez de Mora at the initiative of the first Duke of Lerma, Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, lord of Valdemoro and valid of Felipe III. It was erected as a female cloistered monastery of the daughters of the nobility who decided to profess religious vows.

The building, located to the south of Valdemoro, near the Fountain of the Villa, is distributed around a central square cloister, like most monastic buildings of the time. The northern façade, in Toledo style, houses an image of Santa Clara flanked by two stone nobiliary shields: the Casa de la Cerda, heirs of Alfonso X, and the coat of arms of the dukedom of Lerma.

The church, the most interesting element of the whole, consists of a Latin cross plan with a single nave, barrel vault, dome above the transept and high choir at the feet with a cloister. The main altarpiece is decorated with two 17th century paintings, La Encarnación and El Calvario.

In the enclave known as Cueva de la Mora, there is the Calatalifa Castle whose remains, even being on a private estate, can be visited with free access. Built in brick at the top of a small hill on the left bank of the Guadarrama River, it owes its name to the Arabic term Qal’at Khalifa -translated as the Caliph’s Castle. A legend tells us that the Caliph chose its strategic location because in 939, on the way to a battle, he was deeply impressed by the beauty of the landscape as he contemplated a total eclipse of the sun.

Calatalifa is, along with Madrid, Alcalá la Vieja and Talamanca, one of the four cities of Arab origin of the Community of Madrid and the most unknown of them all. Calatalifa and its castle had the strategic purpose to watch the road that united Toledo with the port of the Lions. Towards 1270, as the Reconquest advanced, the city lost its importance to be definitively abandoned in the 14th century with the arrival of the plague.

Little remains of his castle. Just the base of a tower and a small well or brick cistern. Recent excavations have unearthed the foundations of the wall, three meters deep by seven meters high, the baseboards of some dwellings, ceramics and remains of Christian tombs. It is believed that we still know only 1% of what this fortress was.

It is a linen canvas of four and a half meters by two in which you can see the signs of the sufferings of Jesus, which appears in it with forearms crossed over the belly, both front and back. Of all the copies that exist, Torres de la Alameda is the best. The relic arrived at the locality in times of Felipe II of the hand of a local religious. It is shown to the public every Good Friday, when the officiators venerate and pass all kinds of medals, rosaries, etc., with the intention of blessing them.

The Church of the Assumption is a magnificent example of the sixteenth-century Spanish Plateresque. Its main singularity is in the porticoed cloister, of seven arches, orientated to the South according to the Renaissance architectural canons.

It presents basilical plant of three ships. A chapel houses the image of the patron saint of the town, Our Lady of the Rosary.

Projected by the architect Diego Ochoa, assistant of Jaime Marquet, responsible of the theater Real Coliseum of Carlos III of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, was constructed between 1771 and 1773.

Of plant has trapezoidal form, it observes the style that Juan de Villanueva and its disciples respected in the extension of the urban nucleus of the Escorial. In its main facade, that of Gobernador Street, you can admire the main access door with molded granite fencing and lateral pilasters that carry two brackets on which rests a wrought iron upper balcony.

It was built by Carlos III to assist the workers and workers hired for the expansion of the urban center of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. The project – for forty beds – was built by the architect Juan Esteban in 1771 and was inaugurated in 1772. In 1781 was reformed by the architect Juan de Villanueva being the works financed by theater representations in the theater Real Coliseo Carlos III and by bullfights. In 1801 the main room was extended to attend the patients of tuberculosis, smallpox and cholera, diseases very common at that time. With the overthrow of Isabel II in 1868 the hospital of San Carlos passed to municipal property.

After the Civil War, in 1940, he was assigned to the Higiene Secondary Center for indigents and elders, and a residence for nuns and nurses. In 1943, when she was named Carmen Polo, wife of Francisco Franco, honorary mayor of the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, she changed her name to La Alcaldesa hospital, recovering the old name in 2002.

This church began to be built in the sixteenth century under the direction of the master of works Juan de la Piedra, who was accountable to the procurator of the Monastery of El Paular reporting the costs associated with the works.

The exterior of the building stands out for the imposing bell tower. Also emphasizes the head, presided by a semicircular apse reinforced by enormous buttresses. In its large rectangular interior, the Main Chapel occupies almost the entire head, and is closed by a semicircular vault, separated from the nave by a semicircular triumphal arch. Adjacent to it rises the Chapel of the Sagrario (old Sacristy), covered by a vault of cannon with lunettes and moldings. And finally, the vestibule, separated from the nave by two semicircular arches resting on a column of Tuscan order.

The main access, on the side, has a beautiful wooden porch (corresponding to the reforms of the eighteenth century) supported by two pillars of plateresque style of square plan. The building is surrounded by a masonry wall decorated with Herrerian style balls placed on piles of rhomboidal relief that forms an irregular courtyard around the Church.

It is a group that throughout its history has undergone various interventions. It has elements that present formal, structural and construction characteristics, different: the tower (first third of the sixteenth century) and the cruise and the head (half of the sixteenth). The wreckage caused during the Civil War meant that, from 1944, restoration work was undertaken.

It is declared of Cultural Interest and its initial invoice only preserves the Gothic three-body tower, which offers beautiful views of the mountains of Madrid. The ensemble is adorned with a beautiful cover of Elizabethan Gothic style.

In 1540 the primitive temple was demolished, projecting another one of three ships with vault of crucería of which, for economic reasons, only the head was constructed. Of later time is the cannon ship with lunetos that rose to unite the old tower with the already existing head.

It is a typical columnar church whose style reminds us of Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón. Inside, along with two interesting Renaissance paintings, those of San Sebastián and the Virgin of the Rosary, you can admire various religious carvings in polychrome wood executed by Mariano Rubio Jiménez, the village’s son and favorite disciple of Mariano Benlliure, among the which highlights the figure of St. John the Baptist child.

Next to some typical rural constructions, we find the parochial church of San Juan Bautista, in gothic style of the XIV century, and the Town Hall, of 1930, famous for the balcony and the clock of its main façade.

The church of San Juan Bautista, declared of Cultural Interest, was built in 1540 from a primitive church of which only remains a Gothic three-body tower dated 1529. It is a typical columnar church whose style reminds us of Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón. In its interior, next to two interesting Renaissance paintings, those of San Sebastián and the Virgin of the Rosary, you can admire diverse religious carvings executed by Mariano Rubio Jiménez, disciple of Benlliure, among which the figure of Saint John the Baptist boy. The ensemble is adorned with a beautiful cover of Elizabethan Gothic style.

A plaque on the facade of City Hall reminds us that one of the most famous scenes of Spanish cinema was filmed on the balcony: the unforgettable speech by Pepe Isbert in Bienvenido Mister Marshall (1952), which began with that famous phrase “as mayor your who I am, I owe you an explanation … “. Equally famous thanks to this film, is the watch that crowns the City Hall.

To the outskirts of the locality can be seen the hermitage of Our Lady the Virgin of the Espinar, patron of the Villa, that previously was in lands bathed by the reservoir of Pedrezuela.

It is a rectangular and compact building, of a single rectangular nave with a half-point arch, erected in masonry with stone blocks in the corners. The roof deck is flat and rests on wooden brackets and the cruiser is crowned by a dome lowered on pechinas.

The interior, which is accessed through a small portico recently built, is presided over by a wooden altarpiece dedicated to the Virgen de la Pera. Unfortunately, both the original size and a baptismal font that was already recorded in 1820, are now missing.

The celebrations in honor of the Virgin of the Pear are celebrated the 1 of May. On the eve the image of the Virgin leaves in procession until the parochial church of San Juan Bautista. There, at midnight, just after May begins, the traditional Mayos are chanted to the Virgin, some songs in which the veneration and the petition are alternated with the Mother of God. The next day, after its procession, the image of the Virgin returns to her hermitage. Throughout the month of May the hermitage is open to worship

Located in the place called Aldehuela Alta, it has its origins in constructions used by Císter in the XII and XIII centuries. Of the time of its construction only conserves a Gothic chapel and a pile of holy water with plateresque decoration. The complex is completed with a main building dating back to 1927, built in a historicist style with its annexed agricultural units.

The farmhouse is located on the road between Torrelaguna and El Vellón, on a private estate.

The building is located on a private estate so it is necessary to speak with its owners to visit it.