Logbook · 8 places

What to see and do in Bienservida

What to see and do in Bienservida (Sierra de Alcaraz y Campo de Montiel, Albacete): 8 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Food and drink

When to go to Bienservida: festival calendar

May: Pilgrimage of Nuestra Señora del Turruchel (third Sunday of May)

How far each place is from the centre of Bienservida

Cerro Vico 4.1 km

Towns near Bienservida

What to see in Villarrodrigo 3.8 km · 5 places
What to see in Villapalacios 6.9 km · 7 places
What to see in Salobre 9.1 km · 6 places
What to see in Villaverde de Guadalimar 11 km · 10 places
What to see in Torres de Albanchez 13 km · 7 places
What to see in Cotillas 13 km · 7 places
What to see in Vianos 13 km · 8 places
What to see in Génave 14 km · 8 places

Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Albacete › Sierra de Alcaraz y Campo de Montiel › Bienservida

What to see and do in Bienservida

Bienservida
Village
Municipality of the comarca of Sierra de Alcaraz y Campo de Montiel, in the province of Albacete, in the transition between the Guadalmena valley and the heights of the range, where the Vico hill rises to 1,217 metres; it preserves the church of San Bartolomé, of the fifteenth century and declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) in 1991, a defensive tower of Andalusi origin in a ruinous state and, eight kilometres from the built-up area, the chapel of Nuestra Señora del Turruchel. In the district the León de Bienservida came to light, an Iberian sculpture of the sixth century BC.
Church of San Bartolomé de Bienservida
Monument
A 15th-century church listed as a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) on 1 February 1991, with a notable altarpiece and the chapels of the Virgen del Turruchel and the Blessed Sacrament.
Medieval tower of Bienservida
Monument
Defensive tower of Andalusi origin preserved in a ruined state, with arrow slits suggesting its later adaptation for the use of arquebuses or small cannons. The article on the municipality also records it as the castle of Bienservida and cites the description made of it by Pascual Madoz, when barely a stretch of wall with loopholes for arquebuses or lombards was still standing.
Hermitage of el Turruchel
Monument
Sanctuary located eight kilometres from the town centre of Bienservida, on the road to Albaladejo (present-day N-322), where the image of Nuestra Señora del Turruchel is venerated, in Byzantine style, restored after suffering damage throughout its history. The hermitage was built by the people of Bienservida themselves to honour their patroness. On the third Sunday of May the image is carried in a pilgrimage to the sanctuary, where it remains until August.
Cerro Vico
Nature
Isolated summit of 1,217 metres in the municipality of Bienservida, in the transition zone between the Guadalmena valley and the heights of the Sierra de Alcaraz. Archaeological remains have been found in its surroundings, mostly from prehistoric times, evidencing the ancient occupation of the area.
Pilgrimage of Nuestra Señora del Turruchel
Activity
Pilgrimage that carries the image of the Virgen del Turruchel, patroness of Bienservida, in the region of the Sierra de Alcaraz and Campo de Montiel (Albacete), from the village to its sanctuary, where it remains until August. It is held on the third Sunday of May. According to tradition, the image, in Byzantine style, dressed in blue with the Child dressed in red and holding a bunch of roses, was found by a farmer whose plough stumbled and startled his mules; in her honour, the people of Bienservida built a hermitage, located about 8 kilometres from the town centre, on the other side of the N-322 road.
The Lion of Bienservida
Curiosity
Iberian zoomorphic sculpture from the 6th century BC, also known as the Lion of Huerta Bayonas, found by chance in 1893 at the Huerta Bayonas site, in the municipality of Villarrodrigo (Jaén), adjoining Bienservida (Albacete), to which it was moved and from which it takes its current name. The piece, mutilated when found, was first kept at the private home of Antonio Pretel, owner of the estate where it appeared, and around 1941 was donated to the Archaeological Museum of Albacete, where it is preserved today. Like other Iberian sculptures, it has a psychopomp and apotropaic character, guiding the soul and protecting the deceased and their memory, with an Eastern symbolic root; especially notable is the severed human head appearing beneath its paws, a motif from the skull cult most common in Celtic settings.
The mountain lamb caldereta
Food and drink
A slow stew of lamb cut into pieces with garlic, onion, bay leaf, paprika and white wine, cooked in an iron cauldron over firewood; in the high villages of the sierra it is the dish of the pilgrimage festivals and of any large gathering.