Village
Municipality of the comarca of Sierra de Alcaraz y Campo de Montiel, in the province of Albacete, which obtained the title of town in 1557 on separating from Alcaraz, after the floods of the river Córcoles forced the houses to be relocated at the end of the fifteenth century; of the old site there remain the castle, a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) under restoration since 1998, and the adjoining Casa Fuerte de Los Casares, with rammed-earth walls of close to ten metres. Along the Córcoles mills, channels and aqueducts survive, and its carnival is one of the most important in the province.
Monument
A fortress possibly originating in the Bronze Age and occupied in Roman, Arab and Christian times. Listed as a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection), it has been under restoration since 1998, and the excavations have brought to light a moat that had only been suspected.
Monument
A military building adjoining the castle of Munera, rectangular in plan with internal halls, which preserves stretches of rammed-earth walls nearly ten metres high.
Monument
The church of San Sebastián de Munera is a Gothic temple from the 15th and 16th centuries located on the Plaza de la Constitución in this Albacete town, declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) in 1992. Its origins go back to an earlier temple built next to the castle after the Christian conquest of 1213 and dedicated to santa Quiteria, of which nothing remains today. The current building, with a Latin-cross floor plan and a single nave covered by a star-ribbed vault, stands on thick walls with buttresses and small windows, and has a 35-metre bell tower at its foot. In 1936 it suffered a desecration that destroyed altarpieces, images, the organ and the choir stalls; from 1939 its reconstruction was undertaken, directed by Miguel Alcañiz Fernández, giving shape to the present-day temple.
Monument
Hermitage dedicated to the Virgen de la Fuente, patroness of Munera, declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) on 22 December 1992 (identifier RI-51-0007368). It already appears listed in the 1848 Diccionario de Madoz among the municipality's hermitages, alongside that of la Concepción. In her honour, Munera's oldest fair, the town's patronal feast, has been held since 1756.
Monument
A group of up to sixteen old flour mills scattered along the floodplain of the Córcoles river, with horizontal waterwheels, typical of areas with limited water resources. Several of them are found in the municipality of Munera (Albacete): the Molino del Fraile, with a vertical wheel fed directly by channels; and the single-wheel mills of María Antonia and de los Atienza, with penstocks attached to their regulating ponds that do not exceed six metres in height. Near Munera, in the la Florida area, a fulling mill is also preserved. The complex, with its ponds, tailraces and buildings, is one of the most complete examples of traditional hydraulic heritage in the region.
Activity
A fair held since 1756, the year it was instituted in honour of Munera's patroness, the Virgen de la Fuente, with a fixed calendar from 20 to 25 September. On the first day the Pórtico Literario takes place, an event that brings together leading writers and poets to present their work, and which constitutes a literary tribute to the town.
Activity
La Leyenda de la Encantá is performed at Munera castle (Sierra de Alcaraz and Campo de Montiel, Albacete) on the Saturday closest to Saint John's Eve, in a festival that stages the legend of a beautiful lady who, according to tradition, appears every Saint John's Eve within the walls of the castle keep. The nighttime theatrical performance is followed by fireworks, which open a concert by musical groups from the province in honour of la Encantá.
Activity
One of the most important carnivals in the province, which gained renown in the early 20th century, with masked balls, troupe parades and the burial of the sardine.
Curiosity
In the late 15th century the settlement of Munera was relocated because of flooding from the Córcoles river, which also destroyed the town's old castle. Residents moved the site of the town centre to a more favourable location, a few metres from the original, and the new town was built there. Construction of the new parish church, dedicated to San Sebastián, began in the year 1500, on the same site where the town stands today.
Historical milestone
Munera obtained in 1557 the title of town, with its own jurisdiction and gallows, separating from Alcaraz. The town then grew on the plain, away from the original site it had occupied beside its old castle.