Logbook · 7 places

What to see and do in Villapalacios

What to see and do in Villapalacios (Sierra de Alcaraz y Campo de Montiel, Albacete): 7 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

When to go to Villapalacios: festival calendar

September: Festivities of el Santísimo Cristo de la Vera Cruz (Del 13 al 17 de septiembre)

How far each place is from the centre of Villapalacios

Church of San Sebastián de Villapalacios 50 m

Towns near Villapalacios

What to see in Bienservida 6.9 km · 8 places
What to see in Salobre 7.9 km · 6 places
What to see in Villarrodrigo 9.8 km · 5 places
What to see in Vianos 12 km · 8 places
What to see in Villanueva de la Fuente 14 km · 8 places
What to see in Povedilla 14 km · 6 places
What to see in Albaladejo 16 km · 8 places
What to see in Alcaraz 16 km · 20 places

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

What to see and do in Villapalacios

Villapalacios
Village
Municipality of the comarca of Sierra de Alcaraz y Campo de Montiel, in the province of Albacete, which John II handed over in 1436 to Rodrigo Manrique and which remained the head of the lordship and the seat of the palace of the counts of Paredes, integrated between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries into the Señorío de las Cinco Villas. Its church of San Sebastián, late Gothic of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico Nacional (Spain's heritage designation in force between 1931 and 1985) in 1978, preserves choir stalls with carved heads, a Renaissance gallery with twelve busts and polychrome Mudéjar decoration; from the Glorieta viewpoint the valley of the river Mesta is commanded.
Church of San Sebastián de Villapalacios
Monument
Late Gothic temple from the 15th and 16th centuries, with a rectangular floor plan and a single nave divided into six bays by pointed diaphragm arches, showing the influence of the early medieval architecture typical of the province. Its main doorway, with a pointed arch, displays the coat of arms of the Manrique family, lords of the town when the church was built. The 1775 Lisbon earthquake was what most damaged the building in Villapalacios, causing the collapse of the transept vault, and in 1936 the parish was looted and several altarpieces burned while it was used as a headquarters of the UGT union; restoration work began in 1957. Declared a National Historic-Artistic Monument in 1978, it preserves choir stalls with carved heads, a Renaissance gallery with twelve busts, polychrome Mudejar decoration and a stone baptismal font.
Tombstone of the Counts of Paredes
Monument
A limestone slab with an inscription and the coat of arms of the Manrique family, belonging to Rodrigo Manrique, son of the third count. It turned up in the cemetery in the 1960s and is dated to around 1570.
Viewpoint of la Glorieta
Nature
A balcony over the valley of the River Mesta and the peak of El Padrón, at 1,771 metres. On clear nights the illuminated castle of Chiclana de Segura, more than fifty kilometres away, can be made out from here.
Festivities of el Santísimo Cristo de la Vera Cruz
Activity
The patron saint festivities of Villapalacios in honour of the Santísimo Cristo de la Vera Cruz are held from 13 to 17 September, with the main day set on the 14th, although the dates may be adjusted depending on the weekend. Throughout the year the municipality also holds other festivities, such as San Isidro and a pilgrimage in honour of San Cristóbal, both in May, although the feast of the Cristo de la Vera Cruz remains the main event of the local calendar.
The Lordship of the Five Towns
Curiosity
El Señorío de las Cinco Villas was a historical sub-region of the former Alfoz de Alcaraz, formed, between the 15th and 18th centuries, by the present-day municipalities of Villapalacios, which acted as its capital, together with Villaverde de Guadalimar, Bienservida, Riópar and Cotillas, on the south-western edge of the province of Albacete, within the Sierra de Alcaraz and already close to the border with Jaén and Ciudad Real. After the reconquest of Alcaraz by Alfonso VIII in 1213, the whole region was incorporated into that city's Alfoz, on which the municipalities that would later form this lordship at first depended as mere hamlets. Their shared heraldic symbol, also borne by the count of Paredes, is the cauldrons.
The grant of Juan II to Rodrigo Manrique
Historical milestone
John II of Castile rewarded in 1436 Rodrigo Manrique, future 1st Count of Paredes, with several places in the range after the taking of Huéscar; Villapalacios remained as head of the seigneury and seat of the counts' palace.