Logbook · 10 places

What to see and do in Moral de Calatrava

What to see and do in Moral de Calatrava (Campo de Calatrava, Ciudad Real): 10 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 3 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 2 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

When to go to Moral de Calatrava: festival calendar

February: Festivities of San Blas de Moral de Calatrava (first weekend of February)
July: Cultural Week and lace festival (early July)
August: Patron saint festivities of Moral de Calatrava (11 al 16 de agosto)

How far each place is from the centre of Moral de Calatrava

Towns near Moral de Calatrava

Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Ciudad Real › Campo de Calatrava › Moral de Calatrava

What to see and do in Moral de Calatrava

Moral de Calatrava
Village
Municipality of the comarca of Campo de Calatrava, in the province of Ciudad Real, whose growth on the back of vineyards and olive groves earned it the title of city, granted in 1895 by the queen regent María Cristina; its emancipation from Almagro went back a long way, ever since in 1565 it raised its own bridge over the Jabalón and Philip IV granted it first-instance jurisdiction. Its old town was declared a historic-artistic ensemble in 1982, it has as its patroness the Virgen de la Sierra, with a shrine in the mountain spot of the same name, and at the beginning of July it devotes a festival to bobbin lace.
Church of San Andrés Apóstol de Moral
Monument
The church of San Andrés Apóstol, in Moral de Calatrava (Ciudad Real), was built, it seems, between the 15th and 16th centuries, on top of an earlier building, under the patronage of San Andrés Apóstol. The church was described in the 19th century in Pascual Madoz's Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-histórico de España y sus posesiones de Ultramar, in the entry devoted to Moral de Calatrava. The building lies within the Conjunto Histórico of Moral de Calatrava, bounded by streets and declared a Conjunto Histórico-Artístico (a historic-artistic ensemble designation) in 1982.
Hermitage of la Virgen de la Sierra de Moral
Monument
The Ermita de la Virgen de la Sierra is the sanctuary of the patron saint of Moral de Calatrava, in the Campo de Calatrava (Ciudad Real), located in the mountain area that gives its name to the devotion. It houses a Romanesque carving of the Virgin, looking straight ahead with no gesture of affection towards the child. In the original hermitage coins from the time of the Visigothic king Wamba were found. The patronal festivities in her honour are held from 11 to 16 August, with a pilgrimage in which the image visits other hermitages in the municipality before returning to her sanctuary; in 2012 the eighth centenary of her apparition was celebrated.
Historic-artistic ensemble of Moral de Calatrava
Curiosity
The old town of Moral de Calatrava was declared a historic-artistic ensemble in 1982. The town received the title of city on 15 February 1895 from the regent Queen María Cristina.
Festivities of San Blas de Moral de Calatrava
Activity
Moral de Calatrava celebrates the pilgrimage of San Blas on the first weekend of February, with the traditional sale of blessed necklaces (gargantillas) to protect the throat; its main festivities, from the 11th to the 16th of August, honor the Virgen de la Sierra and San Roque.
Cultural Week and lace festival
Activity
The Semana Cultural of Moral de Calatrava, in the Campo de Calatrava, is held during the first two weeks of July every year. Its most notable event is the Festival de Encajeras, devoted to bobbin lace-making, in which around 350 lace-makers take part, 250 of them from the town itself.
Patron saint festivities of Moral de Calatrava
Activity
The main days of the Moral de Calatrava summer are celebrated from 11 to 16 August, in honour of the Santísima Virgen de la Sierra and San Roque, with popular open-air dances, concerts, a bullfight and sporting activities. In 2012, on the occasion of the eighth centenary of the Virgen de la Sierra, the image made a pilgrimage through the village's hermitages -San Roque, El Cristo, La Soledad- and the parish church of San Andrés, before returning to her hermitage in a Mass celebrated by the bishop of Ciudad Real in the Plaza de España.
La jurisdicción de primera instancia de Moral
Historical milestone
Philip IV granted Moral de Calatrava first-instance jurisdiction by royal warrant, completing a process of emancipation from Almagro that had already shown itself in 1565 when it built its own bridge over the Jabalón.
Moral de Calatrava, proclamada ciudad
Historical milestone
The queen regent María Cristina granted on 15 February 1895 to Moral de Calatrava the title of city, recognizing the growth that vineyards and olive groves had given it in a municipality that was already one of the most populated in the Campo de Calatrava.
El ajo arriero
Food and drink
Flaked cod worked in the mortar with boiled potato, garlic, egg and a long stream of olive oil until it emulsifies. A dish of fast days and of muleteers, it is served warm and with bread from the comarca.