Village
Municipality of the comarca of La Mancha, in the province of Ciudad Real, whose Carnival, declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest, is one of the most distinctive in Castilla-La Mancha for its masks and traditional characters. Of the eleven windmills it once had it preserves seven, christened with Cervantine names such as El Ama, La Sobrina, Dulcinea or Maritornes, and its visual emblem is La Copa, a water tower of 1934 with the silhouette of a chalice; its vineyards lived through the great expansion that followed the phylloxera which devastated the French vineyards from 1880, and the Sierra de la Sevillana, of 928 metres, breaks the flatness of the district.
Monument
Parish church of Herencia, in La Mancha, Ciudad Real, whose construction was completed in 1713: with a Latin-cross plan and a single nave covered by a decorated barrel vault, it is distinguished by a tower almost 60 metres tall, crowned by a sculpture of the Sacred Heart. Inside it holds the canvas Las tres generaciones (The Three Generations), by Lucas Jordán, and a large painting of the Immaculate Conception by Zacarías González Velázquez presiding over the main altar. In 2013 the Holy See granted a jubilee year for the third centenary of the church's consecration, one of the most visited places of devotion among the people of Herencia.
Monument
Convent in Herencia (Ciudad Real, La Mancha), whose founding deed was signed on 15 November 1656, granted by Juan José de Austria, the illegitimate son of Philip IV. It houses the venerated image of the Virgin of la Merced, popularly known as La Hermosona, which has become a symbol of the town since the convent's founding. The image was solemnly crowned as queen and patroness on 22 May 1951 by the bishop-prior Emeterio Echevarría, and in 1999 was named perpetual mayoress of the town. Its patronal festivities are held every year on 24 September. The convent remains an active religious centre; in 2010 the baroque organ it holds inside was restored and reinaugurated.
Monument
The windmills of Herencia are traditional agro-industrial buildings used for grinding grain, mainly wheat, by wind power. The first licence to build a mill in the town was granted in 1778, and the first one in operation was recorded in 1790; over the course of the 19th century the town came to have eleven. The mills were also social meeting points, until water mills and industrial factories, together with the damage caused by the Peninsular War, led to their gradual abandonment. In 2003, seven of the original eleven were restored, named after characters from Cervantes such as El Ama, La Sobrina, Dulcinea and Maritornes, today symbols of the town.
Monument
La Copa de Herencia is a water tank built around 1934 in the La Pedriza area, about five kilometres from the town centre, whose chalice-shaped silhouette has become the visual emblem of this municipality in the province of Ciudad Real. It was designed by brothers José Antonio and Petronilo García-Navas Jerez to improve the water supply, since water reached the town with very little flow. Its shape was inspired by the chalice used in the Eucharist. The tank collected water from a well by means of pumps and distributed it by gravity, through pipes and valves, as far as the Caño fountain.
Nature
Small mountain range in the municipality of Herencia that reaches 928 metres and breaks the flatness of the La Mancha plain. Also called Sierra del Torcón, after the peak that marks its highest point; a second peak, 899 metres high, holds a television relay. It can be seen from several villages in the area, including Camuñas and Puerto Lápice. On its slopes lies the site of La Rendija, with rock paintings popularly known as «el tesoro» (the treasure).
Activity
The Carnaval de Herencia, declared a Fiesta de Interés Turístico Nacional (festival of national tourist interest), has been documented since 1365 and is the most important celebration on the town's calendar. It has no fixed date, as it depends on the lunar calendar that governs Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, the last day of the festival. It starts a week before the other carnivals in the area, with the Domingo de las Deseosas (Sunday of the Longing Women), and continues with the Viernes de Prisillas, a day of parades by local clubs that opens with the lighting of the brazier, and the Sábado de los Ansiosos (Saturday of the Eager Ones), which since 2007 has marked the start of the new Herencia year. Traditional masks and characters give the Carnaval de Herencia a distinctive character within Castilla-La Mancha.
Activity
The Fiestas de la Virgen de las Mercedes are the fair and patronal festivities of Herencia, in La Mancha (Ciudad Real), held around 24 September. The image of the Virgin was canonically crowned as queen and patroness in the Plaza de la Libertad by the bishop-prior Emeterio Echevarría on 22 May 1951, and in 1999 was named perpetual mayoress of the town.
Curiosity
The vineyards of Herencia enjoyed their great expansion after the phylloxera crisis that devastated French vineyards from 1880 onwards, when foreign demand sent Manchegan production soaring.
Food and drink
Cheese of Manchega sheep's milk, pressed and cured between thirty days and two years, with the mark of the pleita stamped on the side and the flower on the faces. The Protected Designation of Origin covers Ciudad Real, Toledo, Cuenca and Albacete.