Village
Municipality of the comarca of Montes de Ciudad Real, in the province of Ciudad Real, first mentioned in a bull of Pope Gregory VIII of 1187 and which after Las Navas de Tolosa was integrated into the domains of the Order of Calatrava; its parish church, of austere lines, was raised between 1774 and 1808. Some six kilometres from the village the Bullaque forms the Tabla de la Yedra, a still pool with water lilies and riverside woodland of willows, ash and poplar, much frequented for bathing; in the town Mónico Sánchez manufactured portable X-ray apparatus between 1913 and 1961.
Monument
Miraflores Castle is a fortress of Islamic origin located about two kilometres from the town centre of Piedrabuena, dated by ceramic finds to around the 9th and 10th centuries, although with later modifications up to the 14th century. Documented from a bull of Pope Gregory VIII of 1187 among the possessions of the Order of Calatrava, it passed into Christian hands in the mid-12th century, was taken by the Almohads in 1196 and reconquered in the campaign of Las Navas in 1212. Of polygonal plan and small dimensions, it preserves a slender prismatic tower at the northwest corner and an enclosure of about 160 metres in perimeter with walls 1.8 metres thick, with almost no visible structures inside. Its ruins appear on the Red List of Heritage at Risk.
Monument
The hermitage of San Bartolomé, in Piedrabuena (Montes de Ciudad Real), is a 14th-century building located beside the N-430 road, at kilometre 282, about 2 km from the village in the direction of Ciudad Real. It preserves naturalistic religious wall paintings by Pedro Castrortega and a coffered ceiling with sturdy wooden beams. It underwent restoration work that was completed in 1997.
Monument
Hermitage of Piedrabuena (Montes de Ciudad Real) where the image of the Santísimo Cristo de la Antigua, patron saint of the town, is venerated; devotion to it dates back to the 16th century, and it takes its name from having previously been kept in the hermitage of the Virgen Antigua. Between 1805 and 1891 it served as the parish church while the present-day church was being built; owing to its poor condition it was vacated, and the hermitage as preserved today was rebuilt and completed in 1952, thanks solely to the work and donations of local residents, given in their free time. The festival of the Santísimo Cristo is held from 13 to 18 September, with the 14th being the patron saint's day; on the last Sunday of August the image is carried in procession from the hermitage to the parish church, where it remains until 21 September, the date on which it returns to the hermitage.
Nature
A pool of still water on the River Bullaque some six kilometres from Piedrabuena, with white and yellow water lilies and a notable riverside wood of willows, ash trees and poplars. It is one of the busiest natural bathing spots in the province.
Nature
Volcanic formations in the municipal district of Piedrabuena, with the Arzollosa cone at 773 metres and the Navarredonda explosion crater, evidence of the volcanism of the Campo de Calatrava.
Nature
The Bonal del Arroyo de Valdelamadera is an acidic peat bog protected as a micro-reserve since 3 September 2002, covering an area of 22.32 hectares in the municipality of Piedrabuena (Ciudad Real). It occupies the floodplain of a mountain stream with almost permanent water, between hillside vegetation and riverside willow groves, and it holds habitats of special protection such as the hygrophilous heathlands of Erica tetralix and the grasslands of Molinia caerulea, along with species such as the wild daffodil and the dwarf gorse. In the slow-moving waters, mats of floating leaves of Potamogeton polygonifolius spread out, and during dry periods numerous species come to the site to drink or breed, among them the Iberian newt, a protected species.
Curiosity
The engineer Mónico Sánchez manufactured portable X-ray equipment in Piedrabuena between 1913 and 1961, turning this Manchegan town into an unexpected centre of the Spanish electrical and medical industry.
Activity
The most important celebration of Piedrabuena's festive calendar, in which crosses are decorated and the mayos are sung through the streets.
Historical milestone
The first documentary mention of Piedrabuena appears in a bull of Pope Gregory VIII dated 1187. After the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, in 1212, the town and its district were incorporated into the domains of the Order of Calatrava.
Historical milestone
The works on the parish church went on for thirty-four years, between 1774 and 1808, by then on the eve of the War of Independence. The result is a building of sober lines that presides over the town centre.
Historical milestone
In 1970 María de las Maravillas Gómez-Pallete Pérez took office as mayor of Piedrabuena and became one of the first women to preside over a town council in Spain, in the final stage of the Franco regime.
Food and drink
Dish of salt cod grilled over embers and shredded, then stewed in a pot with dried peppers, onion, garlic and potato. It was born as food for shepherds and for olive-picking gangs and is still prepared in the towns of the Montes.