Village
Municipality of the comarca of Sierra Morena, in the province of Ciudad Real, resettled after the victory of Las Navas de Tolosa beside the Pozo Bueno spot, on the road that climbed towards the pass of El Muradal, and sold in 1538 by Charles I to Álvaro de Bazán, which took it out of Calatrava administration and tied it to the house of the marquesses of Santa Cruz. Within the precinct of the shrine of Nuestra Señora de las Virtudes its bullring is preserved, built in 1641, of square plan, considered the oldest in the world and declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico (Spain's heritage designation in force between 1931 and 1985) in 1981; its vineyards are covered by the Valdepeñas Denomination of Origin.
Monument
A square-plan bullring located in Santa Cruz de Mudela, built in 1641 and in use since 1650, which makes it the oldest surviving bullring in the world. Conceived as an urban square convertible into a bullfighting venue, it forms a pair with the adjoining hermitage, together with which it was declared a monumento histórico-artístico (a historic heritage designation, predecessor of today's Bien de Interés Cultural) in 1981 by Real Decreto 1443/1981. Since 2001 it has belonged, as a founding member, to the Unión de Plazas de Toros Históricas, an association that brings together Spain's oldest bullrings.
Monument
The sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de las Virtudes is the hermitage of the patron saint of Santa Cruz de Mudela, with a baroque camarín of the Virgin and the so-called Casa de la Despensa, both raised in the 17th century: on the lintel of the latter appears the date 1641. The columns supporting its north gallery date from Visigothic times. It forms a monumental precinct together with the square bullring of las Virtudes, declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico Nacional (Spain's national historic-artistic monument designation) by royal decree of 24 April 1981 and considered the oldest square bullring in the world still standing. Every 8 September the pilgrimage of the Virgen de las Virtudes culminates here.
Monument
The church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is the parish church of Santa Cruz de Mudela (Ciudad Real), on Avenida de Pío XII, dating from the 16th century, in late Gothic style with Renaissance elements, built between 1474 and 1536. It has a basilical plan with three naves and side chapels opened later, a three-sided polygonal apse and polygonal head, with a tower and choir at the foot; it is built of local stone masonry with ashlar at the cornices, edges and arches. The central nave, twelve metres wide, is covered with ribbed vaults over six central pillars arranged in a Greek cross. The chapels of Santa Catalina and San José, from 1665, and those of Jesús and Nuestra Señora del Rosario, from 1662, were added beside the main altar. It has three entrances with Renaissance portals, the main one framed in a simple arcade.
Monument
Located in the centre of Santa Cruz de Mudela, it was the first church built in the town and its earliest parish, a single barrel-vaulted nave that preserves the original altarpiece. Adjoining it is the chapel of the Cristo de la Misericordia, covered by a dome decorated with plasterwork of Passion motifs and with a fresco painting of Christ. This chapel also served as the chapel of the town's former hospital.
Monument
Neo-Gothic chapel in Santa Cruz de Mudela (Ciudad Real), about 28 metres long by 8 metres wide, one of the examples of historicist architecture in the municipality. The first stone was laid on 31 August 1917, the works were finished on 4 December 1918 and the blessing took place on 3 October 1919. One of its doors still preserves the coat of arms of La Salle, the order to which the adjoining school, now half in ruins, belonged.
Monument
Hermitage situated on a hill overlooking Santa Cruz de Mudela (Ciudad Real), with panoramic views over the whole town. According to local tradition, San Roque delivered the town from an epidemic in the 19th century, which reinforced devotion to him. The original building was destroyed by French troops during the Peninsular War and was rebuilt after 1834; at the end of the 20th century the residents themselves carried out its restoration. Every 16 August its feast day is celebrated, with a morning mass and an evening pilgrimage in which basil and pumpkins are handed out as a symbol of health and good fortune.
Nature
Foothill ranges in the south of the municipal district that mark the passage from the Manchegan plain to Sierra Morena, with heights such as the Molino de Viento (814 m) and Monte Agudo.
Curiosity
During the Peninsular War the local guerrilla bands inflicted 109 dead and 113 prisoners on Napoleon's troops, one of the best-remembered episodes in the history of the town.
Curiosity
A traditional local product, made with dressed aubergines threaded on skewers, eaten above all during the San Roque festivities.
Activity
Once a year a bullfight is held in the square bullring of Las Virtudes, coinciding with the feast of the patron saint, alongside the pilgrimage festival to the sanctuary.
Activity
During Corpus Christi in Santa Cruz de Mudela, several streets of the town are decked out with awnings and with carpets made of sawdust and salt, prepared by residents for the passage of the procession. Alongside these carpets, many residents set up altars at which to pray to the Blessed Sacrament as it passes, a tradition that turns the processional route into an itinerary decorated from end to end.
Activity
Popular festival celebrated on 16 August in honour of San Roque, protector of the town since an epidemic in the 19th century, and kept up since time immemorial. Residents climb in pilgrimage to the hermitage atop the hill, where a mass is celebrated at seven in the morning; at sunset they climb up again, and participants receive basil and a pumpkin. The hermitage, destroyed by the French during the Peninsular War, was rebuilt after 1834 and restored at the end of the 20th century by residents.
Historical milestone
In 1538 Carlos I sold the town to Álvaro de Bazán, captain general of the galleys of Spain, for 26,208,626 maravedís. The transaction took the district out of Calatravan administration and tied it to the house of the marquises of Santa Cruz.
Historical milestone
After the victory of Alfonso VIII in 1212 settlers arrived who established themselves beside the site of Pozo Bueno, on the road that climbed towards the Muradal pass. From those years dates the name of Santa Cruz de Mudela.
Historical milestone
A building of the complex of the sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de las Virtudes whose doorway keeps the date 1641 carved on it, the same one that figures in the documentation of the square bullring. It accompanies the hermitage and the ring within the same enclosure.
Food and drink
Santa Cruz de Mudela is one of the municipalities covered by the Valdepeñas Designation of Origin, whose reds are made above all with the cencibel variety. Its vineyards occupy the transition between the plain and the foot of the sierra.