Logbook · 12 places

What to see and do in Saceruela

What to see and do in Saceruela (Valle de Alcudia, Ciudad Real): 12 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 5 Monuments · 1 Nature · 2 Activities · 3 Curiosities

When to go to Saceruela: festival calendar

May: Pilgrimage of la Virgen de las Cruces (first Saturday of May)
September: Festival of el Cristo del Consuelo (September 14)

Towns near Saceruela

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What to see in Abenójar 23 km · 9 places
What to see in Agudo 23 km · 14 places
What to see in Arroba de los Montes 24 km · 7 places
What to see in Almadenejos 25 km · 11 places
What to see in Baterno 26 km · 5 places
What to see in Almadén 27 km · 20 places

Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Ciudad Real › Valle de Alcudia › Saceruela

What to see and do in Saceruela

Saceruela
Village
Municipality of the comarca of Valle de Alcudia, in the province of Ciudad Real, ceded by Alfonso VIII to the Order of Calatrava in 1183 and famed then for the quality of its hunting grounds, which obtained from Henry IV independence from Piedrabuena in 1463. Its most emblematic building is the church of Nuestra Señora de las Cruces, built in the thirteenth century in Romanesque forms, and it preserves an old bridge known as the bridge of the dead and an airfield of the Second Republic with a control tower, a hangar and seven bunkers; local tradition places here the Quixotic episode of the shepherdess Marcela.
Church of Nuestra Señora de las Cruces
Monument
The most emblematic building in the town, built in the 13th century in Romanesque forms. It houses the Virgin's altar and the chapels of the Vera Cruz and of Santa Ana.
Roman Bridge of Saceruela
Monument
An old bridge popularly known as the bridge of the dead, because it was used for washing the clothes of the deceased. Its fabric points to the same period as the castle.
Ruins of the castle of Castilnegro
Monument
Remains of a fortification predating the Reconquest, evidence of the frontier character of the comarca during the Middle Ages.
Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
Monument
A hermitage at the starting point of the pilgrimage route towards the Extremaduran monastery of Guadalupe.
Aerodrome of the Second Republic
Monument
Complex formed by the control tower, a hangar, office buildings and seven bunkers, built in 1937 during the Civil War and closed down in 1938. The airfield operated under Republican control, integrated into the 1st Sector of the 5th Air Region, supporting operations on the Extremadura front against Francoist forces. The flying field, never paved, measured about 1,170 by 1,031 metres; among its defensive installations stands out an anti-bomb bunker seven metres deep, built of brick and concrete. From there operated Soviet Polikarpov I-15 Chato and I-16 Mosca fighters, light bombers and American Grumman FF fighters. Today recovery projects are under way, with an interpretation centre and a museum.
Esteras River and communal dehesas
Nature
The River Esteras and the Fontanilla, Carrizo and Riofrío streams water a municipal district of sierras and holm oak dehesas, historically rich in bears and wolves.
The shepherdess Marcela
Curiosity
Local tradition places in Saceruela the setting of the episode of the shepherdess Marcela and the shepherd Grisóstomo in Don Quixote de la Mancha.
The hunting privilege of Alfonso IX
Curiosity
Alfonso VIII granted the place to the Order of Calatrava in 1183 and Alfonso IX singled out its importance for hunting because of the number and quality of its hunting grounds. In 1463 Enrique IV granted it independence from Piedrabuena.
The coat of arms of the Inquisition
Curiosity
A house in Saceruela's old quarter, believed to have been the seat of the Holy Office, still bears a carved coat of arms of the Inquisition. Together with the façade of the Montoya family house, it is one of the few remains of the old buildings to have survived the reconstruction of the village after the Carlist Wars.
Pilgrimage of la Virgen de las Cruces
Activity
The romería of the Virgen de las Cruces is a festival of Saceruela (Ciudad Real) in honour of its patroness, whose image, holding the child in her arms, represents forgiveness. It is preceded by the religious feast of 3 May, with a religious service and procession through the streets of the village, and the romería itself is held on the first Saturday of May.
Festival of el Cristo del Consuelo
Activity
The feast of the Cristo del Consuelo, formerly called that of the Santísimo Cristo de la Veracruz, is celebrated in Saceruela on 14 September, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Its roots go back to the Orden de la Cruz del Sácer, founded in 1595 from the union of two old hospitaller brotherhoods, that of the Vera Cruz and that of Santa Ana, documented since 1565 and dedicated to helping the pilgrims travelling the route to Guadalupe.