Logbook · 8 places

What to see and do in Villalba del Rey

What to see and do in Villalba del Rey (La Alcarria Conquense, Cuenca): 8 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

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

When to go to Villalba del Rey: festival calendar

September: Festivities of Nuestra Señora de los Portentos (first Sunday of September)

Towns near Villalba del Rey

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What to see in Portalrubio de Guadamejud 8.6 km · 6 places
What to see in Buendía 10 km · 10 places
What to see in Castejón 11 km · 4 places
What to see in Gascueña 12 km · 4 places
What to see in Canalejas del Arroyo 13 km · 4 places

Spain › Castilla-La Mancha › Cuenca › La Alcarria Conquense › Villalba del Rey

What to see and do in Villalba del Rey

Villalba del Rey
Village
Municipality of the comarca of La Alcarria Conquense, in the province of Cuenca, which in 1411, being a hamlet of Huete, obtained its own jurisdiction and changed its name to Villalba del Rey in reference to the monarch who granted it the privilege; during the Second Republic the town council renamed it Villalba de la República, a designation in force until the outbreak of the Civil War. It preserves the church of la Asunción, of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with three naves on cylindrical columns and a tower topped by arrow slits, and the Baroque chapel of Nuestra Señora de los Portentos; the building of the Buendía reservoir between 1954 and 1958 submerged fertile farmland of the district beside the Guadiela.
Church of la Asunción de Villalba del Rey
Monument
The church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, in Villalba del Rey, in the Alcarria Conquense, is a building of large proportions with ashlar walls, erected between the 16th and 17th centuries. It has three naves on cylindrical columns and an enormous square tower of three levels, topped by three narrow arrowslit windows and double arches for the bells on each side. The main altarpiece is in a transitional Renaissance style and preserves fine panel paintings. Facing the main door is the chapel of Nuestra Señora de los Portentos, from the 18th century, with a beautiful dome on pendentives and an entrance grille of Baroque character.
Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de los Portentos
Monument
Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de los Portentos, an 18th-century Baroque chapel attached to the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Villalba del Rey (Cuenca), dedicated to the town's patroness. It has a dome on pendentives, a series of windows on the balcony and an ornamental entrance grille, and holds a transitional 18th-century altarpiece with fine panel paintings. The patroness's feast day is celebrated on the first Sunday of September.
The lands flooded by Buendía
Curiosity
The building of the Buendía reservoir between 1954 and 1958 submerged fertile farmland in the municipal district along the River Guadiela.
Festivities of Nuestra Señora de los Portentos
Activity
Villalba del Rey celebrates its patronal festivities in honour of Nuestra Señora de los Portentos on the first Sunday of September. The image is venerated in an 18th-century chapel, with a beautiful dome on pendentives, integrated into the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción.
The independence of Villalba del Rey
Historical milestone
In 1411 the hamlet of Villalba de Huete obtained its own jurisdiction and changed its name to Villalba del Rey, in allusion to the monarch who granted it the privilege. It thus ceased to depend on the city of Huete and on its council.
Villalba de la República
Historical milestone
During the Second Republic (1931-1936) the council replaced the municipality's name with that of Villalba de la República, to erase the monarchical reference from the place name. The designation remained in force until the outbreak of the Civil War.
Zarajos
Food and drink
Tripe of suckling lamb marinated and wound around two vine-shoot sticks, roasted over embers or fried until crisp. They are served as a tapa in the bars of the Cuenca Alcarria and of the rest of the province.