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La Guardia and Las Navas de Tolosa

La Guardia, Mesa de Ocaña, Toledo

1 Villages · 5 Monuments · 2 Curiosities · 1 Food and drink

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La Guardia and Las Navas de Tolosa

Curiosity · La Guardia, Mesa de Ocaña, Toledo

Image of La Guardia, not of the place itself.

The town of La Guardia (Toledo), built atop a hill and a key point on the road toward Andalusia, was handed over after the Reconquista by Alfonso VI to the knights of the Order of San Juan. It gained notoriety for its connection to the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, fought on 16 July 1212 between an allied Christian army — with Castilian troops under Alfonso VIII, Aragonese troops under Peter II and Navarrese troops under Sancho VII — and the numerically superior army of the Almohad caliph Muhammad al-Nasir; described as a crusade, it drew knights from across Europe and is considered one of the most important battles of the Reconquista, although its immediate military consequences were limited. Later, Ferdinand III granted the town to the Church of Toledo.

Photo: Malopez 21 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

What to see and do in La Guardia