Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in Olmeda de las Fuentes

What to see and do in Olmeda de las Fuentes (Cuenca del Henares, Madrid): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Olmeda de las Fuentes

Holm oak of La Pica 2.9 km

Towns near Olmeda de las Fuentes

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Spain › Community of Madrid › Cuenca del Henares › Olmeda de las Fuentes

What to see and do in Olmeda de las Fuentes

Olmeda de las Fuentes
Village
Olmeda de las Fuentes is a tiny village in the east of the province of Madrid, 50 kilometres from the capital and 24 from Alcalá de Henares, with barely 430 inhabitants and located at 794 metres of altitude on land of valleys with holm oak, oak and kermes oak. The earliest written references to the place, then known as La Olmeda, date from the 12th and 13th centuries and link it to the district of Alcalá de Henares; in 1190 Alfonso VIII granted it, as one of nineteen hamlets, to the Council of Segovia, forming what was called the Sexmo de Tajuña. The village was called Olmeda de la Cebolla until 1953, when it changed its name owing to the abundance of springs in the place. Around 1960 a colony of painters settled here, led by Álvaro Delgado, drawn by its picturesqueness.
Trail of los Pintores de la Olmeda
Activity
A waymarked route through the steep streets and whitewashed houses where Álvaro Delgado and Luis García Ochoa settled from the 1960s onwards, the first of a colony followed by Vela Zanetti, Eugenio Granell and José Frau.
Church of San Pedro Apóstol de la Olmeda
Monument
A church of masonry and brick dominated by a very tall tower and decorated with baroque plasterwork, in a village that bought its status as a town on 22 August 1564 by paying 892,500 maravedís to the Crown.
Holm oak of La Pica
Nature
A notable tree protected by the Region of Madrid that grows alone in the middle of a wheat field; it is reckoned to be more than two hundred and fifty years old and its crown spreads some twenty-three metres, close to five hundred square metres of shade.
Olmeda de la Cebolla changes its name
Historical milestone
The municipality abandoned the place name Olmeda de la Cebolla for the present one, which alluded to the abundance of springs in the district. Around 1960 a group of painters headed by Álvaro Delgado settled in the village.
The fountains of Olmeda
Food and drink
In 1953 the municipality changed its old name of Olmeda de la Cebolla for the present one precisely because of the number of springs of good water in its district, which for centuries supplied residents, gardens and livestock.