Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in El Molar

What to see and do in El Molar (Cuenca del Medio Jarama, 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 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of El Molar

Spa of the Fuente del Toro 900 m
Arab watchtower of El Molar 2.5 km

Towns near El Molar

Spain › Community of Madrid › Cuenca del Medio Jarama › El Molar

What to see and do in El Molar

El Molar
Village
El Molar is a town of about 10,000 inhabitants located 39 kilometres north of Madrid, in the valley of the río Jarama and at over 833 metres of altitude, on the slopes of the Sierra Norte and along the historic route toward Somosierra. Its first documented settlers were shepherds from Segovia who, as early as the 8th century, had formed four settlements in the area, among them La Mola, the origin of today's town; alongside the Christian element, a Muslim population, of which architectural remains survive, and a Jewish population, attested by finds of coins bearing the Star of David, also held importance. Philip II granted it the status of villazgo in 1564, and its Fuente del Toro, with sulphurous waters, achieved great medicinal fame in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Arab watchtower of El Molar
Monument
Watchtower of Arab origin dated between the 9th and 10th centuries and rebuilt by the town council. It formed part of the defensive system with which al-Andalus watched over this frontier, together with the watchtowers preserved in El Berrueco and El Vellón.
Spa of the Fuente del Toro
Curiosity
The first reports of the curative virtues of this nitrogenous-sulphurous spring date from 1677, and in 1846 construction of the spa began. Goya, Godoy, the Duchess of Alba and the Count of Romanones took its waters; a fire closed it in the mid-20th century.
Pilgrimage of la Virgen del Remolino
Activity
Tradition places the finding of the image by shepherds beside the Jarama at around 1300, where its hermitage was built, rebuilt in 1957 seven and a half kilometres from the village. The patron saint's pilgrimage festival climbs up there between Easter and Ascension.
Caves and wine cellars of El Molar
Nature
Around six hundred caves dug into the hills of La Torreta, Majarromero and El Charcón, their origin put down to Andalusi times, served for centuries as the villagers' wine cellars; El Molar gives its name to one of the subzones of the Vinos de Madrid Denomination of Origin.
The waters of the Fuente del Toro
Historical milestone
From 1677 dates the first documented notice of the spring's healing virtues. From the mid-19th century until the Civil War one of the busiest spas around Madrid operated beside it.