Logbook · 4 places

What to see and do in Argelita

What to see and do in Argelita (El Alto Mijares, Castellón): 4 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 1 Activities

How far each place is from the centre of Argelita

Ruins of the Castle of Bou Negre 2.7 km

Towns near Argelita

What to see in Toga 1.9 km · 6 places
What to see in Vallat 2.9 km · 1 place
What to see in Espadilla 3.1 km · 3 places
What to see in Ludiente 4.1 km · 4 places
What to see in Torrechiva 4.1 km · 6 places
What to see in Fanzara 4.9 km · 10 places
What to see in Ayódar 6.4 km · 3 places
What to see in Fuentes de Ayódar 7 km · 5 places

Spain › Valencian Community › Castellón › El Alto Mijares › Argelita

What to see and do in Argelita

Argelita
Village
Argelita is a municipality in the interior of the Alto Mijares, Spanish-speaking, with 139 inhabitants, located in the valley formed by the Villahermosa river among mountains covered with pines and holm oaks. It has a medieval tower that in the 13th century belonged to Fernando, son of Zayd Abu Zayd, the dethroned king of Valencia, and the ruins of the Arab-origin castle of Bou Negre, documented since the 12th century on the outskirts of the village. After the Reconquest it remained inhabited by Moriscos until their expulsion in 1609, when it was the first village to expel them, on 5 October; in 1611 its lord, Pedro Escribá y Zapata, granted a founding charter to resettle it. In 1795 the botanist Cavanilles described 87 residents engaged in wheat, maize, wine and silk.
Medieval tower of Argelita
Monument
The medieval tower of Argelita, which in the 13th century belonged to Fernando, son of Zayd Abu Zayd, king of Valencia, formed part of the castle-palace of Argelita, the final residence of Zayd Abu Zayd himself after his pacts with Jaime I. The complex preserves two towers: the Torre Redonda, of Islamic origin, cylindrical in plan with two storeys above the ground floor, topped with battlements, which keeps at its base a commemorative Arabic inscription dated 1252; and the Torre Cuadrada, a manor tower also battlemented, of masonry with ashlar quoins and three storeys above the ground floor. Today both serve as a museum: the Torre Redonda houses an ethnological collection and the Torre Cuadrada rises beside it on the town square.
Festivities of Argelita
Activity
Argelita divides its festive calendar between the patronal festivities of May, those of August in honor of the Virgen de Agosto -with bous al carrer (bulls running through the streets) and a bou embolat (bull with flaming balls on its horns)- and those of October, on the first weekend of the month.
Ruins of the Castle of Bou Negre
Monument
The castle of Bou Negre, also called de la Mola, stands on the boundary between Argelita and Ludiente, in the Alto Mijares. Of medieval origin, it is documented from the 12th century, and in 1178 it is mentioned among the castles that marked the boundary of the diocese of Tortosa. In the early 13th century it belonged to Abu Zayd, who ceded it to his son Ferran Pérez; it later passed to the crown, to the Arenós family and to the ducal house of Villahermosa, and was a key stronghold in various armed conflicts, being burned along with the town during the War of the Spanish Succession. Situated at 748 metres, it preserved walls and towers defending its eastern and southern approaches, protected to the north and west by cliffs. Today, stretches of wall, tower bases and a rectangular tower of possible Roman origin survive.