Village
Villahermosa del Río is a municipality in the Alto Mijares comarca, in the province of Castellón, Spanish-speaking and bordering Puertomingalvo, in Teruel, located at 755 metres on the slope of a hill, at the confluence of the Carbo and Villahermosa rivers. Of Muslim origin, it belonged to the lordship of Zayd Abu Zayd, the last Almohad governor of Valencia, who in 1243 granted it a founding charter; later it was the seat of the duchy of Villahermosa. Destroyed in the War of the Spanish Succession, until 1916 it was called simply Villahermosa. Its parish church, of Our Lady of the Nativity, preserves medieval altarpieces by the Master of Villahermosa and a carving by José Esteve Bonet, and buried in the hermitage of San Bartolomé is the composer José Pradas Gallén. It has 473 inhabitants.
Activity
The patron saint festivities of Villahermosa del Río, in the Castellón comarca of El Alto Mijares, are linked to the hermitage of San Bartolomé, located about 8 kilometres from the town centre and considered one of the most monumental and popular shrines in the comarca. The complex, declared a bien de relevancia local (a local-level heritage protection status), is made up of the hermitage, the hermit's house and the former hospice, now converted into a rural hotel, surrounded by cabins and a recreation area with paella-cooking stands, tables, benches and drinking water. The village, with 473 inhabitants, lies at the confluence of the río Carbo and río Villahermosa.
Monument
The church of the Natividad de la Virgen (Nativity of the Virgin) of Villahermosa del Río, in the centre of the town, was built from 1768 to a design by the Valencian architect Vicente Gascó, after the fire that in 1707, during the War of Succession, destroyed the whole settlement and forced it to be rebuilt on its present site. It is an 18th-century Corinthian-style church, with a Latin-cross plan with a central nave and two side aisles, a transept and a presbytery with an octagonal head, with Gothic and Renaissance altarpieces among the finest examples of 14th- and 15th-century Valencian painting, and a 13th-century carving of San Bartolomé. It is a Bien de Relevancia Local (a local-heritage listing in Spain) with the category of Monument of Local Interest, and its façade is topped with a two-tier portal with paired Corinthian columns.
Monument
The hermitage of San Bartolomé, in the municipal district of Villahermosa del Río (Alto Mijares, Castellón), lies about 8 km from the town centre and is one of the most monumental and popular shrines in the comarca; it is declared a Bien de Relevancia Local (a local-heritage listing in Spain), in the category of Monument of Local Interest. The complex is formed, besides the hermitage, by the hermit's house and the old hostelry, now converted into a rural hotel. Rural cabins and a recreation area with paella cooking stands, tables, benches and drinking water have been built in the surrounding area. The procession of the town's patronal feast in honour of the saint is directed there.
Curiosity
The church of Villahermosa del Río, dedicated to the Natividad de Nuestra Señora (Nativity of Our Lady), preserves a remarkable collection of medieval paintings attributed to the Master of Villahermosa, along with works by Joan Reixach. The present church, in Neoclassical style with a Latin-cross plan, was raised from 1768 to a design by the Valencian architect Vicente Gascó, following the rebuilding of the settlement after the fire suffered during the War of Succession. Among the Gothic altarpieces it holds, the Corpus Christi altarpiece (1385-1390) and that of San Llorenzo and San Esteban (1390-1395) stand out, both by the Master of Villahermosa, and that of Santa Catalina de Alejandría (1448), a work by Joan Reixach.
Activity
The hermitage of San Bartolomé, the destination of the procession of the patronal feasts, is about eight kilometres from the centre of Villahermosa del Río and is considered one of the most monumental and popular shrines of the Alto Mijares. The complex, declared a Bien de Relevancia Local (a local-heritage listing in Spain), is formed by the hermitage, the hermit's house and an old hostelry now converted into a rural hotel; rural cabins and a recreation area with paella cooking stands, tables, benches and drinking water have been built in the surrounding area. The feasts, held on 24 August in honour of the patron saint, take the townspeople from the church to this shrine on the outskirts of the town.
Curiosity
Bibioj is a depopulated settlement belonging to the municipality of Villahermosa del Río which, towards the end of the 19th century, had 106 registered inhabitants, a figure that by the mid-20th century amounted to some 37 houses, a school and three taverns. The place became uninhabited, and in 2023 the population entity of Bibioj had only one registered inhabitant. Today it is notable for its natural pools in the ravine and the views over the valley.
Monument
A bridge of Roman origin next to the deserted village of Bibioj, in the municipal district of Villahermosa del Río, spanning the ravine near the natural pools there.
Monument
Small hermitage preserved in the surroundings of the depopulated settlement of Bibioj, along the hiking route that runs through the Magro ravine in Villahermosa del Río. The hamlet of Bibioj, which towards the end of the 19th century had as many as 106 inhabitants, became depopulated over time and in 2023 had only one registered resident.
Monument
The remains of an old hermitage in the area of Bibioj, included on the route linking the Magro ravine with this deserted settlement of Villahermosa del Río.
Historical milestone
Abu Zayd, by then a vassal of James I, granted in 1243 a settlement charter under the Aragonese fuero of Daroca; the place, head of a stock-raising valley on the slope of the Penyagolosa, would in time become the head of the duchy that bears its name.
Historical milestone
The national reform of municipal nomenclature of 1916 made it necessary to distinguish the village from the other Villahermosas of Spain and the name of the river that crosses it was added, the Mijares in its upper stretch.