Village
Jérica is a municipality in the comarca of Alto Palancia, in the interior of the province of Castellón, of Arab origin. It has about 1,760 inhabitants and a Spanish-speaking majority. Its name derives from the Arabic šariqa, "eastern slope of a mountain"; it was also called qalʿa aš-širāq, "castle of the sharifs". There is human presence from the Neolithic and Iberian settlements within the castle, in addition to Roman remains, among them the Quintia Prova tombstone. It belonged to the taifa of Valencia and was conquered by the Cid in 1098; from that period remain the first section of the bell tower and the oldest parts of the castle. The Christian conquest came in 1235, and in 1255 James I turned the town into a lordship by granting it to Teresa Gil de Vidaure. It preserves a notable archaeological and ethnological museum.
Monument
The Jérica Museum, in the Alto Palancia comarca, was founded in 1946 from the collection of archaeological and ethnological objects gathered by Dr Salvador Llopis, who handed it over to the Town Council to form its holdings. It was housed on the ground floor of the town hall until 2014, when it moved to its current premises, on Calle Cuesta Zalón, next to the church of Santa Águeda, in the so-called Casa de Bru. Its holdings range from the Neolithic to the present day, and its epigraphic collection stands out, with Roman funerary tombstones found scattered across the municipal area. It was declared Monumento Histórico-Artístico Nacional (a former heritage-protection category, the forerunner of today's BIC) in 1962 and Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) in 2004.
Curiosity
The place name Jérica, of Arabic origin, oscillates between the interpretations “eastern slope” and “castle of the sheikhs”. The first refers to the Arabic šāriqa, “eastern foot of a mountain”; the second, to the variant qalʿa aš-širāq, documented in Arabic sources. The name evolved through the medieval forms Exerica and Xerica, recorded in 13th-century documents, Xérica in the 16th century and Xerica in the 18th, until it settled as Jérica as early as the 19th century.
Activity
Jérica celebrates its patron saint Santa Águeda on 5 February, a local festival commemorating the reconquest of the town by the troops of Jaime I, and the Cristo de la Sangre on the second Wednesday of July, a tradition linked to the old Capuchin convent.
Monument
Remains of the castle of Jérica, with Roman-era foundations and mostly Muslim-era construction, demolished during the Carlist Wars. From the Muslim period, the first section of the bell tower survives, along with the oldest parts of the fortress, which had turrets along its wall. The best-preserved part is the main tower, known as the Torreta, robust in appearance, square in plan, with walls more than a metre and a half thick.
Monument
The Bell Tower of Jérica is a Mudéjar bell tower built in 1634 on the remains of an earlier construction, freestanding from the church it serves, an uncommon feature in the Comunitat Valenciana: it is, in fact, the only tower of this style in the entire region. Located at the top of the town, it has become the most characteristic and recognisable image of Jérica.
Curiosity
Jérica preserves the Banner of the Conquest used during the taking of the town by James I in 1235, displayed in the town hall.
Activity
The festivities of the Divina Pastora of Jérica, considered the most popular in the town, are celebrated over two weeks. The first includes the presentation of the queens, rosary, verbenas, offering, variety shows, costume cavalcade, band concert, mass, children's games, vole, bacalá and correfocs; the second focuses on bullfighting festivities, with bull runs and displays, toros embolados and verbenas, and culminates with the traditional parade of the peñas.
Historical milestone
The Christian host commanded by Guillem de Montgrí took the fortified town that guarded the passage of the Palancia towards Aragon; in 1249 a settlement charter was granted to attract colonists to the district.
Food and drink
Virgin oil obtained from the serrana, an olive variety native to these sierras, with a fruity aroma and mild bitterness; the dry-farmed olive groves of the valley have given oil since medieval times.