Logbook · 10 places

What to see and do in Montcada/Moncada

What to see and do in Montcada/Moncada (L'Horta Nord, Valencia): 10 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 2 Nature · 2 Activities · 2 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

When to go to Montcada/Moncada: festival calendar

September: Festivities of San Jaime y Santa Bárbara de Montcada (September 1-10)
December: Porrat de Santa Bárbara de Montcada (December 4)

How far each place is from the centre of Montcada/Moncada

El Tos Pelat de Montcada 2.8 km
Iberian settlement of the Tos Pelat 2.8 km

Towns near Montcada/Moncada

What to see in Alfara del Patriarca 750 m · 8 places
What to see in Rocafort 2.1 km · 1 place
What to see in Vinalesa 2.2 km · 3 places
What to see in Godella 3.3 km · 2 places
What to see in Foios 3.3 km · 4 places
What to see in Bonrepòs i Mirambell 3.9 km · 3 places
What to see in Albalat dels Sorells 4.1 km · 1 place
What to see in Burjassot 4.2 km · 6 places

Spain › Valencian Community › Valencia › L'Horta Nord › Montcada/Moncada

What to see and do in Montcada/Moncada

Montcada
Village
Municipality of L'Horta Nord that gives its name to the Real Acequia de Moncada, the mother channel that James I reserved for himself when sharing out the water among the settlers in 1239 and which waters almost the whole left bank of the Turia from Paterna to Puçol; it was exchanged in 1246 with the Templars for Ruzafa, it preserves the walled Iberian settlement of Tos Pelat and every 4 December it holds the porrat of Santa Bárbara, a fair of dried fruit and nougat.
Church of Sant Jaume de Montcada
Monument
Church in Montcada consecrated in 1696, rectangular in plan and with interior decoration in a range of historical styles.
Hermitage of Santa Bárbara de Montcada
Monument
The Ermita de Santa Bárbara de Montcada, in the comarca of L'Horta Nord (Valencia), was built in the early 18th century over an earlier, smaller chapel dedicated to San Ponce, and is dedicated to the town's patron saint. Its festivities are held on 4 December with a traditional fair, the porrat, a procession to the hermitage with the image of the saint and a mass in her honour, during which visitors kiss one of her relics, a finger bone of the martyr. On the eve, the clavarios light a bonfire in her honour.
El Tos Pelat de Montcada
Nature
El Tos Pelat is a small hill in Montcada, next to the Barranc de Carraixet, with an Iberian settlement of notable archaeological interest. In 2003, in a domestic context from the site's last phase of occupation, dated to the first half of the 4th century BC, two lead sheets rolled one inside the other were found there, bearing fragments of a north-eastern Iberian dual signary, comparable to the one found at the Castellet de Bernabé. These pieces are believed to have had a votive function rather than serving as a tool for learning to write.
Iberian settlement of the Tos Pelat
Nature
The walled Iberian settlement of Tos Pelat, in the municipal area of Montcada (L'Horta Nord), was inhabited between the 6th and 4th centuries BC and occupies a site of about two hectares, although experts believe its original extent may have been larger. Excavations have uncovered murals in blue, white and red, and in 2003 the so-called Tos Pelat signary was discovered in a domestic context: two lead sheets bearing fragments of one of the few known north-eastern Iberian dual signaries. The site is declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection). Next to it lie Les Paretetes dels Moros, Roman-era remains with an important mosaic.
Porrat de Santa Bárbara de Montcada
Activity
The Porrat de Santa Bárbara is held in Montcada on 4 December, the saint's feast day, around the hermitage dedicated to her. It is a traditional fair where typical products such as walnuts, nougat and porrat are sold, followed by the pilgrimage that gives the festivity its name.
Festivities of San Jaime y Santa Bárbara de Montcada
Activity
Patron saint festivities of Montcada in honour of Saint James the Apostle and Santa Bárbara. The main festivities begin on the last Friday of August, with the presentation of the Fiestas Queen and her Maids of Honour, and continue until 10 September, the feast day of San Jaime Apóstol. On 4 December the feast of Santa Bárbara is also celebrated, with the traditional porrat fair and a procession to the patroness's hermitage.
The reserve of the Real Acequia de Moncada
Historical milestone
When sharing out the water among the settlers in 1239, James I reserved for himself this mother channel, which irrigates almost the whole left bank of the Turia from Paterna to Puçol and sustains the irrigated farmland of some twenty villages.
The exchange of Moncada with the Order of the Temple
Historical milestone
The town was exchanged in 1246 with the Templars for Ruzafa, to strengthen the defense of the surroundings of Valencia; the commander granted a settlement charter to the new residents two years later.
The walnuts and nougats of the porrat fair
Food and drink
The fair of Santa Bárbara on 4 December fills the streets with stalls of nuts, walnuts, turrón and sweets, a market custom with centuries of history in the town that marks the entry of winter in the whole comarca.