Logbook · 4 places

What to see and do in Montesa

What to see and do in Montesa (La Costera, Valencia): 4 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 2 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Montesa

Castle of Montesa 300 m

Towns near Montesa

What to see in Enguera 4.7 km · 15 places
What to see in Alcúdia de Crespins (l') 5.7 km · 8 places
What to see in Canals 5.9 km · 12 places
What to see in Vallada 7 km · 10 places
What to see in Cerdà 7.8 km · 1 place
What to see in Estubeny 7.9 km · 1 place
What to see in Anna 8.1 km · 13 places
What to see in Torrella 8.1 km · 1 place

Spain › Valencian Community › Valencia › La Costera › Montesa

What to see and do in Montesa

Montesa
Village
Montesa is a municipality of La Costera, in the province of Valencia, 70 kilometres from the capital, in a valley crossed by the river Cáñoles and bounded to the north by a branch of the sierra of Enguera and to the south by the Serra Grossa. Its castle, documented in Islamic times from the year 935, was in 1248 used as a bargaining chip between James I of Aragon and the qa'id of Xàtiva, who moved there with his family until the town was conquered by Peter III in 1277. In 1289 it received a founding charter from Alfonso III, and in 1317, by the will of James II, it became the seat of the military-monastic order of Montesa, which replaced the vanished Order of the Temple in the Kingdom of Valencia. The growth of the 16th century shaped the Plaça de la Vila, with the church, the town hall and the rectory.
Castle of Montesa
Monument
Montesa Castle crowns the hillock that dominates the town and was the seat of the Order of Montesa, created in 1317 by a bull of John XXII at the request of James II, who inherited the assets of the dissolved Order of the Temple. Considered one of the strongest fortresses of the former Kingdom of Valencia for its thick walls and towers, in Valencian Gothic style, it housed the convent, the order's church, the master's palace and barracks around a parade ground where up to 2,000 men could muster. The monk-knights followed the rule of Saint Benedict. The earthquake of 23 March 1748 brought down much of the fortification, leaving it in the ruined state preserved today.
Foundation of the Order of Montesa
Historical milestone
In 1317, at the request of Jaime II, Pope Juan XXII created by bull the Order of Montesa to replace the extinct Order of the Temple in the Kingdom of Valencia. The knights installed themselves in the villa's castle, which was their seat for centuries.
The 1748 earthquake and the relocation of the Order
Historical milestone
The earthquake of 23 March 1748 reached an intensity of IX-X at Montesa and ruined the castle-convent. The Order moved its seat to Valencia and the fortress was never rebuilt: its ruins still dominate the town from the top of the hill.