Village
Abarán is a municipality in the Region of Murcia located in the Vega Alta del Segura, on the banks of the river of the same name and 41.5 kilometres from the Murcian capital, with 13,228 inhabitants. Its territory, dominated by the Sierra del Oro and the Sierra de la Pila, part of the Subbaetic System, preserves remains from the Bronze Age and Iberian and Roman settlements. With the arrival of the Arabs the village of Fauaran emerged, first documented in 1281 under the name Abarán, when the future Sancho IV promised to grant it to the Order of Santiago. At the start of the 20th century, the strong trading link it established with fruit exports to Paris and London earned it the popular nickname of Abarán-Paris-London.
Monument
Theatre in Abarán declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in 1986, designed by the architect José Antonio Rodríguez and with tapestries on the theme of Don Quixote.
Monument
Bridge in Abarán over the River Segura, declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in 2006.
Monument
A sanctuary on the Sierra del Oro at Abarán, at 927 metres above sea level, the destination of the traditional descent of the Virgin during the patronal festivals. The Virgen del Oro is the municipality's patroness, and during the descent her image is carried down from the sanctuary to the forecourt or the church of San Pablo, marking the start of the patronal festivals, which include processions, the battle of flowers and huertano-style floats representative of Murcian rural culture.
Nature
The Sierra de la Pila is part of the Cordillera Subbética, in the north-east of the Región de Murcia, and extends across the municipalities of Molina de Segura, Fortuna, Jumilla, Blanca and Abarán, where its western sector rises to the summit of Caramucel (1,023 m). The eastern sector, separated by the barranco del Mulo, holds the highest points, with La Pila (1,264 m) and Los Cenajos (1,200 m). It is a rugged range of limestone, dolomite and sandstone with gypsum outcrops, protected as a regional park. Its vegetation of holm-oak woods and juniper stands is home to several endemic plant species, and among its wildlife are birds of prey such as the golden eagle, the peregrine falcon, the eagle owl and a notable population of red-billed choughs.
Nature
Four traditional waterwheels still working in Abarán, out of the seven that survive in the Region of Murcia, with a park laid out around the Gran Noria.
Monument
Set in one of the highest parts of Abarán's old town, the present hermitage dates from 1953 and stands on an original 16th-century building. It preserves mosaics made in Totana by the Larios company and has a viewpoint looking out over the River Segura and the Sierra del Oro.
Monument
Shrine in the Sierra del Oro that gives the area its name, where the patron saint of Abarán is venerated before her annual descent to the Ermita de los Santos Médicos in the town.
Monument
Church of the 16th and 17th centuries, a religious emblem of Abarán's old town, beside the Plaza Vieja.
Monument
Bullring opened on 27 August 1891, one of the municipality's historic buildings to have been restored recently.
Monument
Group of traditional waterwheels on the River Segura, declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in the category of Site of Ethnographic Interest, among them the Ñorica, the smallest in Abarán, and others of greater size and medieval Andalusi origin.
Activity
Festivities in honour of the patron saints of Abarán, San Cosme and San Damián, and of the Virgen del Oro, with the bringing down of the image of the Virgin from her shrine in the mountains to the Ermita de los Santos Médicos.
Activity
Fiesta del Niño de Abarán, one of the most important celebrations for the people of Abarán, which takes place on 6 January, Epiphany, with deep popular roots in the town. Several images of the Christ Child go around the town and enter every house, while carols are sung well into the early hours. The festivity starts around eight in the evening with a large bonfire in the town hall square.
Nature
The weir on the río Segura at Abarán lies between the neighbouring towns of Cieza and Blanca, and is the emblem of the descents organised along this stretch of the Segura. It is the signature obstacle of the Descenso Nacional del Río Segura, which canoeists must clear on their shoulders before continuing the race downstream.
Nature
A rambla marking the northern boundary of the municipal district of Abarán, a tributary of the River Segura.
Monument
An irrigation waterwheel 8.20 metres in diameter whose present structure dates from 1951 on an original of 1818, one of the four historic waterwheels preserved in Abarán.
Monument
Also known as the Noria de San Juan, it is one of the traditional irrigation waterwheels still preserved in the huerta of Abarán.
Monument
La Ñorica is one of the four waterwheels still working in Abarán, out of the seven kept in working order across the whole Region of Murcia. It is the smallest of them, with a metal structure and wooden elements, and forms part of the village's Ruta de las Norias, which also includes the Noria Grande and its park.
Curiosity
Market-garden cuisine based on pot stews, gachasmigas, rice with rabbit and snails, zarangollo, and sweets such as picardías and condenaos. Pisto is also one of the municipality's most typical dishes. Picardías are made with caramel and a hazelnut inside, while the recipe for condenaos has been kept secret for many years by local pastry cooks.
Historical milestone
The 1281 document by which Prince Sancho promised to grant the Valle de Ricote to the Order of Santiago mentions among its places Fauarán, the Andalusi form of the place-name Abarán. It is the oldest known written reference to the town, then an irrigated alquería (farmstead) beside the Segura.
Historical milestone
At the beginning of the 20th century the local merchants opened routes for exporting fruit to France and England, to the point that the town advertised itself with that heading. The fruit business financed the urban modernisation and the population growth of the municipality.
Historical milestone
Musician born in Abarán in 1881, author of a repertoire of works for band and of religious pieces that the ensembles of the comarca still perform. His name figures among the reference points of the band tradition of the Vega Alta del Segura.
Food and drink
Two sweets with names of their own from the confectioners of Abarán: the picardías, hazelnut sweets, and the condenados, a dessert of reserved recipe that has been made in the municipality for generations. Both are sold as a local draw during the festivities.