What to see in Priego de Cordoba

Have you asked yourself what to see in Priego de Cordoba? In this case we will tell you that this town located in the Subbética region also known as “the jewel of Cordoban baroque” for the quantity of monuments of this style that it possesses.

Also, it has been named "city of water" because of the large number of fountains, almost all of them monumental, that it has. Its importance dates back to the time of the Caliphate of Córdoba, when it was the capital of one of its hearts or provinces. Already in the XNUMXth century, it experienced a great prosperity protected by the House of Aguilar. But its times of greatest splendor coincide with the XNUMXth century thanks to the silk business (hence the large number of baroque constructions that we mentioned). Today, the town has more than twenty thousand inhabitants and much to offer you. Therefore, we are going to show you what to see in Priego de Córdoba.

Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and other temples

We begin our tour of the religious monuments. Among them, stands out the church of Our Lady of the Assumption, a Gothic-Mudejar construction, although its design is Baroque. The precious Tabernacle also belongs to this last style, while the main altarpiece is Renaissance.

Also baroque, although in transition to neoclassical, are the Churches of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, San Pedro, Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes and San Juan de Dios Hospital. Instead, those of Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Dawn are inscribed in the ornate rococo.

Hermitages such as Calvary and Our Lady of Bethlehem complete the religious heritage of Priego; chapels such as those of La Milagrosa, San José or La Macarena and churches such as the Virgen de la Cabeza and the Santísima Trinidad.

Priego's castle

We continue our tour of what to see in Priego de Córdoba stopping at its castle. is an old arab fortress which was extensively reformed in the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. Due to its military purpose, it presents a robust and austere style. It is made up of a walled perimeter with five quadrangular towers and one cylindrical.

The main access is formed by a corridor with two horseshoe arches and a gate to the outside. It also has a Torre del Homenaje or Torre Gorda, which has been an artistic historical monument since 1943 and was built in the XNUMXth century under the mandate of the Order of Calatrava, then dominator of Priego. It is about thirty meters high and has three floors covered by a barrel vault. The tallest, which was used as a dwelling, stands out for its typically Nasrid windows, with its double horseshoe arches and columns ending in capitals.

The other two floors were used, respectively, as a cistern and as a grain store. In any case, the castle has been extensively restored at the beginning of this millennium, so you will be surprised by its magnificent state.

Barrio de la Villa, another jewel to see in Priego de Córdoba

Next to the castle and bordering on the Balcony of the Adarve, which we will talk about next, you have the Villa neighborhood. of structure medieval arabic, shares similarities with others of its time such as the Jewish quarter of Cordova or the Albaicin Granada. Its streets are narrow and winding, with white houses adorned with flowers. Just during the festival of Corpus Christi, its floors and walls are decorated with mosaics of flowers.

The Priego City Council itself recommends a tour of La Villa, which has been a historic and artistic complex since 1972. This part of Plaza Santa Ana continues along Calle Real to the charming Plaza de San Antonio. Then it goes through Jazmines street to cross the Real again and go out to the walkway balcony.

This is a viewpoint located about fifty-five meters high from which you can appreciate spectacular views of the Cordovan countryside, with its orchards and olive trees and even with its distant mountains. In addition, in line with what we told you at the beginning regarding Priego's nicknames, he has three sources.

The Royal Butchers

This is the name given to the old cattle slaughterhouse and market in the town of Cordoba. It was built at the end of the XNUMXth century by the Jaén architect Francisco del Castillo "the Young". In keeping with its time, it presents a facade mannerist with columns and pediment of undoubted Italian ancestry.

The ground plan of the building is square, with a beautiful central courtyard organized with galleries of semicircular arches that sit on rustic stone columns. There are also towers at its corners. And a spiral staircase connects the ground floor with the lower floor, which was destined for the sacrifice of animals.

The Recreation of Castile or Huerto de las Infantas

A garden that is right on the edge of the Adarve wall receives such a poetic name that we have already mentioned. It is dated around 1550. But it would be in the middle of the XNUMXth century when, after the orchard was bought by Don Antonio Castilla, would become a romantic style garden. Hence its other name Recreation of Castile.

Later, it was used for music and dance festivals to fall into abandonment at the end of the XNUMXth century. However, at the beginning of the XXI, its restoration began. A connection with Santiago street was made by stairs and elevator. But, above all, its water channels, its ditches and its pond were recovered. The building was even opened. La Quinta, which was the house used by the Castilla family. Currently, it houses an interesting Textile Museum which reviews the history of this activity in Priego.

We strongly advise you to visit the Recreo de Castilla because, in addition to being very beautiful, according to the geographer angel louis vera, is full of stories and legends of secret passageways and even hidden treasures.

The King's and other sources

We have already told you that Priego is called the "city of water" because of its large number of fountains. For example, you have three in the Balcón del Adarve. But perhaps the most beautiful of all of them is the King's Fountain. Its construction began in the XNUMXth century, but the current form is the one created in the XNUMXth century. His manager was Remigius Marble, who gave it a style neo-baroque.

It is made up of three ponds at different levels and with curved shapes. In the first, you can see a sculpture that represents a lion fighting a snake and is attributed to Alvarez Cubero. For his part, in the second there is another of his own Marble depicting Neptune and Amphitrite on a chariot emerging from the water. From it falls water to the third pond which takes it to the so-called Clergy Figurehead where does it come out From this fountain, which is a national monument, flow 139 pipes and many of them are adorned with ghostly stone effigies.

On the other hand, in this same venue you have the Source of Health, built by the aforementioned Francis of the Castle in the sixteenth century. Its style frontispiece stands out in it mannerist. On the rocks where the spring is, there are sculptures of Neptune and Amphitrite themselves, as well as Medusa. Finally, in the center of the fountain you will see a niche with the image of the Virgin of the Head.

Watchtowers and Arco de San Bernardo

The former are the oldest buildings in this town in the province of Córdoba. They were built in the fourteenth century by the Nasrids to defend themselves against the Christian attacks. Specifically, they were made to protect the town of Priego, then on the border between the Castilla's crown and the own Nasrid Kingdom of Granada.

All of them are similar and simple invoice. They have a circular shape and are built in masonry. They end on a terrace and allow visual contact with the Priego's castle. Likewise, all of them hold the category of cultural interest.

In turn, the San Bernardo Arch it is a door dated in the fifteenth century that does not belong to the old wall, but to the access to a flour mill. It was built in travertine masonry and is made up of a barrel vault passage over which a blind ogival arch goes. It has great heritage value as it is the only remaining medieval civil architecture that is within the urban area (the towers that we have just shown you are on the outskirts).

The museums of Priego de Córdoba

Finally, we want to talk to you about the museums in the city of Cordoba. The high number of them that it offers you is striking. We have already mentioned the Textile, but the one enabled in the Birthplace of Niceto Alcalá Zamora, first president of the Second Republic, who was from Priego, and the Antonio Povedano Contemporary Spanish Landscape Museum.

In turn, the Municipal Historical Museum, located in the Adolfo Lozano Cultural Center, shows you the rich archaeological heritage of the municipality. And, already in the nearby village of Castil de Campos, you have the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs, of great ethnographic value. Likewise, in the district of Zamoranos there is the Almond Museum, where you can learn how this fruit was worked in the past. And finally, in Zagrilla, you have the singular Truffle Mycological Garden.

In conclusion, we have shown you what to see in Priego de Cordoba, a town with a great monumental heritage. But, in addition, if you visit it, we advise you to take the opportunity to also get closer to the city of Cordova. Not in vain, it is the one that has most world heritage titles. Doesn't that sound like an exciting journey?