It is called the garden of the Alcarria, and its impressive lavender fields are famous when they bloom, filling everything with color. But Brihuega is much more.
In addition to being the place of pilgrimage for Instagrammers and photographers who find the Spanish Provence in blooming lavender, this town in Guadalajara has a very interesting historic center. Brihuega is a medieval town that is worth knowing all year round.
The medieval town of Brihuega
Located in the Tajuña river valley, in Guadalajara, Brihuega is a medieval town that in the 18th century was the seat of the Royal Cloth Factory. Like others medieval townsBrihuega preserves buildings of the time.
The Castillo de la Piedra Bermeja, which was built at the end of the 11th century, and the wall in which we can enjoy medieval arches and gates such as the Puerta de Santa María or the Arco de Cozagón, are a remnant of that time. And it is that it is in the Middle Ages when Brihuega appears for the first time in history as an important population center called Castrum Brioca, or castle on the rock.
The castle area has a cemetery and a Gothic-Mudejar style chapel inside, considered a jewel of transitional Romanesque. It is worth visiting every corner of its historical heritage.
In the 13th century, the Archbishop Don Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada promoted the construction of the main Briocense churches such as the Church of San Felipe, the best known in the town of Brihuega. That same century was the splendor of Cistercian architecture thanks also to the fountains, representative of the time and that are still preserved in the historic center.
The most beautiful is the Twelve Caños fountain, located in the old municipal laundry, which even has its own legend: single women who drink its water find a partner (nobody says if they do with the help of Tinder or not). In addition to this, the Paseo de la Fábrica, San Juan or El Hisopo fountains are a wonderful reminder of how the town used to get water until less than a century ago.
The Plaza del Coso, where the town hall of the town is located, we also find the Arab caves built between the 10th and 11th centuries and that are still preserved after the sieges. This labyrinth of galleries and tunnels runs through the entire subsoil of Brihuega for about eight kilometres, and has an exit outside the walls.
The Casona de los Gómez, an 18th-century noble house, or the Prado de Santa María, also deserve a few minutes of our time, as well as the cobbled streets.
The Brihuega lavender festival
It is not that we recommend you go to Brihuega in summer, it is that it should be almost required by law see at least once in your life the landscape of the Spanish Provence.
The buzz of the bees, the colors of the fields mixed with the sky, the sun caressing your skin, the incredible and relaxing scent of lavender and nature, in all its glory, exposing one of the greatest beauties of Castilla-La Mancha.
To broaden the experience, every year Brihuega celebrates its famous lavender festival which coincides with the splendor of flowering in mid-July, but throughout the month the lavender fields have guided tours on weekends, organized by the town hall.
A mystery bonus: Civics
Near Brihuega, on the outskirts of its walls and its medieval town, we find a small urban complex covered with vegetation in which streams and waterfalls roam freely. Cívica is an abandoned rock-cut village that has now become a mysterious place what to see
If you can, stay in Brihuega for at least one night and enjoy its corners calmly. The Hotel Spa Niwa, for example, with prices from 190 euros the night, it is an excellent option if we are looking for a weekend of relaxation and calm in the Alcarria garden.
Hotel Spa Niwa. Double room from 190 euros per night.
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Photos | iStock, Anabel Palomares, Historical heritage, national network of castles and palaces, Tourism Brihuega
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