And I am going back to a wonderful far away land in my beloved Spain. This is going to the autonomous region of Extremadura and the historical village of Guadalupe ! I am thrill to tell you about this town in my black and white series, no pictures, this one which will be an introduction to the village. Therefore, here is my take on this is Guadalupe !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The village of Guadalupe is located in the province of Cáceres, in the autonomous community of Extremadura of the kingdom of Spain. The village has a population of 1,752 inhabitants (INE 2024). I like to tell about the village apart from its main monument to really tell of this wonderful area, The village is 78 km from Trujillo, 131 km from Càceres, 129 km from Plasencia, 243 km from Madrid , and 259 km from Salamanca from where we came along the N630 to exit/salida 459 bearing left onto the EX A1 or Autovia del Notre Extremadura to exit/salida 1 connect bearing left onto the A5 or Autovia del Suroeste to exit/salida 118 bearing right into the EX118 road dir Guadalupe,
In Guadalupe is the remarkable Royal Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which belonged to the Order of Saint Jerome between 1389 and 1835. It has a fortress-like enclosure and a marked Mudejar accent, built with Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements. The Monastery of Guadalupe was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1993 by UNESCO. I gave it another post for it with some pictures as to tell more of the village of Guadalupe on this post,
The Puebla de Santa María de Guadalupe is an interesting Historic-Artistic Site from the 14C and 16C, with charming narrow streets and houses with arcades. Its monuments include: the Colegio de Infantes or Colegio de Gramática, a former center for teaching humanities and religious singing, where the trivium was taught (16C, it is a beautiful example of Mudejar art due to its cloister, ceilings and doorways. It was converted into the Zurbarán National Parador in 1966. A network of old hostels and hospitals (14C and 16C) for the care of pilgrims and the sick; the Enfermería de Monjes or Monks’ Infirmary (part of the monastery’s Guest House) and those of San Juan Bautista or Men’s Hospital, now part of the Parador de Turismo, Nuevo or Women’s Hospital, La Pasión (Passion) and San Sebastián have been preserved. At the Hospital of San Juan, surgery and dissection were performed for the first time in Spain, with papal authority granted by Pope Eugene IV in 1442, by friars and lay surgeons. Church of the Holy Trinity, a church with a Baroque façade, it is a temple with three naves with a transept and a dome dedicated to the Trinity. It was built in the years 1730-1735 at the expense of the Duke of Veragua, a descendant of Christopher Columbus. Of the old bands of walls; five are preserved , three : San Pedro, Sevilla and Chorro Gordo from the inner wall, and two : Eras and Tinte from the outer wall. With houses from the 14C to the 16C. The houses surrounding the Plazuela de los Tres Chorros and the streets nearby are grouped together, with typical wooden arcades and flower-filled balconies, evoking the ancient customs of the mountains.
In the surroundings of Guadalupe, there are some important monuments: La Granja de Mirabel, rebuilt around 1486 as the resting place of the Catholic Monarchs, with a 17C doorway. Granja de Valdefuentes, a palace from the first third of the 14C, rebuilt for Felipe II between 1551 and 1554. Arca del Agua, a 14C monument with galleries excavated in the mountain. Ermita del Humilladero, a Mudejar building from the 15C. Mills from the 14C to the 16C, former outbuildings of the monastery. The pond mill is particularly noteworthy. Pozo de la Nieve, an old 16C construction on the mountain, used to supply water to the hospitals of Guadalupe. Couple anecdotes to mention worthy me think are the Hispanidad festivities here of October 12), Celebrated since October 12, 1928, commemorating the canonical coronation of the Virgin of Guadalupe as Patron Saint of Hispanic Heritage. Since 1929, the Days of Solidarity among Hispanic Peoples, known as Jornadas de la Hispanidad, have been celebrated annually in Guadalupe. The village is an important center of pilgrimage from various parts of Spain. After the start of construction of the Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe in 1337 by order of Alfonso XI, a network of roads was created that linked the main population centers of the central peninsula such as Plasencia, Cáceres, Mérida, Ciudad Real, Toledo, and Madrid with Guadalupe. Today, the layout of twelve of these historic roads is known and preserved, which act as the final stretch of longer roads that connect all ends of the peninsula with the village of Guadalupe.The twelve historic roads are: Camino Real (from Madrid), Camino de los Montes de Toledo (from Toledo), Camino de la Jara, Camino de Cabañeros, Camino de Levante (from Ciudad Real), Camino de los Mineros, Camino Mozarabic, Camino Romano (from Mérida), Camino Visigodo, Camino de los Descubridores (from Cáceres), Camino de Monfragüe (from Plasencia), and Camino de los Jerónimos. In 1956, El pequeño ruiseñor was filmed in Guadalupe, the first film by Joselito, a Spanish boy singer and actor, who achieved success as a child prodigy under nicknames such as “El niño ruiseñor” ( Boy Nightingale), “El niño de la voz de oro” ( Boy with the Golden Voice), and “El pequeño ruiseñor” (Little Nightingale).
The bit of history I like tell us that according to tradition, a shepherd found a statue of the Virgin Mary in the Guadalupe river in the late 13C or early 14C. A hermitage was built near the site where the image was found, around which the current settlement arose, known as Puebla de Santa María de Guadalupe. Since the construction of the first shrine, Guadalupe became the most important pilgrimage center on the Iberian Peninsula after Santiago de Compostela, a status it maintains today through the pilgrimage that comes from all over Spain along the Caminos de Guadalupe. This is due to the fact that while Santiago is the patron saint of Spain, the Virgin of Guadalupe is the patron saint of all Spanish-speaking lands and holds the title of Queen of Spain according to Catholic tradition. The Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe (see post) is considered one of the greatest symbols of Extremadura and the Virgin of Guadalupe is also the patron saint of this region.
According to legend, the image was made in a sculpture workshop founded in Palestine in the 1C by Luke the Evangelist. Centuries later, it was venerated in temples in Achaea and Byzantium. Later, Pope Gregory the Great gave this sculpture to Archbishop Leander of Sevilla, The archbishop placed the image in a hermitage on the outskirts of the town. During the Muslim invasion of 711, the Christians of that city placed it in a box and hid it next to the Guadalupe river, in the area of the Villuercas mountain range, at the foot of the Altamira mountain range. The image of the Virgin, however, dates from the 13C, and around the same time a hermitage was built to house it; around which the first inhabitants of the new population center settled, which would take its name from the river in which the image of the Virgin was found, Guadalupe. The first historical news refers to the granting of land to these settlers by King Alfonso XI in 1340, becoming dependent on the city of Talavera de la Reina. In 1347 the name Puebla de Santa María de Guadalupe is already mentioned. In 1349, the king granted the prior of the sanctuary the title of “Lord of the Puebla”, which he would hold until 1820, when the first City/Town Hall was established. In 1833 it became part of the province of Cáceres.
The province of Càceres tourist office on Guadalupe : https://www.turismocaceres.org/es/turismo-cultural/conjunto-historico-de-guadalupe
The Village of Guadalupe : https://www.ayuntamientodeguadalupe.es/localizacion-y-contacto
The Extremadura regional tourist office see Guadalupe: https://www.turismoextremadura.com
The National tourist office of Spain on Guadalupe : https://www.spain.info/en/destination/guadalupe/
There you go not bad after all, and the needs as usual to come back to these beautiful places of my beloved Spain. Guadalupe is on the list to return again, eventually. Again, hope you enjoy the post on this is Guadalupe !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 