Atienza

Member of Los Pueblos más Bonitos de España

Diego DelsoVista de Atienza, España, 2015-12-28, DD 147 CC BY-SA 4.0
Manuel Delgado TenorioArco Atienza CC BY-SA 2.0
tnarikCementerio e iglesia de Santa María del Rey en Atienza CC BY-SA 2.0
BorjaanimalAtienza - Casa del Cordón CC BY-SA 4.0
Manuel Delgado TenorioAtienza 1 CC BY-SA 2.0
LBM1948Atienza 1976 01 CC BY-SA 4.0
Manuel Delgado TenorioAtienza 3 CC BY-SA 2.0
Diego DelsoAtienza, Guadalajara, España, 2017-05-23, DD 25 CC BY-SA 4.0
Manuel Delgado TenorioAtienza CC BY-SA 2.0
Diego DelsoCasillas, Guadalajara, España, 2017-05-23, DD 42 CC BY-SA 4.0
Pedro María Reyes VizcaínoCastillo atienza CC BY 2.5
JosemguijarroCastillo de Atienza (Guadalajara)CC BY-SA 3.0 es
tnarikCerro del Padrastro CC BY-SA 2.0

Climbing the slope of a hill crowned by its old castle, Atienza was a frontier stronghold that the Cantar del Cid calls a 'very strong rock'. Two arcaded squares, joined by the Arco de San Juan, and Calle Cervantes with its coats of arms recall a medieval heyday when its muleteers' guild thrived. Each Pentecost Sunday the Caballada remembers how they smuggled the boy king Alfonso VIII to safety.

Highlights

The castle on the hilltop, with views over the town
La Caballada, the muleteers' festival held on Pentecost Sunday
The arcaded Plaza de España and Plaza del Trigo, linked by an arch
Calle Cervantes, once the shoemakers' street, lined with coats of arms
Romanesque and Gothic churches, survivors of the fourteen the town once had

Text adapted from Wikipedia (Atienza (ES), Atienza (EN), Atienza (IT)). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Population: 406

Things to see

Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (ES)
Church of San Bartolomé (ES)
Church of San Gil (ES)
Church of San Juan del Mercado (ES)
Church of Santa María del Rey (ES)
Church of Santísima Trinidad (ES)

Events through the year

Three Kings parade Seasonal · Epiphany, early JanuaryTorch-lit pages descend from the castle to a living nativity
Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows Religious · Friday before Palm SundayProcession of the patroness preceded by coloured rosary lanterns
Procession of Silence Religious · Good Friday nightLanterns, Our Lady of Solitude and the Holy Sepulchre
Corpus Christi procession Religious · Corpus ChristiFirst-communion children and confraternity heads in Castilian capes
Feast of the Holy Thorns Religious · First Sunday of MayMass and veneration of relics from the crown of thorns
La Caballada Historical · Pentecost SundayHorseback procession recalling the muleteers who saved young King Alfonso VIII
Patronal festival of the Santísimo Cristo Religious · Third weekend of AugustVillage festival with bullfighting events
Feria Medieval Historical · OctoberMedieval market with theatre, knight fights and falconry