MAIN ATTRACTIONS
Between the region of La Mancha and the Mountains of Toledo, we find the town of Urda, 68 km from its provincial capital. Its expanses are dominated by heathers, and it has been from these plants that, since ancient times, the beekeepers obtain a delicious honey. Its first settlers lived around the church of Saint John the Baptist, built in the 13th century. It underwent important renovations in the 17th century thanks to the support of the archbishop of Toledo who financed them.
WHAT WE’LL SEE
Visitors cannot leave without visiting what is known as the “Cristo de la Mancha”, which is kept in the hermitage of the Holy Christ of Urda, the most emblematic building of the town. It has a simple exterior, interrupted only by the bronze doors composed of eight panels in which the events of the life of Christ are narrated. They are the work of Guerrero Malagón, a painter and son of this town, in 1986. The hermitage has only one nave that is divided in four parts, presbytery and flat apse; the whole of it filled with a remarkable Baroque decor. In one of its chapels we can see the carriage float for the Christ image, golden and in the shape of a boat upon four wheels, made in the 19th century. A few years ago, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the image of Christ, John Paul II awarded Urda the privilege of being a jubilee site, an act that made the town’s importance as a pilgrimage center grow.
ACCESS
Free access, if you find it closed, inquire at the City Hall.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
The Museum Guerrero Malagón, in the urban center of the town, has exhibited since its opening in 1992 the works, sketches and drawings of this urdeño artist, in addition to other objects donated by devotees of the Christ image.
