Tuejar

Gastronomy:

Highlights of the local cuisine include dishes such as “olla de pueblo” stew (potatoes, thistles, beans and pork), “tuejano” gazpacho (bread cake, shredded rabbit and chicken), as well as excellent meats and cured sausages.

Traditional sweets: “Ensaimás”, raisin and walnut cake, “matecados”, anise rolls and “muégados” (of Arabic origin).

Places of interest:

Tuéjar’s monuments are neither numerous nor grand. Those which exist are witnesses to a very unique history, and the great efforts exerted by the villagers’ ancestors in their creation mean that they are greatly loved and respected today, both by the people of this small town and by visitors. Visitors can enjoy a peaceful stroll through the steep, twisting streets of the upper part of the village. Magnificent panoramic views of the small village and its surrounding agricultural land can be enjoyed from the area on which the castle was located.

The parish church, a national historic-artistic monument, the hermitage, the Saints Gate, and the cave paintings of Los Corrales de Silla are all worth visiting and, without doubt, those who do so, will be very greatly rewarded.

There are other things to see… Iberian-Roman sites such as “El Castellar”, “Zagra” Castle (so often cited and so often ignored), the spring feeding the famous Roman aqueduct of “Peña Cortada”, the iron mines of the Roman era the distant “Peña del Rayo” … so many things to discover …

Festivities:

Festivities are held annually on 15th August and are sponsored by the SCR San Cristobal and the village council, and on 8th December in honour of the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of Tuéjar.

The Day of Saint Diego, the patron of the village, is celebrated on 13th November. Every five years (those ending with 0 and 5), extraordinary festivities, known as “gordas”, are held during the week of 15th August in honour of the Immaculate Conception. This is when the most cherished traditions of the inhabitants of Tuejar are manifested: the carrying of the effigy of Our Lady from the hermitage to the church as part of an emotional procession: and the representations of the “Entramoro” and the “rodá”.

On Easter Sunday morning, “Las Cortesias” are held under the auspices of “los Quintos”. It is an act of reverence to the Virgin. It takes place in the main square, which is decorated the previous night with arches made from juniper-lined sticks, and with small pines that “Planted” in the square in the form of a forest.

On the eve of Saint Anthony (17th January), large bonfires are traditionally lit in the village streets. Visitors are offered lupins and peanuts, accompanied by the popular “limoná”.