Celebration of Reconquest of Moors & Christians

Orihuela

Copyright: Orihuela Turística

DESTINATIONS spain orihuela Do & See Celebration of Reconquest of Moors & Christians

Celebration of Reconquest of Moors & Christians

The celebration of the Reconquest of Orihuela has a secular tradition, which has been documented for more than 600 years, and it is for this reason that the Moors and Christians Festival in its present form, founded in 1974, revolves around this event and this celebration so that they have become inextricably linked. The main day of the Festival is the 17th July, the day of Saints Justa and Rufina, to whose intervention in the exploits of la Armengola is attributed in popular tradition the definitive conquest of the Muslim fortress that dominated the city. The Moors and Christians Festival is engraved on the soul of Orihuela. The month of July has become the most special month of the year. A month to promote Orihuela’s culture, traditions and symbols.

Do & See

Orihuela boasts an extensive artistic and historical heritage, making it a destination of great cultural interest. With numerous museums, churches, palaces, and monuments, visitors can immerse themselves in the city's rich traditions. The vegetable plantations of Orihuela highlight the area's agricultural prowess. Fertile lands, cultivated by various cultures throughout history, characterize this quintessential farming region. The beaches of Orihuela are renowned for their quality and have earned numerous certifications from organizations and institutions that oversee and maintain quality standards. These recognitions include Blue Flags, "Q" tourist quality certificates, SICTED distinctions, Qualitur Flags, and ISO certifications for Quality and Environment.

Miguel Hernández House-Museum

Miguel Hernández House-Museum

This house was home to the poet and his family between 1914 and 1934. It was a farmhouse, much in line with others which existed in the same street in the early 20th Century. The museum retains the furniture and fittings typical of the area's homes from the last century, tougher with photographs from …

Palmeral de Orihuela

Palmeral de Orihuela

Palmeral de Orihuela constitutes an interesting agricultural system of intensive irrigation of Islamic origin with date-trees situated on the borders of the banks, paths and irrigation canals. You can either reach this area by means of path tracking through el Collado del Oriolet, or go jogging or cross-country through the orchards of palm …

Medieval Market

Medieval Market

Every year the old part of the town becomes the ideal setting for recreating the middle ages when it puts on its Medieval Market. Visitors are taken back to the past in a special ambiance where the smell of spices, the colour of the craftsmen's work and products and the taste of foods at …

Celebration of Reconquest of Moors & Christians

Celebration of Reconquest of Moors & Christians

The celebration of the Reconquest of Orihuela has a secular tradition, which has been documented for more than 600 years, and it is for this reason that the Moors and Christians Festival in its present form, founded in 1974, revolves around this event and this celebration so that they have become inextricably linked. The main …

Holy Week

Designated as an International Tourist Interest event, Holy Week in Orihuela is one of the oldest religious and cultural celebrations in the southeastern region of Spain. Easter in Orihuela is renowned not only for its monuments, landscapes, traditions, and Mediterranean light but also for its rich history and artistic qualities. Art and passion intertwine during this …

Diocesan College Santo Domingo

Diocesan College Santo Domingo

This building is composed of a church, convent and university, all completed at different times. On the exterior, there are two striking renaissance doorways, featuring the founder's family coat of arms and the shield of the Dominican Order. The Baroque entrance to the University shows an allegorical figure representing wisdom. Human figures adorn the …

Orihuela Cathedral

Orihuela Cathedral

Built on the remains of the old Moorish mosque, the building started out as a Parish Church, ascending in importance, as Archiprestal (1281), Collegiate (1413) and finally becoming a Cathedral in 1510. Building started at the end of the 13th Century. It is of Levantine Gothic Style, with three naves and a gallery, a transept …

Episcopal Palace of Orihuela

Episcopal Palace of Orihuela

Built on the land occupied earlier by the Corpus Christi hospital, one of the city's medieval hospitals. In 1558 the city exchanged plots with Archishop Esteban Almeyda and the hospital was relocated to the Parish of Santiago. The building may have started in the 16th Century, soon after the establishment of the Orihuela Bishopric. It …

Town Wall Museum

Town Wall Museum

The Wall Museum is located in the basement of the "Casa del Paso" building, on the Salesas Campus of the Miguel Hernández University. It also houses an interesting and well organised archaeological site, set up after various stages of excavation between 1998 and 2000. Significant architectural heritage sites are well conserved: The town wall, four watchtowers …

Royal Salesian Monastery

Royal Salesian Monastery

It was built on a site of a Jesus college. It was a foundation, set up by clerics from Madrid's Royal Monastery (Monasterio de la Visitación), under the patronage of the princes Carlos María Isidro de Borbón and his wife, María de Asís de Braganza y Borbón. The monastery was built in neoclassical style, between …

Church of the Santas Justa y Rufina

Church of the Santas Justa y Rufina

Built upon the remains of a mosque, this church is dedicated to the city's patron saints, whose martyrdom coincides with the traditional date of the city's reconquest, believed to have occurred on July 17, 1243. The structure is a single-nave Gothic temple, featuring side chapels between buttresses that date back to the 14th and 15th …

Regional Archaeological Museum San Juan de Dios

Regional Archaeological Museum San Juan de Dios

The Orihuela Archaeology Museum has its origins in the former Santo Domingo Museum of Antiquities, established in 1902 by Jesuit priest Julio Furgús, who donated numerous pieces. Created by the Orihuela Town Council, the museum has been housed in various locations, including the Palacio de Teodomiro, the Municipal Hospital, the Rubalcaba Palace, and since …

Parish Church of Santiago

Parish Church of Santiago

Constructed on the site of a former mosque from the Islamic city, this church dates back to between 1402 and 1417, according to the oldest documented evidence. Featuring a single nave design and side chapels nestled between buttresses, the original Gothic structure has undergone significant modifications due to restorations and extensions carried out between the …

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Monserrate

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Monserrate

According to tradition, this church was constructed on the site of the former Gothic Parish of Saint Julian after the image of the Virgin Mary was unearthed following the city's recapture from Moorish rule. The building is a Baroque temple designed in the shape of a Latin cross, with a Neoclassical facade displaying the anagram …

San Isidro's Murals — An Urban Museum

San Isidro's Murals — An Urban Museum

In may 1976, a great wave arrived in Orihuela, coming from many parts of the world this was the tribute to Miguel Hernández. An actual "cultural spring" bloomed in the plazas and streets of the city, particularly in Barrio San Isidro, reviving the life and the work of the poet. To that historic birthplace came …

Sierra de Orihuela

Sierra de Orihuela

The Sierra de Orihuela is a 9.4 km long limestone mountain range that looms over the city of Orihuela. Its highest peak, Peña de Orihuela, stands at 634 meters, and the range's sheer cliffs have made it a popular destination for rock climbers. Hikers venturing up Monte St. Miguel can explore the ruins of …