MONUMENTS

The fortified tower of the Templars, which now houses the Centro de Interpretación de la naturaleza, is located on the site of Fuentes del Marqués, 2 km away from the centre of Carvaca. This estate is named after its former owners, the Marquis of San Mamés, and after the natural springs. It is precisely these crystal clear waters and the surrounding nature which attract tourists to this environment.

The origins of the fortified tower are very confusing. The current fortified tower is supposed to have been built on the foundations of an earlier tower. The first known dates of building on this site are by the Arab geographer Al-Himyari (13th to 14th century).

This is an area of great scenic, cultural and ecological interest, which has retained a high level of environmental quality as a result of the favourable physical conditions of the environment and a good relationship between the human life and biotic life that sustains it.

In the area there is the council facility of the hostel Fuentes del Marques in the area.

It can be accessed from the asphalt road (Las Fuentes) that draws from Caravaca itself, approximately 2 km from there. There is also pedestrian access using El Camino de Huerto (a famous walking path in Caravaca).  

It is a reconstruction of an arch of the Roman aqueduct that carried water to Begastri.
Parts of the original arch found in the Valley of Paradise were used for its construction.

Although it originally had five towers, none of them remain, as they were demolished in 1956. The only thing left standing was the Caravaca gate, located in the upper part of Cehegín. This part of the regional heritage is preserved at a height of 10.40 metres. The walls form a right angle on which the houses rest. The road to Caravaca passes right through here thanks to an access gate that was opened a few years ago to prevent walkers from going around the entire enclosure.

Declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1982, there are many examples of popular architecture from the 12th to 19th centuries, including the Palacio Villar de Felices, the Palacio de Jaspe, and the Casa del Conde de Campillos with heraldic examples of great interest to researchers.

Religious architecture includes the Church of Santa María Magdalena, the Church of La Soledad, the Church of La Concepción and the Hospital de la Real Piedad, and in the Ensanche area, the Convent of San Esteban.

There are also abundant prehistoric remains such as the cave paintings of Peña Rubia and Begastri, a late Roman and Visigoth city which was the Episcopal see until the 8th century AD.

There is also a Municipal Archaeological Museum and a private Ethnological Museum, belonging to the Duke of Ahumada, and its Historical Archive.

The Franciscan convent of San Esteban, located outside the old part of the town of Cehegín, consists of a complex of buildings that includes: monastery, cloister, chapel and church, and dates from the late 16thcentury.

It was declared Monumento Histórico-Artístico Nacional ("Historic-Artistic Monument of National Interest¿) in 1976 and it is considered a characteristic piece of the Murcian Baroque style.

The convent is made of three naves with a high choir at its base. The pilasters of the naves are of Corinthian order and those of the transept are of composite order. In the 18thcentury the convent got extended through the building of the Neoclassical chapel of San Jose, situated on the left of the transept. This chapel has a Latin cross plan and its high altar shows a Baroque altarpiece.

In the church, it is worth highlighting the camarín (a little chapel behind the High altar) where can be seen the statue of the Patron Saint of Cehegin, the Virgen de las Maravillas, a religious image from the 17th century made by the Napolitan artist Nicola Fumo. This piece of art makes stand out the amazing churrigueresque altarpiece that frames it. This octagonal-shaped Camarín is covered with carved wood in consonance with the Neoclassical style. The dome is crowned by an awesome rose window. It has been recently fully restored as a red-jasper façade was built where before there was a plaster one that was demolished in the 1940's. It has been declared a national monument.

The School of Wine is a training and cultural centre for the world of wine located in the cellars of the Casa de la Tercia, restored and adapted for this purpose by Cehegín Town Council, which aims to become a meeting point for wine lovers and a place for enjoyment and learning, as well as a space where enology, gastronomy, sensations, art and culture can be combined.

The sculpture is by Juan García Jiménez and is located on the roundabout at the west exit of the
at the roundabout at the west exit of the town,
the entrance to the Old Town. The work represents a child spinning. It is made up of hundreds of pieces of steel,
is set on a large mosaic representing the sun and life. The artist from Cehegín has assured that this sculpture is unrepeatable;
there is no other like it anywhere in the world,
adding that he placed the face of the child looking towards the Church of La Magdalena.

Located in the Plaza del Alpargatero, it was created as a tribute to Cehegín's industrial past and to the locals who had to emigrate to Catalonia as a result of the disappearance of the espadrille industry, which was their livelihood.

This means of production was so important that it was able to supply all the footwear for the French army in the First World War.

The author of this bronze monument is the Valencian sculptor Rafael Pi Belda.

The founders of the Hospital de la Real Piedad are very present in the building. If you look closely, you will see sculptures of the Counts of the Real Piedad, as well as a coat of arms of the Chico de Guzmán family in one of its corners.
The centre has been successively remodelled in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is a two-storey building. The façade, on the ground floor, has courses of exposed brick and stuccoed masonry panels, while the two upper floors have smooth walls.

The exact date of construction of this church is unknown, although it is thought to have been built between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The people of Cehegín are very fond of it, as it is the only one that stands on the highest hill in the historic centre of the municipality and is recognised as a National Monument.
It is a Renaissance chapel. Its tower has an interesting clock. The interior naves are supported by Tuscan pillars and Ionic pillars in the presbytery. It has a rich Mudejar coffered ceiling, polychrome and with a large pineapple of muqarnas and stars in the ochava above the presbytery.

The masonry church is located at the western part of the town.

Its façade lacks artistic interest, except for the tower that was built in 1788. The southwestern tower, located at the foot of the church, has three plastered parts. It is crowned by an iron weathervane with the Virgin of Solitude (symbol) and a glorious cross on top of it.

The interior is divided into three naves separated by cruciform pillars that support semicircular arches. The hexagonal chapel is covered by a groin vault with a rosette in the middle.

The high choir is located at the foot of the building. It is supported by a central column made of red jasper which probably comes from Begastri.

A modern church in which no consideration has been given to any ancient style. The focus was exclusively on functionality.

Have you counted how many columnar churches there are in the North West Region? More than one. This is one of them. It is characterised, above all, by the fact that it crowns the Plaza del Castillo and outlines the silhouette of the old quarter of Cehegín. It is a National Monument dating from the 15th century and is Renaissance in character.

The Sanctuary Convent of San Esteban, outside the old quarter of Cehegín, is a group of buildings comprising a monastery, cloister, chapel and church. The convent has three naves with a choir loft at the base. The pilasters of the central nave are of Corinthian order and those of the transept of composite order. In the 18th century it was extended by adding the Chapel of San José, in neoclassical style and located to the left of the transept, it has a Latin cross floor plan and a Baroque altarpiece on the main altar. It has a 17th century cloister enclosed with large windows and semicircular arches, with a garden and a well in the central part.

Inside the church, the Camarín, which houses the image of the patron saint of Cehegín, the Virgen de las Maravillas, an 18th century sculpture by the Neapolitan artist Nicola Fumo, stands out, as does the impressive Churrigueresque altarpiece that frames it. It is octagonal in shape and is covered with carved wood in the neoclassical style. The dome is crowned by a magnificent rose window.

It has recently been completely restored and a red jasper doorway has been installed where there used to be a plaster one, demolished in the 1940's. It has been declared a national monument.

Attached to the Casa del Concejo (Council House), this civil palace has two floors and an attic.

Its entrance door is framed by pilasters. The main floor has four balconies and the attic has small balconies with windows.

The façade, as a whole, is made of brick courses and masonry panels, framed by dark-painted plasterwork. Above the main balcony is the coat of arms of the Fajardo Roca family.

Nowadays Begastri is an archaeological site in the hill Cabecico Roenas 3 km away from the city center of Cehegín where Iberians, Romans and Visigoths settled.

The site of Begastri is one of the most important places of the late-Roman period in Spain. The many inscriptions, definitely confirmed the location of Begastri at the Cabezo Muela, or as it was more commonly known, Cabezo de Roenas, from which the word ruinas (ruins) is derived.

Another important find was two huge doors of the city, the southern and eastern, around which was found a high quantity of architectural elements including remnants of sculptures and sarcophagus which are currently exhibited at the Museum in Cehegín.

There are two important features that should be mentioned. Firstly, the Cross of Cehegín, which is a splendid, monogrammed cross made of bronze. It is decorated with the Greek letters Alpha, Omega and Rho which represent God. The second is a sarcophagus, with the image of Adam, found recently on the eastern side of Begastri. This unique piece, made of Italian white marble in the workshops of Rome, was brought to Cehegín by a rich Christian in the first half of the 4th century AD.

At the walls that protected La Villa there are scattered remains such as this one from the 12th century, a wall and almohade gate of a fortress that follow the sinuosities of the terrain until reaching the Torre de la Coracha in the Alcázar, to continue along the Peña del Judío until the Puerta de la Villa in the Plaza Vieja, which would close the Castle of Cehegín. This construction is based on a formwork with lime mortar and gravel, all from the Muslim period according to the materials found up to a height of 940 metres, which are still preserved today.

This sanctuary has a single nave. It was a medieval fortress. The chancel of the church, where the chapel of the Virgin is located, is made of carved ashlar. The presbytery stands out for its dome on pendentives, decorated with mural paintings.

The image of the Virgin is current, from the 20th century, and on 15th August the pilgrimage is celebrated by taking the image down from this hermitage to another smaller one in Canara, and at 5 p.m. a religious service is held. She was the patron saint of Cehegín until the Reconquest.

Did you know that these arcades date back to 1725?

They were once built to house the boxes that some families owned. The fact is that wealthy people used to go to these boxes to comfortably watch the shows that took place in the square.

The square is famous for having hosted numerous activities and shows such as bullfights, religious ceremonies and street markets.

The change in the building took place in the 19th century, when it was covered with walls, converting the columned space into rooms or rooms for the sale of meat and fish, later called "carnicerías" (butcher's shops).

Edificio postmodernista en forma de locomotora que pretende significar el empuje necesario para mantener Molina en plena marcha vital. Obra de Plácido Giménez Cañadas, se inauguró el 13 de marzo de 1987. Sustituye a la Casa Consistorial que estuvo dentro del recinto amurallado y al Consistorio que se construyó en la Calle Nueva.