Villapalacios

The Village

Villapalacios is located 98 km from Albacete and eight kilometers from the provincial border. It has approximately 550 inhabitants. From any corner of the village you can enjoy excellent views in which you can contemplate the vastness of its valleys and mountains that open the way to the Sierra de Alcaraz, so it is known with the nickname of "Balcony of La Mancha and gateway to Andalusia".

The richness of the landscape in this town is mainly due to its rugged terrain and the contrasts imposed by its hydrography. It is crossed by the courses of the rivers Guadalmena and Mesta, in addition to some streams, giving rise to a typical riparian vegetation.

Things to See

The jewel of Villapalacios is its church, the Church of San Sebastian of the sixteenth century late Gothic style and rectangular plan. Within the village itself we find the viewpoint of the Glorieta that serves as a balcony, as the popular saying goes: "Villapalacios, balcony of La Mancha and gateway to Andalusia". From there you can see the entire valley of the river Mesta, in front of the Padrón with its 1,771 meters high and above all the beginnings of the Sierra de Segura in Andalusia.

Of the natural places that surround the municipality, the Picos de Guadalmena stand out, a group of rocks of spectacular beauty in the Sierra de Guadalmena. Tourists can also enjoy the Cueva Negra (Black Cave), which, due to its size, can be seen from several kilometers away, since its opening looks towards Villapalacios. Its interior served for many years as a shelter and corral for the cattle that grazed in the area, and nowadays it has been transformed into a recreational area from where you can enjoy the wonderful views of almost the entire municipality of Villapalacios.

The Sima de la Campaña is another outstanding natural element of Villapalacios. This chasm is formed by a vertical cave almost a hundred meters deep and another horizontal cave with a very nice arrangement of columns, stalactites and stalagmites, which can be seen without having to go into it. A visit to the Hermitage of San Cristobal is also a must. 

Festivities

The Patron Saint Festival of Villapalacios is celebrated in honor of the Santísimo Cristo de la Veracruz, around September 14 looking for the weekend for the convenience of neighbors and visitors. Among the typical activities include the parade, the gunpowder castle, theaters, musical performances. One of the acts that has a lot of tradition and beauty is the opening of the Cuerda de Ganados.

Important for Villapalacios is the Pilgrimage of San Cristobal. It is repeated every year on the date of the Saturday of Pentecost, in which many residents of Villapalacios travel from their homes, bringing friends and colleagues to enjoy a day of countryside, brotherhood and celebration next to the hermitage. Other important events in the town are the feast of San Isidro on May 15, patron saint of farmers, which has always been celebrated with deep roots due to the agricultural character of the town, the Alfombras del Corpus (Corpus Carpets) and the Cruces de Mayo (May Crosses).

Church of San Sebastián

The Church of San Sebastián de Villapalacios is a construction of the XV and XVI centuries of late Gothic style, with a rectangular floor plan, with diaphragm arches that divide the space into seven sections. Because of the resulting space and the attached pillars, the chevet may have been covered with a ribbed vault. The bell tower rises at the base.

The choir is the most artistic part of the church. It is composed of long wooden beams placed horizontally and a wooden column, also placed vertically in the center, which serves to support the choir. Above this choir there is a singular Renaissance tribune of valuable wood where twelve heads of personages stand out, almost all of them represented as monstrous, with pointed ears, bulging eyes, enormous teeth and even horns. Under the choir can be seen polychrome decorations with Mudejar motifs, plant samples and geometric motifs, constituting the most valuable artistic and pictorial passport of the enclosure, due to its good conservation since the Middle Ages. It was declared a National Historic and Artistic Monument in 1978.