Hita (Guadalajara)

What you can see and do in Hita

The medieval town of Hita, with its well-known Medieval Festival, is also famous in literature. This town, which is mentioned in the Cantar de Mio Cid and the Poem of the Seven Infants of Lara, had an archpriest in the 14th century, called Juan Ruiz, who was the author of the Book of Good Love, and a lord, one century later, the Marquis of Santillana.

At the foot of a perfectly conical hill, the town had a wall, of which some sections are still standing and the Gate of St Mary, both belonging to the 15th century, which leads to the Square of the Archpriest with traditional and partly porticoed buildings. A stroll around the town will take us to the ruins of the 15th century Gothic St Peter’s Church, which was destroyed in the Civil War, and a path around the hillside to the Church of St John the Baptist, with its slender tower in a Herrerian style.

The ruins of the castle are at the top of the hill. Although few ruins of the walls and the keep are all that remains, the views over the valley are stunning, especially in spring.

You also should not miss

• The Medieval festival takes place in early July. One of the most important in our area, it includes theatrical representations and tournaments.
• Visiting wine cellars and cave houses. Under the ground in Hita, more than a hundred caves have been used as wine-cellars since the Middle Ages, when most of them belonged to Jewish families, and they continued in use to keep wine until the 20th century. The production of wine decreased over the centuries until it completely disappeared. Some cave-houses are locally known as ‘bodegos’. Hita Town Council has restored two of them. They formed part of the upper town where the church of the Archpriest of Hita was also located. After the Civil War, as a consequence of the destruction of the town centre, the cave-houses were again used as dwellings until the 1960s. The Tourism Office now offers guided tours to these traditional homes; a very interesting experience for everyone, including young children.

Rev.: JGG 10.08.21

Rev.: JGG 10.08.21