A HISTORICAL – CULTURAL TOUR AROUND POSADAS

An Introduction to Posadas

Posadas is a Spanish town in the province of Córdoba, Andalucía. It is situated in the

Guadalquivir Valley along with other towns such as Almodovar del Río, Fuente
Palmera, Guadalcazar, Hornachuelos, La Carlota and Palma del Río. Approximately
7,806 people live here, a town 88 metres above sea level and 32 kilometres from
Córdoba, the capital of the province.
The Sierra de Posadas (the range of hills to the north) is a part of the World Network
of Biosphere Reserves and is protected by several environmental organisations. Rural
tourism is of growing importance in the area not only because of the sierra but also
because of the river valley here and the countryside beyond.
The town of Posadas will live on in the literary history of Andalucia thanks to its
appearance in La Florida de Inca, a work by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega -a famous
historian and writer.
In modern times, the town has its own railway station and to the north (in the foothills)
runs the Spanish high speed train, known here as the AVE. which connects Madrid with
Seville.

The “Eduardo Torroja” bridge.

This is the bridge that crosses the river to the

south of the town. Designed by the engineer
whose name it bears, it was opened in 1951, a
moment of great significance for Posadas, this
being one of the very few important towns in
the Guadalquivir Valley situated to the north
of the river and thus having had historically
very poor communications with other towns in
the area. Its opening meant that the people of
Posadas no longer had to cross the river by
boat. The bridge is 235 metres long, has seven
pillars and eight arches; there is only one other
bridge in Europe that shares its same design.
The river it crosses, the Guadlaquivir, is the
most important in Andalucía, and has several
tributaries, the most important of which is the
Guadalbaida.

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 The town hall

Built in the 19th century in Renaissance style as a private

home, this building (which boasts a splendid interior
patio surrounded by arched galleries) now houses the
distinct offices that make up the Town Hall. Flanking
three streets, the approach to the building is set in a
small and pleasant square, “La Plaza del
Ayuntamiento”. (Town Hall Square). The town hall
used to be in “La Plaza de la Constitución”
“Constitution Square” – formerly known as Plaza de los
Mártires. (The Martyrs’ Square after the execution of
43 people there during the Spanish Civil War). Its
present location was once an important meeting place in
the town where people would gather for bull runs,
which would take place in the street “Blas Infante” and
finish in La Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

Neighbourhoods

The “Barrios modernos” (“the modern neighbourhoods”) are the

neighbourhoods that were built outside of the original town walls. The streets were
designed to be wide and straight to improve the flow of traffic. The main streets in the
town are the following:

Gaitán: also known as “Convent” … “the Street of the Convent” due to the existence of
a convent in this street.
Fernández de Santiago, and
Blas Infánte, the street of the orange trees. Most of the family homes in this street are
low-lying buildings of one or two floors. Most of them have a patio and roof terrace, are
painted white and have black painted iron bars in the windows, adorned with flowers,
usually geranium. This was the street where the wealthier families lived.

El Arquito

This is the last standing structure – the remains of a door – pertaining to

the Castle of Posadas, a medieval fort. It is one of the most beautiful and
characteristic places in the town; the people of Posadas have the saying
“ese es más viejo que el Arquito”, “this is older than the Arquito” which
they use when they want to say something is really old! It is situated next
to a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary “La Virgen de los Remedios”,
the Virgin of Healing. The statue of the Virgin is said to have appeared
miraculously where it is and, so it is said, no matter how many times it is
taken from there, it will always return. The people of Posadas believe
that if you go there on the thirteenth of the month, if the thirteenth falls
on a Tuesday, you can make three wishes, one of which will be granted,
the only conditions being that, one, you cannot ask for money and two,
you have to walk under the arch three times.

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 Capilla de la Caridad

A 16th century chapel that was used as a hospital and was

known as the hospital of Corpus Christi up until the 18th
century. All that remains of it now is the doorway, the
interior having fallen into disuse and having been
demolished to make way for what is now the local tourist
office. The chapel was dedicated to helping the needy, both
those of the village and those passing through.

Barrio de “La Morería”

This neighbourhood dates from the 5th century

AD and was traditionally inhabited by Moors
and Jews. It used to form the centre of the
town, in the “Plaza del Sol” (“Square of the
Sun”), when the town was still known as “Las
Posadas del Rey” One of the streets leading
out from this square is known as “La calle
Amargura”, “The street of Bitterness”; there
are two versions as to why this street has such
a sad name, one is that it is the street where
those condemned by the Inquisition were led
away, the other is that it is because it is the
street where, in Easter week, the image of
Jesus bearing his cross before being crucified
is carried in procession.
In the “Calle Morería,” we can still
see the centuries old houses once inhabited by
the “moriscos”, the Muslims who converted to
Christianity after the Reconquest of the
Catholic Kings. They were made to live
outside the city walls, only “born” Christians
could live inside; for this reason the houses
have little depth, they came up against the city
wall. The patios of this neighbourhood are
well worth seeing in spring when they are
filled with the colours and smells of the
flowers with which the present day occupants
lovingly fill their houses.

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 The Church of Santa María de Las Flores

The church has been reformed many times

It is believed that this church was built on
the site of an old mosque that was later used
as a fort, the construction of which was
completed in 1320. All that remains of this
fort is the East door, (“el Arquito”) and a
tower, which is now the bell tower of the
church. This fort was strategically situated,
at some 400 metres from where the inns
(“posadas”) were situated, those that give
their name to the town. (They were a resting
place for those making the journey from
Córdoba to Seville).
and is thus a mixture of different styles.
The bell tower and temple are of gothic
style, the main entrance, Renaissance with
a hint of Barroque, though due to the
narrowness of the street it isn’t now used;
instead, the main door is now the so-called
“Puerta de los novios”, “The door of the
Bride and Groom”, a door that was
historically a side door.
The name of the church was given
by the people of the nearby town,
Hornachuelos, who repopulated this area
and have a church of the same name.
According to legend, in 1849, the well-
known bandit, Curro Jiménez, died and
was buried here in the old cemetery of
Posadas. His lieutenant, “El Mochuelo,”
would supposedly visit the church
disguised as a rag-and-bone man, make a
donation, and pray “Holy Father,
remember today, Al Souls Day, that man
who the people banished to the hills”

La Virgen de la Salud, Patron of Posadas.

The origin of this cult and devotion of the people of Posadas to Mary “Virgen de
la Salud” dates from 1685 when the image was brought from Granada to Posadas. It is
believed that the image was brought here to save the people from the plague which was
then ravishing Andalucía. The people of Posadas were thereby spared.

The September Fair.

On the 29th August, the image of the Virgin “de la Salud” is brought from its
hermitage “La hermita de Jesus” to the parish church in a procession led by men letting
off fireworks. On the 8th September, the image of the Virgin Mary is taken in pilgrimage
back to her hermitage, in a procession made up of townspeople and people from the
town now living elsewhere who come back here especially for the occasion. In “el
Paseo Pedro Vargas”, there is a fair and a fireworks display.

Easter week

During this week in which we commemorate the Passion, Death and

Resurrection of Jesus, there are distinct processions that pass through the town,
observed, applauded and celebrated by the people who live here. The week culminates
in the celebration of a Resurrection Mass in the church of “Santa María de las Flores.”

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 The feast of Corpus Christi.

This is celebrated with a procession led by children who have just made their
first communion along streets carpeted with flowers.

Plaza de los Lavaderos. “The Square of the Washing places”

Here there were two fountains, “la

fuente de los lavaderos” and “El Pilar
de Triana” Here, the local women did
their washing, collected water, sang and
gossiped, and the local farmers brought
their livestock to drink. It was a
meeting place, lively and full of life.
The water came from the local hillsides
and was drinkable. The fountain that
still exists is “El Pilar; here, local
celebrations still take place, perhaps
when a local football team wins a cup
or in the “candelaria,” night of the
bonfires.

La Candelaria – “Night of the Bonfires”

This is celebrated on the second of February. In the squares and streets of the
town, bonfires are lit and the partying lasts all night long. Youths compete to see who
can jump over the largest bonfire. A traditional meal is cooked “migas” and there is
singing and dancing.

Verbena de Santiago

This is a popular fiesta celebrated on the 25th July in memory of Santiago, co-
patron saint of the town. In the past, the young girls of the town threw a type of bean at
a statue of the saint trying to hit his belly-button as this would guarantee their finding a
future husband. Nowadays, the people go to the Hermitage of Santiago to dance and
have a party.

Entrance way to the monastery “Nuestra Señora de Gracia de la

Orden de los Basilios.

This doorway is all that remains of this monastery which stood in the town in the 17th
century although the church wasn’t completed until the beginning of the 18th. At the
beginning of the 19th, the monastery was affected by the French invasion and gradually
fell into disuse. During the Civil War, it was used to stockpile food, and later, it has
been used as a bullring, cinema, oil mill and school. After 1957, the convent was used
as a market until it was finally demolished in 1981 to make way for a block of flats. All
that remains is a side door of the church.

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 Entrance Way to the Monastery “Nuestra Señora de Gracia de la Orden de los Basilios

The Chapel “La Vera Cruz”

This chapel, built in the nineteenth century, after the expulsion of the
French invaders, was a part of the old girls’ school, to which it
belonged. Their education was begun in 1841, year in which there
were over one hundred students. The school functioned for over a
century, the chapel was used as an assembly room and more recently
the ruins have been restored to form a part of the present day neo –
classical chapel of the Hermandad de Veracruz.

Paseo Don Pedro Vargas

This promenade, named after the lawyer, landowner, member of

Parliament and town mayor, Pedro Vargas (1894) was built in
1910. It is the place where most of the local fiestas take place. It
actually existed before 1910 but not in its present form; instead it
was an open space with stone seating running down the middle
and adorned with flowers. It was Pedro Vargas who took out this
stone sitting and created the promenade we see today. Both the
fiesta of May and that of September are held here, this period of
the year being known by the locals as “la temporada del Paseo,”
– “the season of the Promenade”.

The Hermitage of Jesus.

This eighteenth century church, built in the Baroque style, replaced a smaller
less ornate chapel that had existed next to the road linking Córdoba and Seville. This
was probably originally named after St. Sebastian, and then periodically changed names
between Sebastian and Jesus. In 1658, it housed an image of the Virgin Mary “La
Virgen de la Salud” and so was briefly known by that name too. The legend has it that
the image of the Virgin Mary “de la Salud” was passing by Posadas on its way to
somewhere else when the animal carrying it fell ill and died. This was interpreted by the

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locals as being a sign that the Virgin wanted to stay in Posadas,
so against the will of those transporting the image, it was taken
and put in the Hermitage. From that day onwards, nobody in
Posadas died from the plague, then ravishing Andalucia, and so
the town took the “Virgen de la Salud” as its patron. The
hermitage was destroyed by the great earthquake of Lisbon in
1755 and it was after that the building we see today was
erected. In the ground underneath the church, the remains of
Roman water works and an Arab ceramics factory.

Questionnaire – Posadas.

1. By what name is the first known human settlement in Posadas known? When did this
exist?
2. Did the Romans live here? What was “Detumo”?
3. In Roman times, what commercial activity was there in this neighbourhood?
4. What does the word “Aljanadic” mean? What relation does it have to Posadas? From
which language or civilization does this word come?
5. What did King Alfonoso X do in relation to Posadas?
6. What was the “camino califal/real?” Why is Posadas called Posadas?
7. What do you know about the recent history of Posadas? How has the town changed
over the last 70 years? What does the name Mauthausen mean to you?
8. What are the people of Posadas called? Why?
9. What is the population of Posadas?
10. At what altitude is the town?
11. How far is the town from Madrid?
12. What is the most important agricultural activity in the town and its environs?
13. What wildlife and plants are dominant in the hills of Posadas?
14. How many churches are there in the town? What are their names? What do you
know about them? Which is the oldest?
15. What other places or emblematic places are there? What do you know about them?
16. Who is the Patron of Posadas? Since when? What is the story associated with this
choice of patron?
17. What are the fiestas of Posadas? What traditions exist?
18. What culinary dishes are typical of the town and area?
19. Are there any words or expressions that are typically used here that you don’t hear
in other parts of Andalucia? What are they?
20. What cultural/sport/leisure facilities are there in the town? What associations or
societies exist?
21. Are there any urban legends associated with the town? Are there any ghosts?
22. What do you think the future holds for Posadas? What changes would you like to
see?
23. What is the town’s coat of arms? What does it represent? Can you draw it?