A guest article by Sagrario Gallego. Sagrario is a
graphic designer who lives in Madrid. She has travelled
extensively, especially around the Mediterranean.
The Alcarria is a high, arid land of ilex and cereals,
with thickets of thyme, lavender and rosemary, taking up a
large part of the province of Guadalajara and the east of
the province of Madrid. In the forties, Camilo José
Cela (later given the Nobel Prize for Literature), astonished
by the poverty and backwardness of its towns and villages
so close to Madrid, reflected his interest in the area in
his Journey to the Alcarria, one of the few undeniable
classics of Spanish travel writing. These days, desertion
of the countryside continues, although rural tourism is helping
the recovery of the area.
However, in contrast to the high,
desolate areas, in the valleys there are attractive, interesting
places like Brihuega, a mediaeval town nicknamed the Garden
of the Alcarria.
What to see.Although
Brihuega is small (population, including a dozen surrounding
villages, 3100), its historic centre is classified as a Conjunto
Monumental HIstórico-Artístico, a collection
of buildings of historic and artistic interest. So the best
way to begin your visit is to go to the Oficina de Turismo,
tourist office, in calle Margarita Pedroso on the way in to
the town. Here, they will inform you helpfully about the possibilities
of the town and around about: historic buildings, nature,
activities...
Like the castle, the town wall is
a reminder of the Arab presence in the area. When you leave
the tourist office, follow it round, and when you get to the
end you will find a splendid view, with the bullring and the
Puerta de Cozagón in the foreground. This double gate
and the Puerta de la Cadena on the opposite side of the town
are remains of the Arab wall.
Go through the Puerta de Cozagón
to enter the old town centre.
Historic buildings. One of the most interesting buildings
is the Church of San Felipe (Romanic/early Gothic). Its style
is severe, but undeniably beautiful. The same can be said
about the Church of Santa María de la Peña (also
late Romanic/early Gothic). This contains an image of the
Virgen de la Peña, the patron saint of the town. The
Church of San Miguel and the Convent of San José are
also of interest. And you should not miss the Arab Peña
Bermeja castle (enlarged by the Christians), in which the
most notable features are its walled enclosure and the Cistercian
Gothic chapel (although the most surprising thing is to find
the town cemetery inside the castle).
"Cela was here". Another remarkable building
is the Real Fábrica de Paños (royal cloth mill)
and its garden. It is a curious, circular building, although
the interior cannot be visited as it is in semi-ruins. From
here, you have a marvellous view over Brihuega. Next to it
is a small garden in the romantic style (in some guidebooks,
the style is described as Versallesque, but to tell
the truth that is going too far). Camilo José Cela
wrote about it in his first Journey to the Alcarria:
"The garden of the mill is a romantic garden, a garden
for an adolescent to die in, of love, of desperation, of consumption
and yearning." The garden's height gives you an extensive
view over the Tajuña River.
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