Altitude: 632 m
Population: 368
(2006.Source INE)
Natives: Zarzaleros.
Before the current name and since the Middle Ages, the town was called
Almendral and Almendral de Arriba at the end of the Nineteenth Century.
In 1916 it was renamed Almendral de la Cañada because it is crossed
by the Cañada Real in the south.
Due to its transitory location and the benign climate of the Shire,
different civilizations chose to set here, a fact which is evidenced
by the various remains that have been found. This is the case of megalithic
monuments of prehistoric times such as "Los Majanos” and
some rock tombs of the Middle Ages, known as “Las Artesas ",
among others.
This municipality is located in the foothills
of the Sierra de San Vicente in the north of the region at the foot of
the peak Las Cruces.
The best way to access it is the N-501 (Madrid-Plasencia) divert by the
CM-5053, cross La Iglesuela in Navamorcuende direction and take the CM-5051
to this town.
It is also accessible by bus.
CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF LA ANTIGUA:
(Monument included in the inventory of regional heritage of the Province
of Toledo). Nineteenth Century. It was built over an ancient shrine of
the Fifteenth Century. It is a mono-structural building with a semicircular
apse. Major Chapel separated of the main structure by a semicircular triumphal
arch.
CHURCH OF SAN SALVADOR: Monument included in the inventory
of regional heritage of the Province of Toledo). Thirteenth Century with
reform works until the Eighteenth Century. Old church now part of the
cemetery. It retains the first body of the tower, a small Gothic chapel
transformed into a pantheon.
SHRINE OF SAN SEBASTIAN: End of the Eighteenth Century.
It is built in blocks in the corners and jambs, with square shape and
with a four-slope roof. It is very well restored.
SHRINE OF THE CHRIST OF THE BLOOD: Eighteenth Century.
It is a small, square and restored chapel. The interior retains a small
altar and a niche that houses the image of Christ. In the recording of
the lintel of the door reads "Year of 17-3."
MOLINOS MAQUILEROS: Three
mills: one, a bucket mill on the Garganta Torinas, another is a ramp mill
on the Arroyo de la Fuente and the third a large bucket one on Arroyo
del Lugar dating from before the Seventeenth Century.
THE MILL TEJEA: (on the border with El Real de San Vicente)
it has its own dam.
FOUNTAIN-WATERING PLACE OF LA CAŅADA: (Monument included
in the inventory of regional heritage of the Province of Toledo): XVIII-XIX
Centuries (1857). It is a source trough which pylon is composed of large
blocks of a single piece stemming from the ground. Its conservation status
is very good. The cross which supports in the front is of a later period.
OTHER FOUNTAINS: There are other fountains of interest:
in "Prado Pozo" from medieval times; inside the town, near the
monument to the Blessed Ana, there is another fountain from the medieval
times brought from La Cañada; there are various other interesting
fountains along the spring like "Caño de la República",
the fountain of El Cañillo, the fountain of La Cañada. If
you inspect carefully some of these fountains, cross-shaped signs can
be located.
STONE ZOO: Located next to a farm in Arroyo Lugar, near
the limits with La Iglesuela, there is a remarkable outdoor museum of
popular sculpture. Mr. Ayuso Longino, a livestock farmer from La Iglesuela,
carved in the blocks of granite the images he saw inside his mind, resulting
in enormous sculptures of animal themes. It is situated on a farm, but
can be accessed without restrictions.
In the Bar Del Retirado, they have the world's largest zambomba as
it was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records in 1999.
Blessed Anne of San Bartolomé, secretary of Santa Teresa de Jesus
was born in 1549 in this town. Her house, tradition says, was near the
current church. She was renowned member and founder of Carmelite convents
in France and the Netherlands in the XVI Century.
The rural exodus of the last century marked this town. The population
of the municipality came to exceed the figure of 900 inhabitants in
the decades of the 40’s and 60’s of the last century, while
between 70’s and 80’s it suffered a drastic drop which placed
the population below 400 inhabitants, a figure that has not yet recovered.
May 15TH: San Isidro.
September 8TH: Our Lady of Antigua.
September 11TH: Blessed Ana.
December 17TH and 18TH: Representation of Living Bethlehem.
In virtually all the festivals celebrated in the region, visitors are
invited to eat and drink in order to enjoy even more the peculiarity
of these festivities.
Senda Viriato-GR 63:
Stages 15 and 16
Talavera roads and
trails, Sierra de San Vicente and La Jara : R-19 and 20
Phone Numbers
City Hall: 925 879 601
C. Doctor: 925 879 692
Pharmacy: 925 879 655
Internet: TUESDAY and THURSDAY 15 to 20 hrs
www.almendraldelacanada.es
Click picture to enlarge
