Area: 37 km2
Altitude: 563 m
Population: 1054
(2006.Source INE)
Natives: Bayoleros.
The name could originate in the Muslim period with
the merger of the words "Castil" (Castillo) and "Allah
Valley”
(Valley of Blessings).
The Bayuela Castle takes its name from the ancient Celtic-Roman-Christian
fortress, located on castle hill, where the population lived at the
beginning. After the times of danger, the inhabitants of this town descended
from the castle to a nearby village, known as Los Pajares, which would
be absorbed by the first. One of the crops was linen, Bayuela is diminutive
“bayal” that means working with linen. This would be another
possible origin of the name.
The first remains were found in this town in the Cerro Del Obispo they
have a Paleolithic origin given the existence of prehistoric tools.
Apart from these remains, we can see a Celtic castle, a Muslim stronghold
in Torre Castilla and three zoomorphic figures of its Celtic-Vetton
past.
In 1393, King Henry III "The Whiner” rose this town to the
category of village allowing with this act, the privilege to decide
on civil and criminal lawsuits in the town and its villages, taking
as a symbol the jurisdictional roll or pillory. On this date, the manor
of Castillo de Bayuela included the village, Los Pajares, La Hinojosa,
Nuño Gómez, Marrupe, Garciotún and El Real de San
Vicente.
It is situated in the southeastern part
of the Sierra de San Vicente, in the most mountainous place, surrounded
by hills.
It can be accessed by N-V and in the 96 km we take the CM-5002. It is
also accessible by bus.
CHURCH OF SAN ANDRES APOSTOL:
Building construction in the XVI Century. It has a Renaissance style and
made with stalls in doorways, corners, buttresses and bell tower. The
rest is masonry. After a fire in 1924, it had to be rebuilt. Its interior
it shows the "Sistine Chapel" of Ruiz de Luna. This is a beautiful
ceramic altar and pulpit of Talaverano origin.
CERRO CASTILLO: To the northwest of town, at the Cerro
Castillo, there are remains of several buildings. Consists of remains
of an ancient wall and in its center is the Strong Tower, which has undergone
several modifications. Castle seems located on the remains of a Roman
building, which was later reused during Andalusia domain, probably as
part of a line of castles and towers scatered along the mountains to prevent
the incursions of the Christian troops from the north. Subsequently, the
only thing we know for certain is that by the XVI Century the building
was already ruined, as reported in the "Relations of the Peoples
of Philip II of Spain." What remained until recent times was a Marian
shrine in the interior of one of the towers.
A small rise in the southwest shows the remains of a small wall, four
thousand years old, that belonged to a village of the Bronze Age.
Monuments included in the inventory of regional heritage of the Province
of Toledo
THE ROLL: (declared monument
of cultural interest under Law
16/1985 of June 25 Spanish Historical Heritage). It is a jurisdictional
pillory, a symbol of its privilege as a village. It combines Plateresque
and Gothic styles in its construction. It consists of a circular Tuscan
column based on five tiers or steps. The upper stage is composed of four
lion heads arranged in the four cardinal points. Carved into its stem,
we find two shields, one dedicated to the family of Mendoza.
BOARS: Three zoomorphic sculptures: the bull, the boar
and the she-pig, that Vetons left us more than 2000 years ago. Its function
is not well known, although there has been speculation about rites to
protect livestock paths, religious symbols of these pre-Roman peoples
or -what is most likely- its usefulness as funerary monuments. They were
found in the vicinity of Cerro Torre Castilla.
MAQUILEROS MILLS: Two very old bucket receiver mills.
One of them worked as fulling mill. In Arroyo Saucedoso, six mills are
kept in a place known as "Puente Romano”. The three lowest
have a similar type with a bucket that has a highly inclined base, acting
as hub-ramp. The second mill ensures its leakproofness by means of ceramic
cylinders about a meter in height, covering the inside wall of the receiver.
The dam of the sixth has its anchors in the same pillars of the "Puente
Romano”.
BRIDGE OF MILLS: (Monument included in the inventory
of regional heritage of the Province of Toledo.) It dates from the middle
Ages. It is a bridge between two boulders over the Cañadillas Creek
on the way to Garciotún. It has only one semicircular eye, with
a strong start. It is next to some mills with an interesting water conduction
system.
Melchor, who was born in this municipality, is the shepherd who has
made some of the archaeological findings of the town and its surroundings.
Some buildings known as the Basilica Del Prado de Talavera or Real Capilla
de San Pedro de Alcántara de Arenas de San Pedro had marble called
Bayuela in their interior.
The rural exodus of the last century marked this town. In the 50’s
it reached the figure of 1,800 inhabitants, while from the 70’s
it began to drop below the 1,300 to reach 1,000, a figure that remains
at present, with expectations of growth.
This municipality houses the Interpretation Center of Nature and Heritage
of the Sierra de San Vicente. Tel: 925862500.
February 3: San Blas.
7 - September 9: Virgen del Castillo.
November 29: Fires of the Luminaria.
November 30: San Andreas. Medieval Market.
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 10 and 11.
Talavera roads and
trails, Sierra de San Vicente and La Jara : R.15, R-16, R-20 y R-21.
Phone Numbers
City Hall: 925 862 500
C. Doctor: 925 862 191
Pharmacy: 925 862 045
C. Internet: 925 862 953
www.castillodebayuela.com
Click picture to enlarge
