Culla is a town you will fall in love with

Location

The village of Culla in the Alto Maestrazgo region of the province of Castellón invites us on a journey into the past. Its historical monuments and cobbled streets lead us little by little, through a route with very detailed information panels, through all the spaces and nooks and crannies that we can find in the village of Culla. All of this means that this small municipality belongs to the list of ‘The most beautiful villages in Spain’. For all these reasons it has been declared a Historic-Artistic Site.

Its history

To tell you very briefly about its origins, I would like to tell you that documentation has been found about the beginnings of Culla.

It dates back to the time of the Muslim kingdoms. In the 13th century it was conquered by Don Blasco de Alagón and in 1303 it became part of the Order of the Temple, who were mainly interested in this site due to its strategic location between Aragon and Valencia, being an essential point for the expansion of Christianity. Culla is currently part of the Templar Territory project in the province of Castellón, together with the municipalities of Alcalá de Xivert and Peñíscola. Peñíscola Templar Territory Alcalá de Xivert - Templar Territory

This was our visit to Culla

We did this excursion in August in our car, we had no problems getting there, the route is well signposted and the road access is good.

Being foresighted we got up a little early and so when we arrived in Culla it was about 10 am, the village was very quiet and this allowed us to take photos with more details. We started the visit in the Ronda de San Roc street, where we found the part of the wall with 3 big buttresses in a very good state of conservation and following the informative panels we made the tour of all the highlights of the village.

There are 18 points or information panels, among them we came across the Mirador de San Roc, the Plaza del Pardal, a former meeting point, where the ‘Socarrats’, one of the oldest in the Valencian Community, stand out in the upper part of the houses. We also passed by the old Hospital and school, in which one floor of the building has been preserved as a museum, where you can visit (within certain timetables) a recreation of what the classes were like in the old days.

We follow the direction of the route passing by the Church of El Salvador rebuilt on the ruins of a medieval temple that was built at the end of the 14th century. It is worth mentioning that in the bell tower there are 3 bells from different periods and one of them, ‘La Grossa’ in Gothic style, dates from 1404 and is one of the oldest bells in our community.

Culla Castle

The ascent to the ruins of the castle offers several viewpoints with wonderful views of the surroundings, and on clear days you can even see the Bartolo peak and the Penyagolosa peak.

The castle was built during the Arab occupation and was destroyed during the Carlist Wars. Starting the descent down the southern slope of the castle towards the Calvario area, the construction of the wall over the rocky mountain is surprising.

Following the route of information panels we arrive at the Porta Nova, which is the only entrance still standing, of all the entrance gates of the old fortress of Culla.

The ‘Perxet’ (porch) is a construction that has been preserved since ancient times and it is a portal with a pointed arch from the 14th century made in Gothic architecture. Next to the Perxet we find the old prison used during the Carlist Wars and the Civil War.

This brings us to the final point, the font portal, which can also be the start of the route.

It is very close to the visitor reception centre, where we were very kindly attended to and given maps and instructions on how to follow the route. There are also guided tours at set times.

Culla is a very clean and well preserved village, concerned about its heritage and perfectly adapted to people with functional diversity, it is a quiet village where you can enjoy a relaxed tourism, it has a good offer in rural establishments where you can enjoy rich gastronomy and rest.
Our visit was very brief, we spent a morning touring the old town, but it was clear to us that Culla is much more, so we have an unfinished business with this beautiful village in the Alto Maestrazgo.

Where you will find more information:

On the official Tourism website, Culla Tourist Information Point. http://cullamagicaymedieval.es/

What to visit near Culla:

La Carrasca de Culla.

Declared a monumental tree of the Valencian Community, it is located in a private enclosure on the road between Culla and Torre d'en Besora.

It can be seen perfectly from the car park set up for the Restaurant, and my advice is that you should visit it, as in the photos you cannot appreciate the size of this tree, which is more than 500 years old.

The Maestrazgo Mining Park.

Follow our entry related to this Mining Park and you will have all the information:

Parque Minero del Maestrat

The Astronomical Observatory (Astro-Maestrat)

http://astromaestrat.es/observatorio/?v=ca0a754733ae

Marked local trails of different routes.

http://cullamagicaymedieval.es/excursiones-y-senderismo/