Jerez de los Caballeros, Come and Discover
Jerez de los Caballeros, a Historic-Artistic and Monumental Site, also has as an important jewel of its cultural and natural heritage, the value of its three districts: Valuengo, La Bazana and Brovales, located on the banks of reservoirs and rivers.
Founded in the mid-twentieth century as colonization villages within the Badajoz Plan, they share a similar architecture and meaning. The white houses and buildings monopolize the view of each of these settlements that, organized around squares and churches, are integrated into the surrounding nature. Thus, they form a bucolic picture of calmness and silence where life seems to go by more slowly, making your visit more pleasant.
● Valuengo
At the beginning, it was a village of colonization. Its first inhabitants were settlers who were given a parcel of land and a house. For this reason, the Valuengo reservoir was created to supply water to those lands.
The original project was conceived by the architect Alejandro de la Sota Martínez. An initial settlement of 80 houses was created, divided into three large residential nuclei, oriented around squares and official buildings. One of its most notorious constructions is the Church of San Juan Bautista, patron saint of this district, whose festivity is celebrated The 24th of June with an extensive festive program for the enjoyment of neighbors and visitors.
Built on the banks of the most important river in the region, the Ardila river, Valuengo has an enviable natural wealth, being located in an suitable natural setting for birds sighting of too many species, as proved by the many centres built for ornithological study.
Halfway between Valuengo and Brovales, is the Dolmen of Toriñuelo, a funerary monument from the Copper Age period which was declared a National Monument in 1926 and a Site of Cultural Interest (BIC) in 2018, a must-see stop for everyone visiting the district.
● The Bazana
Alejandro de la Sota Martínez also designed the plan of this district for which he established the construction of 50 houses arranged towards the inside, creating the illusion of a village closed inwards. Subsequent extensions, such as the construction of a church and buildings for social use, deformed this initial plan and turned it into a more diaphanous and open village.
Located on the banks of the Ardila River, on the farm La Bazana , which gives it its name to the district, it is another enviable natural enclave territory, with a multitude of paths and hiking routes that take those who walk them into the depths of the meadow.
From this town you can visit the ‘Old Bridge’ of Roman origin, renovated in the Middle Ages, with a length of 150 meters and nine arches and abutments on both sides. Next to it there are two anthropomorphic tombs of medieval origin that embellish the heritage of the place. It is worth mentioning the popularity of its patron saint festivities in May, in honor of San Isidro Labrador and its live performance of the Nativity Scene, which takes place around Christmas and in which almost all of its neighbors participate (about 300 characters). It is one of the main references of the attractive Route of Nativity Scenes of Jerez de los Caballeros.
● Brovales
The plan of this village was designed with 87 houses, being carried out by the architect Perfecto Gómez Álvarez. The houses are arranged both to the left and to the right of the EX112 road, as ‘the backbone’ of the village plan itself.
The center part of the town is the square and the Church of Nuestra Señora del Valle, the village patron saint, whose festivity is celebrated on September 8, also with a nice festive program.
The Brovales reservoir turns this district into an important recreational area around the aquatic resource. Going for a walk around it and contemplating the starry sky on summer nights is a real pleasure.
The beautiful rural scenery is further embellished by the bridge of ‘El Pontón’ of Roman origin, which is located a short distance away, along with the aforementioned ‘Dolmen of Toriñuelo ‘ which is also very close by.