Jerez de los Caballeros: Come and Discover
Located in one of the winding streets of the Templar city of Jerez de los Caballeros, we find a unique building which stands out from the outside by a huge window where you can see reflected the distant tower of one of the churches. This old house has been turned into an Interpretation Center and dedicated to some of the most illustrious and relevant figures of the city.
Accessing from the street, you find in the structure of the old house arches, vaults and the chimney, of such importance in the houses of Jerez. It makes everyone remember the past times when little infants who would end up being recognized around the world lived and walked through the streets of Jerez. As it is the case of the character who the second floor of the building is dedicated to, Vasco Nunez de Balboa. Such well-known is this figure of Jerez by his neighbors, that they decided to include here everything related to him with the undeniable help of Panama. In this way, they managed to include a replica of the baptismal font where he was baptized when he was only a child.
If we continue going up inside the building to the second floor, we will discover sites, stories and legends of this city of towers, along with some of its most illustrious figures of contemporary history. We can find texts that take you deeply into the history of Jerez, decorated with photographs of magnificent places to discover during your stay in the city. From this floor we have access to that huge glass window that we saw from the street. If we lean out of it, we are greeted by the splendorous tower of San Bartolomé with its weathervane shaking while we are observed from the well-known tower of barrio bajo (lower quarter) the beautiful Santa Catalina. However, despite what we may think, we are not finished yet.
A third floor awaits us, illuminated by an endless number of opportunities where we can discover the history of the most renowned inhabitants of Jerez, those to whom Jerez owes its name, the Knights of the Order of the Temple. In this part we will learn the history of the Templars, but above all the history of the Templars of Jerez. And at the end of this, the sun greets us from the vantage point of this Interpretation Center, and proudly shows us how the magnificence of the baroque tower of San Bartolomé is silhouetted by the blue sky. It is supported by the fifth tower of Jerez, popularly known as ‘Torre del Reloj’ (The Clock Tower) leaving aside the small church Santa María de la Encarnación and its charming beauty of the oldest church of this town.
After this visit we go down and continue our walk through the city, fascinated and astonished by all that still awaits us to know.