Caravaca de la Cruz

Spain

Caravaca de la Cruz is a town in the Murcia region of Spain. It is the fifth holiest place in Catholic Christianity in the World, celebrating the Jubilee year each 7 years, the next being in 2017. Sanctuary of the Santísima y Vera Cruz

  • Sanctuary of the Santísima y Vera Cruz Originally a Moorish castle, the building was occupied and extended by various Christian forces after the reconquista, in particular by the Knights Templar. The current baroque façade dates back a couple of hundred years. The castle is gorgeous, towers over the town, and is relatively undiscovered!

Sanctuary of the Santísima y Vera Cruz Originally a Moorish castle, the building was occupied and extended by various Christian forces after the reconquista, in particular by the Knights Templar. The current baroque façade dates back a couple of hundred years. The castle is gorgeous, towers over the town, and is relatively undiscovered!

  • Festivals of Santísima y Vera Cruz Moorish and Christian forces stage mock battles as the cross is carried through the town in early May. A highlight of the festival is the parade of wine horses, horses adorned in embroidered harnesses (the sanctuary has many examples of these harnesses from centuries past). Cross at the Sanctuary of the Santísima y Vera Cruz

Festivals of Santísima y Vera Cruz Moorish and Christian forces stage mock battles as the cross is carried through the town in early May. A highlight of the festival is the parade of wine horses, horses adorned in embroidered harnesses (the sanctuary has many examples of these harnesses from centuries past).