Trujillo (Cáceres) (0)

Did you know that... Trujillo

It stands on a granite hill, between the Tagus valley and the Montánchez mountains. Trujillo owes its origin to the Romans who settled there and formed a small village which they called Turgalium. With the Muslim occupation it was called Turgiela and it is at this time that it acquired strategic and military importance. Its name was Truxillo when Fernando III reconquered it and it became a royalty town. Alfonso X of Castilla granted it a charter and the knights who participated in the Reconquest were granted important privileges, thus achieving that this nobility would govern the town and build their palaces there. In 1430 King Juan II of Castilla granted it the title of city.

A little more history

The reputation achieved by Trujillo is mainly due to the important work that his sons from Trujillo did in the conquest, exploration and colonization of America; important conquerors and explorers left Trujillo, such as Francisco Pizarro, Diego García de Paredes, Francisco de Orellana or Nuño de Chaves. More than 600 men participated in the conquest of America. In the 17th and 18th centuries Trujillo suffered a progressive decline and a long urban and economic crisis. During the War of Independence the city suffers the French invasion, destroyed and occupied several times by the Napoleonic troops. The reconstruction of the damages that the invaders caused in the city was extended until well into the 20th century. Already in this century Trujillo became a regional centre of services and tourism developed in the city thanks to its rich heritage.

What to see in Trujillo?

To walk the streets of Trujillo is to walk through centuries of history told by the innumerable buildings and constructions that form the great historical, artistic and cultural heritage of the town. It is like a continuous slide show in which the visitor will discover the two well differentiated but continuous areas that make up the city, the medieval town or area with its palaces, mansions and churches and the imposing Renaissance city that Trujillo became in the 15th and 16th centuries when explorers and conquerors from the new world came out of it, thus affecting the greatness of Trujillo and the Spanish crown. Walled town and modern city, ancient outskirts, are protected by the beautiful silhouette of the castle. Attached to the walls and after the reconquest in the year 1232 a series of fortified houses were built like the Altamirano's, known as the "Alcazarejo"; the palace of Luis de Chaves el Viejo from the 14th and 15th century, one of whose towers watches over the Santiago's door, where the Catholic Kings stayed for quite some time. Next to the palace and the door that defended it is the church of Santiago, built in the second century and much reformed in the seventeenth. In its interior it keeps the famous 14th century carving of the Cristo de las Aguas; the Escobar fortress, from the end of the 15th century; the Bejarano fortress, a fortress that guarded the so-called Arch of Triumph; the palace of the Lords of Orellana that was built in the 15th century; the house of Francisco Pizarro de Vargas; the manor house of the Rol Zárate and Zúñiga of the 15th century, known as " House of the Doves " because of those that appear in the family coat of arms, the Alvarado's, the Calderón's,...

Follow the visit

In the middle of this environment is located the most important temple of Trujillo, the church of Santa Maria la Mayor, in it are the burials of the most illustrious families of the city, attracts attention a beautiful choir, its ribbed vaults but especially the spectacular altarpiece of the high altar, the temple was built on the foundations of a primitive mosque in the thirteenth century and although it has been reformed in the fifteenth its beautiful Romanesque tower is part of the urban landscape of Trujillo. Near the church of San Andrés is one of the most unknown monuments of Trujillo, the Pool, is a water cistern that may have been originally a Roman public bath of the time of Emperor Augustus and in the Islamic era was a watering hole. What is clear is that its 15th century stairs made access easier for cleaning, and that in the surrounding area there are remains of the canalisation that carried its water to the fields. In the Main Square, of rectangular shape, Renaissance style, and surrounded by arcades in large part, and that in its origins were the outskirts where they settled craftsmen and merchants to become the sixteenth century in the heart of the town when their illustrious families built their palaces there, you can see the palace of the Marquises of the Conquest, a luxurious residence built by the Pizarros that looks out over the plateresque balcony that corners the coat of arms that Carlos V granted to Francisco Pizarro whose equestrian monument proudly stands in this square.

To discover

The palace of the Marquises of Santa Marta, built at the end of the 16th century and renovated in the 18th century; the so-called House of the Chain, the former palace of the Chaves Orellana, is so called because of the chain above the door as a symbol of the stay of Felipe II in 1583 of passage to Portugal; the house of the Orellana, work of ashlar of century XVI; the palace of the Dukes of San Carlos, located in one of the corners of the seat a building of great proportions that was constructed between centuries XVI and XVII; the church of San Martin, doing angle also in the square, is of century XVI and its facade shines two towers a bell tower and the other for the clock decorated with talaveranos tiles, the old city council, the house of the Real Weight, the palace of Albas Stones... Trujillo shows so much that it is essential to walk around it slowly enjoying every corner trying to discover what each building treasures. Palaces, temples, convents and museums that come together in a beautiful city that completes its attraction with a rich and varied cuisine as well as celebrating many fairs and events such as the National Cheese Fair.

Festivities

Trujillo celebrates its patron saint, the Christ of Health, in May and on August 15th the traditional feast of the Asunción de María is celebrated. The patron saint, the Virgen de la Victoria, is honoured by the people of Trujillo at the end of August.

Traditions

In Trujillo it is celebrated once a month, in the Main Square, on the "regional Thursday" with the intention of continuing with the traditional "Thursday market" that was granted to the town by King Enrique IV in 1471.

Curiosities

The current and renowned festival of "Chiviri" celebrated in Trujillo on Easter Sunday has bucolic and pastoral origins and is related to a lamb market that took place in the Main Square. The festivity was originally known as the "Festival of Shepherds and Lambs". The Chiviri is the name and the most famous of the popular songs that are sung during the celebration in which the women dress up in the "shepherdess outfit", the men wear a red scarf around their necks, and the children are dressed as shepherds in leather and lamb outfits and hold a little lamb with a red ribbon in their hands. The feast culminates with a picnic.​

The Legend

The oral history tells that the Virgin of Victory appeared over the city of Trujillo to help the Christians against the Arab troops and thanks to that the Christians got the victory. The Virgin was honoured as the protector of the city and was named the patron saint of Trujillo.

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