Villarejo de Salvanés

El Castillo, cuyo primer recinto se construyó a finales del siglo XIII, y al que posteriormente se le fueron añadiendo edificios, tenía un marcado carácter defensivo y entre sus principales elementos se encontraban la fortaleza, el palacio, el foso y la torre. De la fortaleza original, hoy solo queda una pequeña parte: la torre del homenaje y los cimientos recuperados gracias a excavaciones arqueológicas. Desde la torre se divisa todo el territorio circundante, al atardecer la puesta del sol sobre los páramos de las alcarrias madrileñas es todo un espectáculo.

En el interior de La Torre encontramos el Museo de los Tercios Españoles, la historia del municipio y de su Castillo enmarcada dentro de la historia de España. Entendemos la misión y protagonismo de las órdenes militares, y en concreto la presencia de La Orden Militar de Santiago, a la que se le fueron atribuidas estas tierras.

The agricultural past of Villarejo de Salvanés, the result of its location between the fertile plains of the Tagus and Tajuña rivers, is displayed in the ethnographic museum of the Casa de la Tercia, a 15th century building built by the Military Order of Santiago. The Casa de la Tercia was built during the period in which Juan de Zúñiga y Avellaneda was Major Commander (1534-1545). Visitors are welcomed by the Hapsburg royal coat of arms and, further down, the two coats of arms of the Zúñiga-Avellaneda family. The Casa de la Tercia is a wonderful example of austere, sombre and large-sized Castilian civil architecture where functionality is more important than the decor.
Once a winery, now an ethnography museum. The collection comprising it is directly associated with the objects with which the residents of Villarejo de Salvanés have been doing their farming work from the 15th century to our times.

The San Andrés Apóstol church was built in the XIVth century, using a previous construction. It has undergone several transformations and reforms, but its outer part has preserved the appearance of a church-fortress, typical of military orders. Interesting coats of arms have survived in time on its façade, such as that of the Military Order of Santiago or that of the Council of Orders.

Visiting Villarejo de Salvanés is a real encounter with History. The temple of the patron saint of Villarejo de Salvanés is related to one of the most outstanding episodes in the history of Europe: The Battle of Lepanto, fought to prevent the advance of the Ottoman Empire through the Mediterranean in the year 1571.
Luis de Requesens, Major Commander of Castile, and lieutenant of John of Austria in Lepanto, promised that if the Christian forces were to achieve victory, he would build a temple in gratitude to the Virgin. And he made good on his promise.

The old hospital is a typical 18th century functional structure. The elegant building revolves around a central courtyard much like a vaulted cloister with runners at two heights. The entrance is through a small limestone door over which there is a balcony framed within a lovely facade. Although a “hospital for the poor” is known to have existed in the 16th century, this building was erected in the second half of the 18th century.

The Pozo Marcos fountain and washing place is situated outside the urban centre at the foot of the San Isidro chapel. It was used as a watering hole for livestock and as a washing place as well as water supply point for the locals. Built in the 18th century, it has two pipes that drain into a large “L” -shaped basin that flows into a large laundry room. The entire site was built with limestone blocks between the 19th and 20th centuries. The El Cañuelo fountain and washing place is also situated outside the urban area. It was built in 1776 and consists of a fountain made of limestone blocks with a semi-circular overflow excavated in the stone that leads the water through a channel to a rectangular drinking trough, also made of limestone. The washing place is partially built into the ground with stone walls and a mortar pit on the inside.

The inside of the Keep Tower offers an explanation of the history of Villarejo de Salvanés, always set in the history of Spain and particularly focused on the era of the Christian reconquest: where and when Christian monarchs’ reconquest began against Arab Spain and what the role of the military orders was throughout. Visitors will also learn about key figures in each period and how the lordship system fell in Spain. These are the main glimpses into history offered by Torre de Villarejo de Salvanés. After learning about its incredible history, you can walk up the tower and reach the highest altitude at the castle, 22 metres. From there, you can get a bird’s eye view of Villarejo de Salvanés and feel the peace offered by the altitude. A village with rooftops, low house, narrow streets and fields, many many fields; that’s the view from the tower and it’s the best way to understand its reason for being.

This is the first Museum of Professional and Technological Cinema in Spain, located in the old Paris Cinema in Villarejo de Salvanés. It houses a large amount of cinematographic material spread over several rooms, as well as having interesting exhibitions of the seventh art on the agenda.

There you will find one of the most entertaining, fun and educational museums in the Community of Madrid. This is the first museum of professional and technological cinema in Spain in the old Paris cinema in the town.

In this Alcoran location, the history of cinema is shown through the devices and apparatus that made it possible and that came to be marketed as “RECREATIONAL PHYSICS” devices. Each one of them meant a step closer to achieving that moving image, known first as “ANIMATED PHOTOGRAPHY” and later simply as “CINEMA”.

The greatest of the four sub-areas of the Designation of Origin “Vinos de Madrid” lies at the south-east of the Region of Madrid. We suggest to you to travel around two of the municipalities that are part of the Arganda sub-area. We will start our journey at Colmenar de Oreja and end at Villarejo de Salvanés. Both municipalities offer top quality food and wine tourism for visitors... Both enclaves offer much more. Continue reading...

Villarejo de Salvanés ofrece un calendario festivo variado a lo largo del año. Destacan las fiestas patronales de San Andrés Apóstol, con gran ambiente popular y numerosas actividades.

Entre sus citas más singulares se encuentra, a principios de octurbre, la Recreción de la Batalla de Lepanto, una recreación histórica que pone en valor su pasado vinculado a la Orden de Santiago, y la Pasión de Villarejo, una emotiva representación en Semana Santa.

Además, Agromadrid reúne cada año a productores y visitantes en torno a la gastronomía y las tradiciones rurales, siendo uno de los eventos más importantes del municipio.

Mantente informado de los eventos más importantes de la Villa en la Agenda Visitmadrid.