Consuegra

Consuegra is a town in central Spain, located in western La Mancha, mostly known for its windmills and castle, located on top of the Cerro Calderico (or 'Little Cauldron hill'), and slightly north of the Calderina mountains. The castle, also known as Castillo de La Muela (or Backtooth Castle, named because of the shape similarity), was a centre of power for the Malta Order (also known as Knights Hospitallier or, locally as San Juan (Saint John)) in La Mancha. Even if it was expropiated in 1855, Maltese Knights still mantain cordial relations with the town.

Consuegra is also the Spanish word for the family relationship between two mothers-in-law, but the name Consuegra evolved from Consabura and Consaburum, related to the Sabo River (now named Amarguillo or "Little Sour"). Even if now it is a seasonal river, flowing only when precipitations permit, the Amarguillo has traditionally been considered the lifeline of Consuegra, and created the most impressive flood in the province of Toledo on 11 September 1891.

Understand

The town, or its surrounding area, has been inhabited since at least the 6th century BC, when Carpetanian tribes settled on the Calderico hill. In Roman times, a city was founded downhill, and worked as a trading post on the Laminium Way, a road connecting Toletum and Laminium. Bridges, roads, a dam (still in place), an aqueduct and a circus were built by the Romans.

After Arab domination, Consuegra became a part of Castille in 1083, and saw a big battle in 1097 that brought it shortly back to Arab rule (until 1099). The village and county were donated in 1183 to the Knights Hospitallier, who helped consolidate Christian rule in the area after the battles of Alarcos in 1195 and Navas de Tolosa in 1212.

Juan José of Austria, son of Philip IV and brother of Charles II, lived at the castle and renovated it. Castle also worked during those years as a 'royal jail'. During the Peninsular Wars (known locally as the Independence War), a battle had place in the town, where French troops looted and destroyed the town. Succesive Spanish governments during the war and after it had tried to expropiate all properties of Knights Hospitallier and other military orders in Spain, and they managed to do so definitely in 1855, forcing the Maltese Order to leave Consuegra (even if they still have a friendly relationship with the town to date). On 27th March 1927, Consuegra was declared officially a city, after losing this title in the 1097 battle.

It is located 704 m over sea level, with an extension of 358 km². It has a population of almost 10,000, having surpassed 11,000 in 2011, but falling since then due to migration to larger cities.

Get in

By bus

If coming by public transport, bus is actually the most practical, if not the only, way to reach the town. Depending on your point of origin, you would need to take different companies:

If complementing a Toledo trip with a Consuegra tour, Samar (+34 902 257 025; www.samar.es) is the bus company to go. Apart from Toledo, it also offer routes to other villages around such as Mora, Orgaz, Los Yébenes and Urda. A daily weekday service continues to Villafranca.

Interbus (+34 91 652 0011; www.interbus.es) connects Consuegra with Madrid (Méndez Álvaro/Madrid Sur station), as part of the Madrid-Malagón line, with a daily weekday bus. It also provides a daily weekday bus to Alcázar de San Juan.

For reaching Consuegra from Jaén, Ciudad Real, Puertollano or other locations in the south, a connection in Madridejos could be required. Samar operates lines from Madrid (Méndez Álvaro, but sometimes continues to the airport) to Jaén, Linares, Valdepeñas, Villanueva de la Fuente, apart from connections to Consuegra (those are not syncronized, making connections sometimes difficult). Aisa operates lines from Madrid to Ciudad Real, Puertollano and Aldea del Rey. Interbus operates lines from Madrid to Argamasilla de Alba and Malagón, some of which also traverse Consuegra.

The bus station is next to the Amarguillo river (Av. Castilla-La Mancha), near the park where the town festival celebrated every year from 20 to 25 September, and not far from the town center. It also houses a tourism office (+34 925 593 118).

By car

Consuegra is well connected by road in every direction (except for the immediate south, where a road to Villarrubia planned since about 1864 has not been completed yet). The town is directly served by CM-42 (Autovía de los Viñedos or Wineyards Motorway) that connects Toledo with Albacete and Valencia. A-4 (European E-5) motorway connecting Madrid and Southern Spain passes through nearby Madridejos. There has been talks since the late 00s or early 10s of a new motorway to Ciudad Real (A-41) following existing roads CM-4116, CM-4167 and N-401.

Local roads also connect Consuegra with Turleque, Villacañas and Los Yébenes.

By train

Consuegra is not served by any train line, but the closest stations are Tembleque, Villacañas and Quero. Other more active stations within driving range would be Alcázar de San Juan, with trains to Madrid and Eastern and Southern Spain, and Toledo, with a high-speed shuttle train (Avant) to Madrid. Avant trains from Toledo operate to the Puerta de Atocha station (ground floor) in Madrid, while trains to/from Alcázar (and the other three stations mentioned) usually stop both at Atocha-Cercanías and Chamartín stations.

Since railway arrived to Spain, there have been plans to connect Consuegra to the rail network in the country. A Mora-Alcázar railway have been in plans since 1891, and the current reincarnation of this plan is as part of the Madrid-Jaén high-speed railway, that would see a joint station for Consuegra and Madridejos halfway between both towns. The railway has already some stretches in operation, as upgrades of the existing Alcázar-Jaén railway, but the Mora-Alcázar stretch, the only brand-new part of the new HSR, has had no signs of construction yet (since 2010), and seems to be cancelled as Renfe is now offering an alternative connecting service to travel to Jaén.

By plane

Consuegra is located halfway between Madrid-Barajas (MAD, LEMD) and Ciudad Real-CRIA (CQM, LERL) airports, and it is also within driving distance from Albacete-Los Llanos (ABC, LEAB). While the two latter airports do not (as of April 2023) have any scheduled passenger operations, they are reachable by airtaxi and private aviation, and might be served by regular flights anytime soon. Until that happens, Madrid would be the most practical option, with flights from anywhere in the world.

If coming from Madrid, the most direct connection from the airport to Méndez Álvaro/Madrid Sur bus station and Atocha train station is Cercanías line C-1/C-10. It starts at Barajas Terminal 4, and now accepts credit and debit card tap-in and tap-out. For arrivals to any other airport terminal in Madrid, the free terminal shuttle bus can be used. Alternatively, the Express Aeropuerto bus can also be used between T1, T2 and T4 at the airport, and Atocha station, but not to Méndez Álvaro.

For smaller planes, La Mancha Aerodrome (LEMX) could also be an option. It can be contacted on +34 626 733 227 and lamanchafly@gmail.com, its website is www.lamanchafly.com and lemx.fliegen-in-spanien.de, and while we can also find landing strips at La Calderina (operated by Geacam; www.geacam.es) and Urda, those might not be as well serviced as the previously mentioned airports and airstrip.

By organized tour

Some agencies offer day tours of Consuegra, such as Winebus.es

Get around

The size of Consuegra makes it walkable in most of its extension. However, for accesing the Calderico Hill, windmills and castle, there are two options: steep steps on the Avanzadilla street, or a slightly less steep road on the Fuentecilla street. This latter street is also drivable, but any accesing vehicles must pay a €10 toll to access since 2022, a fee that can be redeemed for local goods in any participating local shop. The discount also works the other way around, and anyone buying more than €10 worth of local goods can use the Calderico hill road for free.

By taxi

If a taxi is needed to move around town or to any nearby places, local drivers are: Ángel (+34 925 475 537), Jesús (+34 647 612 628, also contactable on WhatsApp) and Paulino (+34 925 475 281). Also useful is the Taxi24 company in neighbouring Urda (+34 661 810 878, also contactable on Whatsapp).

See

Castle

The "La Muela Castle" was first built by Almanzor during the Cordoba Caliphate era, on the 10th Century, even if some sources point to emperor Traian as the creator of the fortress, or an earlier version of it. It might look similar to other European medieval fortresses and, even if to a lesser scale, to the Crac des Chevaliers in present-day Syria. It was kept in quite a good condition until French troops occupied it between 1809 and 1813, and destroyed it when leaving. The 1836 and 1855 expropiations did not help either, with the Castle going into private hands for some years, before being sold in 1962 to the Consuegra town council, who is slowly restoring it since 1985 with their limited resources.

Between the castle and the first windmills we can also see a piece of the old Consuegra wall.

Tickets to see the castle can be booked on Spain Heritage Network (www.spainheritagenetwork.com) or through the local Tourism Office (+34 925 593 118 for the bus station branch and +34 925 475 731 for the Bolero windmill branch), and the entrance ticket also includes a visit to the Town Museum on the main square and a visit to the upper levels of the Bolero windmill, housing the machinery powering it. Other providers offering guided visits to the castle are Vitela Teatro (dramatized visits; +34 621 201 718) and Visitas Familiares (for families with children; +34 925 095 144).

Windmills

Windmills are a common sight in the La Mancha area, especially in areas too dry for the installation of watermills, and immortalized by Don Quixote, the masterpiece of Miguel de Cervantes. Similarly to the castle, with which they share a beautiful skyline, they have creative names, mainly from Don Quixote but not restricted to it, such as Chispas (Sparks), Alcancía (Moneybox), Rucio (with a wine exhibition, souvenirs, and visitable working machinery; +34 925 095 144), Espartero (probably named for one of the greatest Manchego statesman, it houses an exhibition of Toledo handcraft), Clavileño (decorated with pictures and props from Andorra), Bolero (with visitable machinery and also housing a Tourism Office), Mambrino (drinks shop), Sancho (one of the original windmills, with working original machinery), Vista Alegre, Cardeño, Caballero del Verde Gabán (exhibiting several Quixote editions, and housing a gastrobar) and Mochilas (Backpacks). Most of them are quite new (19th century, but some of them are from the 16th century. From a total of 13 mills, 12 survive to this day.

Churches

Some churches in town are San Juan Bautista, St. Raphael, Cristo de la Vera Cruz and Santa María la Mayor. We could also include Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Joseph convents in this category.

Town Square and Hall

The town square has been in operation since Roman times, when it was known as the Forum. It houses many towns celebrations, and was built in its current form in 1670, in Renaissance style. Several buildings in this square are the Pósito (former public granary), the clock tower, joined by an arch to the Town Hall. To the east we can find the Díaz Cordovés Foundation building, and to the north, the "Corredores" building, from the 17th century, with a typical Manchego balcony. It houses the Municipal Museum (entrance included in the Castle and Bolero Windmill ticket) and several agencies such as the Town Development Agency or the Local Police.

Roman Dam

It is a few kilometers west out of the town. It is one of the largest Roman Dams that is still extant, and has a lenght of 630 metres.

El Alfar and Casa de la Tercia are also historical buildings. The former houses two old furnaces, one from the Roman era and one from Arab times, apart from ruins of the Roman Circus. The latter is the former palace of the Knights Hospitallier in town, of which only a tower survives. It houses a restaurant, with several Roman ruins used as decoration.

Do

An interesting activity, apart from the windmills and castle, would be hiking in the mountains. Some spots to visit are the Roman Reservoirs (not to be confused with the Roman Dam), St. Christopher church in Oregano Valley, Castrola Cave (Castrola was a Bandolero or bandit), Umbrión source, Presa de las Sierras dam, Arroyo de Valdemuela stream, Arroyo de Jaluga stream, Los Santos mountain pass, and Matas de la Iglesia private mansion.

You can always play a part in any of the town festivals:

5 January: Wise Men parade and Christmas presents giving.
17 January: St. Anton, patron saint of animals. Animals are blessed on this day.
Holy Week and Easter.
15 August: Medieval Day
8 September: Our Lady of La Blanca day.
20-25 September: Town festival.
Last weekend in October: Saffron festival, celebrated since 1963 to celebrate the harvest of this flower in Consuegra.
Last weekend in November: A new Spring Onion festival.

Other cultural activities can be checked in consuegra.es (tourism website) and aytoconsuegra.es (town council website).

Buy

Some traditional products are:

Marzipan: it is one of the main industries in the Toledo area, and Peces is probably the most important marzipan manufacturer in town. Their shop is located in C/ San Juan Bautista de La Salle 4 (925 480 059; www.mazapanespeces.com) and their factory is located in Av. Constitución, 16 (+34 925 481 049), but the latter is only open from mid-October to New Year's Eve, as Christmas is the period of most strong demand for marzipan products.

Saffron is one of the most valuable products produced in northern La Mancha (Toledo and Cuenca regions), and as such it is a matter of pride to Consuegra, where even a festival is held in its honour. There are some shops where you can buy some of this valuable spice, such as Alacena del Azafrán (C/ Urda, 24; +34 613 914 002, +34 655 965 372, +34 655 965 330).
Wine: La Mancha is the largest producer of wine in the world. Even if the focus is usually on value rather than quality, you might find some amazing wines in the region. In Consuegra, there are two main wineries: San Isidro Labrador (C/ Industrias, 44; +34 925 481 048), and Bodegas Castillo de Consuegra (CM-42, exit 53; +34 925 481 036, +34 671 558 702).
Manchego Cheese: Quesos César (CM-4133 road; +34 925 480 387, +34 679 081 113) is one of the main manufacturers in town, and it also offers guided cheese tastings.

If you are after some souvenirs, there are several shops located on the windmills, but you can also check out a shop in the main square called Consocra Forum.

You can also find pottery in Alfar de Rosa (C/ Diego Rodríguez Díaz de Vivar with C/Fuentecilla; +34 661 770 883).

Eat

Most traditional dish in La Mancha is migas (fried bread), and it is a must if visiting Consuegra. Other typical food would be venado/venao/ciervo (deer), carcamusas (pork in tomato sauce), pisto (ratatouille) and torreznos (pork cracklings). Huevos rotos (crisps, egg and ham) and duelos y quebrantos (eggs, chorizo and bacon -or more traditionally, eggs and lamb brain-, a dish mentioned in the first page of Don Quixote) are also renowned.

Some places to eat in Consuegra are:

Tapería Gaudy is a trendy tapas bar (C/ Plus Ultra 7b; +34 722 402 600)
Gastrobar El Pesca / Abrasador Canela y Limón (C/ Hospital 1 with Pl. España 14; +34 651 828 942, 667 219 541)
Mesón El Imparcial (C/ Vigo, 15; +34 925 481 827)
Triky Tapas (C/ Independencia, 19; +34 673 871 394)
Villa Cervantina (C/ Camuñas, 4; +34 638 302 152)
San Poul (Av. Alcázar de San Juan, 50; +34 925 481 315)
Salones Venecia (C/ Plus Ultra, 3; +34 925 480 867, +34 626 495 600), especially recommended for weddings and other celebrations.
La Centinela (Pl. Cónsules, 1; +34 925 095 115, +34 925 475 948, +34 690 665 302)
Jardines de Consuegra (CM-400, km. 58.5; +34 627 957 741, +34 925 713 953, +34 925 482 000)
Torre de Doña Jimena (C/ Fuentecilla, 17; +34 629 189 981, +34 609 348 235)
El Retorno (C/ Reina Mª Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena, 2; +34 601 308 878)
El Alfar (C/ Rosa del Azafrán, 8; +34 925 481 807, +34 615 594 294)
Gastromolino (Caballero del Verde Gabán windmill; +34 925 095 233)
Castilla (C/ Sertorio, 18; +34 925 481 479)
La Bodeguita (Vicente Figueroa, 7; +34 925 475 824)
Casa la Tercia (Plus Ultra, 7; +34 925 052 950, +34 639 901 908)
Taberna del Tío Caraco (C/ Tres, 2e; +34 686 982 227)
Bocatería-Burger Hnos. Ortiz (Pl. San Juan, 39)
El Calderico (C/ Don Gumersindo Díaz Cordovés, 9; +34 676 535 115)
Asador de Pollos Conchi (C/ Sertorio, 45)
La Galera (C/ Sertorio, 52; +34 624 632 265)
La Parrilla (C/ Cruz Verde, 1; might be closed as of April 2023)
El Consaburense (Av. Alcázar de San Juan, 58)
Pizzería El Cardenal (C/ Ciprés, 6; +34 925 475 562)

Drink

Most of the places mentioned before are also good for having a drink. However, if you would like some tapas bars, you can visit the following:

Bar Quijotesco (C/ Fuentecilla)
Bar al Paseo (C/ Ricas, 18)
Los Bartolos (Paseo Ramón y Cajal)
Terraza el Paseo (Pl. Vicente Figueroa, 7)
Las Vegas (Av. Castilla-La Mancha, 8)
El Patio (Pl. España, 3)
Lounge Luis Cantador Jiménez (Pl. España, 5)
Cafetería la Antigua (Pl. España, 5)
Café Bar Los Corredores (Pl. España, 7)
Pub Adolf (C/ Sertorio, 16)
El Trébol (Padre Gabriel, 8)
El Barrio (Padre Gabriel, 32)
Saloon (C/ Fray Bartolomé, 5)
Jardín de la Alegría (C/ Independencia, 1)
Bar Puentecillo (C/ Don Antonio del Águila, 8)

Sleep

Hotel Rural La vida de antes (C/ Colón, 2; +34 925 480 609, +34 626 652 889)
- Apartamentos turísticos La vida de antes (C/ Urda, 7; +34 925 482 133), working as a flats annex to the previous hotel.
San Poul is not only a restaurant, but also offers stays (Av. Alcázar de San Juan, 50; +34 925 481 315)
Apartamentos turísticos Oncemolinos (C/ Urda, 51; +34 680 634 053, +34 662 120 858)
Posada de los Cónsules (together with La Centinela restaurant, Pl. Cónsules, 1; +34 925 095 115, +34 925 475 948, +34 690 665 302)
El Retiro de La Mancha (C/ Baylios, 8; +34 686 977 896, +34 686 977 894)
Alcancía (C/ Cruz Verde, 37; +34 616 134 780, +34 606 280 310)
Hotel Consuegra (CM-4133, km. 58.5; +34 621 218 030)
Casa Rural Azafrán (C/ Cristo, 22; +34 609 283 233)
El Patio de los Jazmines (C/ Hermanos Quintero, 17; +34 690 019 281)
Casa la Fuentecilla (C/ Fuentecilla, 12b; +34 680 634 053)
Torreón de La Tercia (C/ Tercia, 2; +34 686 977 894)
La Habanerita (CM-42 motorway, km. 53; +34 619 826 539)
Casa Rural Los Porches would be a good option if you would like to stay in the Calderinas (+34 659 395 170).

Stay safe

Spain is generally a safe country, and rural areas are usually even safer than cities. However, still apply common sense and stay away of any situation that can turn up ugly. If feeling unsafe, emergency number is 112, domestic abuse hotline is 016, local police is in Plaza de España (+34 925 481 005 and +34 629 232 311) and Guardia Civil is in C/ Sertorio, 8 (+34 925 480 778).

Also apply appropriate precaution if hiking in the Calderinas. Wildlife is usually not threatening, but there have been instances of hiking and traffic accidents. Also keep in mind some areas in the mountains might be private land, so venturing outside marked paths is not always recommended. The reopening to the general public of those paths took a long time in courts, to ensure they remained open even when they cross those lands. Also keep in mind that mountains are, especially during winter, hunting grounds, and some hunting accidents have occurred in the past.

Stay healthy

Spain has a fairly good public health system. It used to be universal and free up to late 00s-early 10s, but the global financial crisis made the government change their approach and introduce charges for some people not paying tax or national insurance in Spain, targeting especially medical tourists, to make it more sustainable while still providing comprehensive care. It is still recommended to bring a EHIC card for EU travellers or travel insurance for any other countries.

The regional health system is called SESCAM, and local health centre from said system is located on Plaza de San Juan de Jerusalén, 2 (non-urgent number: +34 925 475 194; ER number: +34 925 481 312).

Connect

Local phone and SIM card businesses are Consuegra móvil y + (C/Carmen, 17; +34 657 495 799), Zona Mobile (C/ Carmen, 19; +34 925 095 126), MasMóvil Vaalve (C/ Primo de Rivera, 13; +34 925 481 881), Digi Mobil (Av. Castilla-La Mancha, 5; +34 624 155 268) or Nova (Plaza del Azafrán, 18; +34 925 978 232).

If you prefer traditional mail, or would like to send any postcards, the local Correos office is located on Florinda street 5, and opens 8.30-14. For more urgent shipments, couriers are available, such as GLS (C/Carmen, 15; 925 973 192).

Speak

In Consuegra most people will speak Spanish, while some newer generations might have a limited command of English. At least a basic level of Spanish would be recommended before visiting the town.

Go next

The next step in the Don Quixote Route would be Puerto Lápice, a village that grew out of several inns located on the mountain pass of the same name.

Nearby Urda is a pilgrimage site, known by the image of Christ kept in the local basilica.

For hiking lovers, a recommendation would be to cross the Calderina mountains towards Villarrubia de los Ojos. On the Calderinas you will discover numerous springs and their sources, especially in spring period if winter has been rainy, and lots of undisturbed Mediterranean wildlife. Villarrubia is known for the "Las Tablas" wetlands National Park, Los Ojos del Guadiana river springs (now dried up because of intensive agriculture), El Progreso -oldest co-operative winery and oil mill in Spain- and Ebesa, a traditional clay tank winery.

If you fancy some sun and sand holidays, why not continue by the CM-42 motorway (or, if fancying the old road, the old C-400 route, now named CM-4133) to Villafranca de los Caballeros, one of the main "beach" resorts in La Mancha. Since the 1960s, there has been a decline in tourists, Manchego holidaymakers started to have better access to true sea resorts in the Eastern and Southern shores of Spain, but you can still have a flavour of the old times when visiting the Lagunas in Villafranca, especially Laguna Grande.

If you would prefer to get back to Toledo, you can do so either by following the CM-42 motorway on your car or, if you prefer a more scenic way or you are just taking the bus, you can visit Los Yébenes, Orgaz and/or Mora on your way.

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