Vejer de la Frontera

History and Overview

Vejer de la Frontera is located in the South-West of the province of Cádiz, 190 meters above sea level, on the top of a tall hill, from which a spectacular view can be seen.

Because of its location, this area has been occupied by ancient civilisations: Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Moors and Christians. Vejer has been declared a Historical-Artistic-Complex (1976) and also was awared with the I National Prize of Village Embellishment (1978).

On the Paseo de la Corredera, is from where there are beautiful views of the countryside, and where the battle of La Janda ( or of the Guadalete) was fought in 711, and after which Vejer was five and a half centuries under Moorish domination, being enriched with the Arab culture.

We find the walled precinct (15th Century), where we can see one of the towers, the Tower of la Corredera, looking towards Medina sidonia, with which it communicated through smoke signals. North of the wall, we find one of the gates of the walled precint the Arch of Sancho the Fourth, from which we pass through towards the House of the Mayorazgo, Baroque building dated in the 18th Century, with a facade that occupies all the front side of the building, and two courtyards, being the main one composed of two bodies with arches standing above columns, and housing the rear one the Tower of the Homenaje, from which we can see the river Barbate, the coast of Zahara de los Atunes and the National Park of las Breñas y Marismas de Barbate.

Following the tour, we pass through The Plaza de España or Square of the Little Fishes, because of the fishes depicted in the fountain, and surrounded by interesting buildings, such as the Town Hall and the Civil Court. Nearby we can find the Callejon de la Villa and the Arch of la Villa, which was the main access to the village.

From here, we can go through the Canalejas Street, Capitán Quintanillas Street or Meson the Animas Street. All of them are streets of irregular layout, full of courtyards, balconies or roofs with flowers, embellishing the lime-white houses. The Arch of the, Puerta Cerrada, so-called because it was the most vulnerable point of the walled precinct, will give us access to the Neighbourhood of the Judería, where we find a view-point from which we can see the modern Vejer, which does not contrast strongly with the old one.

The castle is the highest spot in the old village, and is dated in the 10th and 11th centuries. It has a single gate open to the outside, and inside its courtyard we can see a horseshoe arch, framed by an alfiz, of Moorish construction. Beneath the floor a cistern and a well are preserved. On one of the walls we can see a plaque commemorating the town-twinning of the village with Chef-Chauen.

It has a Parade Ground where we can go up to the battlements and contemplate all the village. The Castle was declared a National Monument in 1931. Another interesting building is the Convent of the Conceptionist Nuns, of Renaissance style, dated in the 16th Century, the only remains of the convent that was build by Don Juan Amaya in 1552 for the burial of his own family.

The main facade, with a semi-circular arch above pillars with Corinthian capitals over which the pediment stands. It was a Franciscan convent, passing then to the hands of the nuns of the Conception. Today it is a theatre where cultural and religious events are celebrated.

Of monumental interest is also tha Church of the Divine Saviour, built above an old mosque, from which the tower is preserved. It has two different Gothic styles: Moorish-Gothic (14th and 15th centuries) and Late Gothic (15th and 16th centuries).

The Moorish-Gothic body is made with stout rectangular pillars, above which the npointed arches stand, in a vault with central ribs. In the side naves there are three chapels that house religious images.

The Late Gothic Complex is composed of four streches divided by very tall pillars, giving a sensation of light and space, in contrast with the dark parts of the Moorish-Gothic parts. We can underline the main altarpiece, made in the 17th Century, on the pediment of which we can see a mosaic of the Moorish ceramics and several religious images, being specially noteworthy that of the Crucified Christ and that of the Nazarene. Going out from here, we will find the fourth gate of the walled precinct, the Arch of the Segur, so-called because in its inner face it preserves a segur (axe), symbol of the judicial power in Rome. To finish the tour we get into the Plazuela, the centre of Vejer´s social life, near the market.

History and Overview courtesy of www.infovejer.com/

Places to Visit

- Chiclana de la Frontera & La Barrosa beach

- Cádiz (Historical Centre & Narrow Street Shopping)

- Jerez de la Frontera (Bodega Tours & Very Historical Centre)

- Arcos de la Frontera, Medina Sidonia or Vejer de la Frontera (White hill top towns)

- Conil de la Frontera (Beautiful sweeping white sandy beach)

- Tarifa (Surfers Paradise)

- Gibraltar (British Territory and home of the famous Rock & Monkeys)

- Morocco (Tangiers day trip from Tarifa, see a different culture and haggle a bargain)