Calera de León Facts for Kids

Calera de León is a small town in Spain. It is located in the province of Badajoz, which is part of the Extremadura region. In 2018, about 969 people lived here.

Exploring Calera de León
- Where is Calera de León?
A Look Back in Time
Amazing Buildings and Monuments
Fun Celebrations
- Pilgrimage of Tentudía
See also

Exploring Calera de León

Where is Calera de León?

This town sits on a hill. The area around it has many hills and mountains. The tallest mountain in the province of Badajoz is Tentudía Mount. It stands at 1,104 meters high.

A Look Back in Time

Early History of Calera de León

Long ago, when Arabs ruled this area, the town was called Al-Caxera. This name meant "white."

The Battle of Tentudía

A very important event happened here during the "Reconquest." This was a time when Christian kingdoms in Spain fought to take back land from Muslim rule. King Fernando III, also known as "El Santo," asked a brave leader named Paio Peres Correia to attack a Muslim army. This army was hiding in the mountain passes.

The Christians won a big victory. It is said that during the battle, the sun seemed to stand still. This gave the Christians more time to win. This story is like an old biblical tale.

Building a Monastery

To remember this amazing victory, a temple was built on the highest mountain. Later, in 1514, Pope Leo X made it a monastery. Building this special place brought a lot of money to Calera de León. This made the town very important to the Order of Santiago. The Order of Santiago was a group of knights who helped protect Christian lands.

Until 1873, Calera de León was part of a religious area called the Priory of San Marcos de Leon.

Amazing Buildings and Monuments

St. James Church

The St. James Church is built from stone and brick. It has a unique look with an uneven front and a spiral staircase.

Inside, the main area has a beautiful star-shaped ceiling. The main door is in a style called Renaissance. It has four tall columns. The altar has eight paintings by Eduardo Acosta. These paintings show important scenes, like the four evangelists and the Battle of Tentudía. There is also a 17th-century wooden statue of Christ. The church windows have symbols like fleurs-de-lis and the sword of the Order of Santiago.

Tentudía Monastery

The Tentudía Monastery

This monastery was built on the site of an older temple. That temple was built to remember the famous Battle of Tentudía. The monastery has three main buildings connected by stone arches.

The main altar was made in 1518 by an Italian artist named Niculoso Pisano. It is a very important part of the monastery. Pisano used a style called Mudejar, which mixes Christian and Muslim art. The altar is made of 640 colorful tiles. It is 3.4 meters tall and 2.65 meters wide. On the right side of the altar, you can find the tomb of the founder, Paio Peres Correia. His tomb is also covered with beautiful tiles.

The monastery also has a simple Mudejar cloister. A cloister is an open area, usually with covered walkways. This one is made of brick and has two floors. In the middle, there is a large water tank.

Conventual Santiaguista

The Conventual Santiaguista is a large building made of granite and stone. It was built in the late 1400s. For 40 years, it was home to the College of San Marcos de Leon. Like the Tentudía Monastery, this building was declared a National Historic and Artistic Interest in 1931. This means it is a very important historical site.

The building has a two-story cloister made of granite. From 1930 to 1934, people tried to steal artistic stones from this monument. They wanted to smuggle them to America.

One special part of the building is its square courtyard. It has two levels of arches.

Hermitage of our Lady of Sorrows

This small chapel, or shrine, has been changed many times over the centuries. It is especially known for its Baroque style changes. It has one main room and a dome. The dome was built to protect the valuable art and religious items inside from theft.

Fun Celebrations

Pilgrimage of Tentudía

The Pilgrimage of Tentudía is a very old festival. It has been celebrated every September 8th since the 1200s! That means it is over 700 years old. In the late 1300s, more than 6,000 people would attend. It is one of the oldest fairs in Spain.

Every September 8th morning, a statue of the Virgin Tentudía is carried from the town square. Many people, called pilgrims, walk with it to her shrine at the Tentudía Monastery. Crowds gather there to show their devotion to their patron saint. The Virgin Tentudía is the special patron saint of Calera de León and the entire Tentudía region.

Calera de León facts for kids

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