SNAPSHOT: CAZORLA, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGE IN SPAIN

A panoramic view of Cazorla with the Castillo de La Yedra, one of the most beautiful and best-
preserved castles in the whole province of Jaén, the focal point. Yedra was built
during the 13th and 14th centuries upon an earlier Moorish fortress.

CAZORLA

Location: Jaen, on the western slope of the Sierra de Cazorla, Andalusia. Population: some 8,000 inhabitants.

Charming twisting streets

Altitude: 836 meters (2743 feet)

Spectacular nature. Gateway to the Natural Park of Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas, a vast protected area of magnificent river gorges and forests. The second largest protected area in Europe.

Balcon la Zabaleta with the ruins of the Church of Santa Maria. The church was damaged by floods in the 17th century and, later, burnt by French troops.

A 2000-year history: significant settlements during the Roman era. Cazorla would later become a strategic Moorish stronghold. Still later, it became an outpost for Christian troops during the Reconquista as well as the see of one of the first bishoprics of early Christian Spain. (Archbishop of Toledo, Don Rodrigo Jimenez de Rada, made Cazorla the seat of his archbishopric upon reconquest from the Moors in 1231.)

Plaza El Huevo, so-called because it is shaped like an egg, is one of the small town’s three plazas

Presently: producer of high-quality olive oil with its Denomination of Origin. Thriving tourism with a surprising number of three- and four-star hotels and casas rurales.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGE
In the 2022 voting contest organized by Escapada Rural, 21,000 out of the 100,000 participants chose Cazorla from among the other candidates, making it the most beautiful village of that year.

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Images
Featured image/Pedro J. Pacheco, CC BY-SA3.0es
Twisting streets/Ziegler 175, CC BY-SA3.0
Balcon de Zabaleta/Falk 2, CC BY-SA4.0
Plaza El Huevo/myself–self-photographed, PD via Wikimedia Commons