Valencia de Alcántara Historical Site

Gothic Quarter

Valencia de Alcántara is a town in the county of Sierra de San Pedro. It is in the west of the province of Cáceres, on the border with Portugal.

The city was retaken from the Moors in 1221 by the Knights of Saint Julian de Pereiro, an old military order that evolved into the powerful Order of Alcántara. The conquest resulted in the town becoming directly dependent on the king as a ‘Villa de Realengo’.

The area of the town known as the Gothic Quarter was declared a Historical Site by the Decree of 18 March 1997. It is one of the most interesting Historical Sites in the region in terms of secular Gothic/Renaissance construction. Located in the northern part of the town, the most common style of house has two narrow, deep storeys, with a whitewashed stonework façade and finely worked granite openings.

The doorways usually have a pointed arch form, although there are also doors with lintels and rounded arches. The ground floor façades feature rectangular windows that are usually covered by wrought-iron bars.

The majority of the buildings have a traditional look, with chimneys characteristic of the area’s typical architecture, although others, with more presence, have a stately, even noble, appearance, with coats of arms. Another element of the local architecture is the corner balcony.

The area making up the Gothic Quarter was surrounded by a wall that started and finished at the castle, built on a hillock that dominates the site. The wall followed an irregular layout, with five bastions and a keep.

One of the most prominent religious buildings is the Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de Rocamador, built between the 15th and 17th centuries. It is characterised by having a basilica floorplan, with three naves covered by multiple low ribbed vaults, the number and quality of which make this building one of the most representative of Extremaduran architecture.

The Church of La Encarnación has three naves covered by barrel vaults. The Convent of San Bartolomé rounds off the town’s religious monuments.

Weather

Herreruela

12Sep

Despejado

17 ºC

31 ºC

13Sep

Despejado

17 ºC

29 ºC

14Sep

Poco nuboso

14 ºC

31 ºC

15Sep

Despejado

15 ºC

34 ºC

16Sep

Despejado

16 ºC

36 ºC

Play

In pictures

AltAltAlt

If you like Valencia de Alcántara Historical Site you will like this too...

Alt

Brozas Historical Site

The town of Brozas is located in the county of Tajo-Salor-Almonte, in the so-called Lands of Alcántara. 

Alt

Roman bridge of Alcántara

The Roman bridge in Alcántara was built between the years AD 104 and 106, and in 1924 was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in the Monument ca

Alt

Plasencia Cathedral

The building we see today is the result of the juxtaposition of two cathedrals, the old one and the new one.

Alt

Valverde de La Vera Historical Site

Valverde de La Vera is a village located in the county of La Vera.

More things you can find in Sierra de San Pedro

Alt

Dolmens

The municipality of Valencia de Alcántara, in the county of Sierra de San Pedro, in the south-east of the province of Cáceres, is home to one of th

Servicios turisticos

On Instagram...