Lopera: Castle, Churches and Living Traditions

Castillo de Lopera consists of two complexes: an outer walled area and an inner castle-palace complex with two large towers connected by two defensive walls. Admission to the Castillo includes a guided tour of the interior, the town interpretation centre and the weapons courtyard.

Culture and History

The Iglesia de la Purísima Concepción is a 16th-century building in the late Gothic style and has a Flamboyant Gothic, or Hispano-Flemish Gothic, portal. The church contains a Renaissance tomb of the Purísima by Juan de Reolid from 1547.

After the Castilian conquest, Lopera was handed over to the military Order of Calatrava in 1240–1241. The fortress played an important role as a border fortress in the Castilian expansion through the Campiña of Jaén in the 13th and 14th centuries.

The Casa de la Tercia in Lopera was bequeathed by Gómez Manrique as a pósito, a grain store. The building was probably constructed in the second half of the 16th century and is connected to Castillo de Lopera by an underground passage excavated in the 1960s. Its upper floor is used for various cultural events and houses the Museo de Pedro Monje.

The Ermita de San Roque is a Baroque chapel from the 16th century. Its furnishings include, among other things, a Sagrado Corazón and a depiction of the Virgen del Amor Hermoso. The Bodegas Herruzo are considered a living museum of traditional craftsmanship.

Evidence of the Spanish Civil War has been preserved in Lopera, including machine-gun nests, Republican trenches, an anti-tank fort, cellars and caves that were used as air-raid shelters. The eleven Cuevas Refugio at the entrance to the town were used as shelters during the Spanish Civil War and date from 1828.

Festivals and Customs

Every year on 8 December, Lopera celebrates a solemn festival in honour of the Immaculate Conception, the Inmaculada Concepción. La Candelaria is celebrated with traditional bonfires on the night of 1 February.

The Romería de San Isidro includes a procession with floats and horses that ends at the Ermita de San Isidro. The Feria y Fiestas de los Cristos includes processions of the Cristo de la Vera-cruz and the Cristo del Humilladero.

The San Roque festivities include an evening event on 14 August and a procession with blessed bread rings on 16 August. During the procession on Día de Jesús on 14 September, the streets are decorated the night before with carpets made of coloured paper and sawdust.

During the Corpus Christi procession, the façades along the route are decorated and mats made of rushes are laid out in the streets. At Christmas, some Nacimientos and Belenes are displayed publicly and can be visited.

Carnival in Lopera preserves the tradition of Cascarones: hollowed-out eggs are filled with coloured paper, ash or flour and used for pranks. Los Mayos are decorated wooden structures that are carried through the streets during processions and presented for birthdays or name days.

The Historical Re-enactment of the Battle of Lopera takes place in April and combines history, culture, tourism and remembrance.

Landscape and Local Cuisine

Paraje del Pilar Nuevo is located less than one kilometre from Lopera and comprises a tree-lined meadow, a livestock watering trough dating from 1875 and the Ermita de San Isidro Labrador. The gently rolling terrain around Lopera is suitable for hiking trails in close contact with nature.

Traditional crafts still practised today include chairmaking and woodturning; beech and chestnut wood are among the materials used. Trigo Pelao is a traditional dish from Lopera that combines garden vegetables with anchovies, clams and wheat grains. Traditional dishes served on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day include Gachas with Tostones and anise.

Other Places

Other places: Las Escuelas, Escañuela, Torreperogil, Ventas del Carrizal, Baños De La Encina, Cazalilla, Arjona, Mengibar

To the higher-level travel overview: Jaen.