Let's place ourselves in the tenth century. The Christians are trying, hard, to get rid of the Arabs, and an immense no man's-land is the scene of battles and skirmishes day in and day out. Little by little, small settlements were founded to gain ground, and one of them was going to be called Caleruega.
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Let's place ourselves in the tenth century. The Christians are trying, hard, to get rid of the Arabs, and an immense no man's-land is the scene of battles and skirmishes day in and day out. Little by little, small settlements were founded to gain ground, and one of them was going to be called Caleruega.
What is the first thing that is built in a case like this? Correct: defensive walls and a massive fortress. The one of Caleruega was called Torreón de los Gúzman, and you can still see it standing, as an imposing witness of the times in which the village was born.
The population stood its ground, reached the twelfth century and then something happened that would forever change the fate of the place. Santo Domingo de Guzmán came into the world, a charismatic character who founded the Dominican order and left an enormous mark on the medieval church.
The tomb of Domingo's mother, Juana de Aza, is preserved in the beautiful and Romanic Church of San Sebastián, and everything seems to indicate that she was someone quite special. Legend has it that when her husband was in the war, Juana gave away to the poor all the wine from the family's winery until there was none left. When the husband came back, the prayers of the distressed woman were heard and, miraculously, the barrels were full again.
The Real Monastery of Santo Domingo is also from those amazing times, it was born thanks to a donation from Alfonso X to a community of Dominican nuns to build a new convent. As you can see, in this historical village, everything revolves around the Saint and his family.
But not everything, because the Cid Campeador himself was also around here. It is said that the caves in the San Jorge Mountain, nowadays converted into wine cellars, served as a refuge for the Moors who attacked the small village every now and then. When the Cid found out, he took his sword and led the assault that freed Caleruega of those annoying neighbours.
The village remembers Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar with an equestrian statue, right beside it you will find a monolith with the figure of a crow. It turns out that, according to "The Song of my Cid," the flight of that bird predicted the knight's success in his adventures, so it is customary to place a hand on the image of the crow to attract good luck. Try it and tell us about it!
