Jadraque

The town's name comes from the Arabic "Xadraq." In the first half of the fifteenth century, the armies of Castile and Aragon faced each other near here during the reigns of Juan II of Castile and his cousin Alfonso V of Aragon. Open conflict was avoided through the intervention of Queen María of Aragon, who was both Juan II's consort and Alfonso V's sister.

A more dramatic episode unfolded on 23 December 1714. Isabel de Farnese was passing through Jadraque on her way to marry Philip V the following day. Here she met the Princess of the Ursins, María Ana de la Trémoille, a woman who had wielded enormous influence over the Spanish court — with the backing of Louis XIV of France — through her position as chief lady-in-waiting to the king's first wife. For reasons that remain unclear, Isabel de Farnese ordered her expelled from Spain on the spot, without even allowing her to return to Madrid to collect her belongings.

By the mid-nineteenth century, the town recorded a population of 1,426 and earned an entry in Pascual Madoz's landmark geographical dictionary of Spain.

The parish church holds two notable works: a painting of the flagellated Christ by Zurbarán and a sculpture attributed to Pedro de Mena. The Ursuline manor house sheltered both the Enlightenment statesman Jovellanos and the painter Francisco de Goya in 1808. On the main square, the old Inquisition building still carries a partially destroyed version of that institution's coat of arms.

Outside town, the principal landmark is the Castle of the Cid, alongside the Verdugo family palace and natural features including the Águilas peak and the Ojo waterfall.