Culla

Human settlement around Culla goes back to prehistoric times. Archaeological remains near the Fuente de la Carrasca and the Roca del Corb, cave paintings in the Barranco de Santa María and Covarxa, and the ruins of an Iberian settlement at El Castellar all point to occupation long before written records begin.

The town's documented history picks up in the medieval period. Muslim-held until the early 13th century, it was taken by Blasco de Alagón in 1233. King Jaime I confirmed the grant of the town and castle to him in 1235, and in 1244 Culla received its Carta de Población from Guillermo III de Anglesola and his wife Constanza de Alagón. A succession dispute followed between their heirs, which Jaime I settled in 1264 in favour of the Anglesola line. In 1303 the lordship was sold to the Knights Templar for 500,000 Jaquese sous. When the pope dissolved the Templars in 1312, Culla passed to the newly founded Order of Montesa, which held it until the 19th century.

At some point in the medieval period, Culla also formed part of the Setena de Culla, a group of seven local municipalities that collectively purchased grazing and forestry rights from the Order of Montesa to protect their shared pastoral interests. This arrangement lasted until the mid-19th century.

Culla has kept its medieval street layout intact. The parish church of El Salvador was rebuilt at the beginning of one century on the foundations of an earlier structure. Inside are a Gothic stone statue of El Salvador, the town's patron saint, a painted triptych retablo of San Roque, and other historic works.

Two hermitages stand in the town: San Roque and San Cristóbal, the latter built in the late period covered by the source. The castle is now largely ruined, it was destroyed during the Carlist Wars of the 19th century, but the Torre de Frare Pere survives, as does the entrance gate to the Barbican, which still bears the heraldic shields of the Order of Montesa. A building known as La Presó, originally the Commander's granary, was used as a prison during the Carlist Wars.

There is also a former hospital, later rehabilitated in 1993. The surrounding landscape adds to the visit. The Mirador del Terrat offers sweeping views across the comarca and, on clear days, all the way to the Mediterranean.

The Río Monleón valley shelters holly trees, ibex, wild boar, and birds of prey, and is dotted with caves and sinkholes. Along the Río Molinell, several old water mills, Molí Alt, Molí Toni, Molí Tòfol, Molinet and Molí Teressa, still stand on nearby farmsteads, now disused. A centuries-old holm oak, the Carrasca de Culla, has been officially classified as a monumental tree by the Comunidad Valenciana.

Culla stands at about 1,088 metres in the Alt Maestrat of Castellón, a stone village that keeps its medieval street plan, protected as a bien de interés cultural since 2004. From the Mirador del Terrat the view runs across the comarca and, on clear days, to the Mediterranean.

Taken by Blasco de Alagón in 1233, Culla was bought by the Knights Templar in 1303, their last and most expensive acquisition in the Crown of Aragon, and then passed to the Order of Montesa. The ruined castle keeps the Torre de Frare Pere and a barbican gate bearing the shields of Montesa, and the village has thirteenth-century walls, the Porta Nova arch, the church of El Salvador, the fourteenth-century hospital and the Commander's granary, La Presó. The municipality also has the Carrasca de Culla, a centuries-old holm oak classified as a monumental tree, and shelters of Levantine rock art listed by UNESCO.

Culla joined Los Pueblos Más Bonitos de España in 2020. The label is awarded by a private association, not the state: a village applies and is audited against around 40 criteria, from how its historic buildings are conserved to the upkeep of its streets, and members are reviewed and can lose it. Culla is one of 6 members in Comunidad Valenciana, out of 126 in Spain. See all heritage towns in Comunidad Valenciana.