Vejer
de la Frontera is located in the South-West of the province
of Cádiz, 190 meters above sea level, on the top of
a tall hill, from which a spectacular view can be seen.
Because of its location, this area has been occupied
by ancient civilisations: Phoenicians, Carthaginians,
Romans, Moors and Christians. Vejer has been declared
a Historical-Artistic-Complex (1976) and also was awared
with the I National Prize of Village Embellishment (1978).
The visitor can start the tour in the Paseo de la Corredera,
from which there are beautiful views of the countryside,
where the battle of La Janda ( or of the Guadalete)
was fought in 711, and after which Vejer was five and
a half centuries under Moorish domination, being enriched
with the Arab culture.
We find the walled precinct (15th Century), where we
can see one of the towers, the Tower of la Corredera,
looking towards Medina sidonia, with which it communicated
through smoke signals. North of the wall, we find one
of the gates of the walled precint the Arch of Sancho
the Fourth, from which we pass through towards the House
of the Mayorazgo, Baroque building dated in the 18th
Century, with a facade that occupies all the front side
of the building, and two courtyards, being the main
one composed of two bodies with arches standing above
columns, and housing the rear one the Tower of the Homenaje,
from which we can see the river Barbate, the coast of
Zahara de los Atunes and the National Park of las Breñas
y Marismas de Barbate.
Following
the tour, we pass through The Plaza de España or Square
of the Little Fishes, because of the fishes depicted
in the fountain, and surrounded by interesting buildings,
such as the Town Hall and the Civil Court. Nearby we
can find the Callejon de la Villa and the Arch of la
Villa, which was the main access to the village.
From here, we can go through the Canalejas Street,
Capitán Quintanillas Street or Meson the Animas Street.
All of them are streets of irregular layout, full of
courtyards, balconies or roofs with flowers, embellishing
the lime-white houses. The Arch of the, Puerta Cerrada,
so-called because it was the most vulnerable point of
the walled precinct, will give us access to the Neighbourhood
of the Judería, where we find a view-point from which
we can see the modern Vejer, which does not contrast
strongly with the old one.
The castle is the highest spot in the old village,
and is dated in the 10th and 11th centuries. It has
a single gate open to the outside, and inside its courtyard
we can see a horseshoe arch, framed by an alfiz, of
Moorish construction. Beneath the floor a cistern and
a well are preserved. On one of the walls we can see
a plaque commemorating the town-twinning of the village
with Chef-Chauen.
It has a Parade Ground where we can go up to the battlements
and contemplate all the village. The Castle was declared
a National Monument in 1931.
Another interesting building is the Convent of the Conceptionist
Nuns, of Renaissance style, dated in the 16th Century,
the only remains of the convent that was build by Don
Juan Amaya in 1552 for the burial of his own family.
To ge highlighted is the main facade, with a semi-circular
arch above pillars with Corinthian capitals over which
the pediment stands. It was a Franciscan convent, passing
then to the hands of the nuns of the Conception. Today
it is a theatre where cultural and religious events
are celebrated.
Of monumental interest is also tha Church of the Divine
Saviour, built above an old mosque, from which the tower
is preserved. It has two different Gothic styles: Moorish-Gothic
(14th and 15th centuries) and Late Gothic (15th and
16th centuries).
The Moorish-Gothic body is made with stout rectangular
pillars, above which the npointed arches stand, in a
vault with central ribs. In the side naves there are
three chapels that house religious images.
The Late Gothic Complex is composed of four streches
divided by very tall pillars, giving a sensation of
light and space, in contrast with the dark parts of
the Moorish-Gothic parts. We can underline the main
altarpiece, made in the 17th Century, on the pediment
of which we can see a mosaic of the Moorish ceramics
and several religious images, being specially noteworthy
that of the Crucified Christ and that of the Nazarene.
Going out from here, we will find the fourth gate of
the walled precinct, the Arch of the Segur, so-called
because in its inner face it preserves a segur (axe),
symbol of the judicial power in Rome. To finish the
tour we get into the Plazuela, the centre of Vejer´s
social life, near the market.
