Discover Doña Mencía: Castle, Trails and Wine

The archaeological complex of Doña Mencía Castle comprises a 15th-century castle, a 17th-century oil mill belonging to the Duke of Sessa, and a communal granary dating from the 17th to 18th century.

Culture and History

Doña Mencía Castle was founded in 1415 by Diego Fernández de Córdoba and preserves a large part of its original walls. The 17-metre-high Torre del Homenaje is the most significant architectural landmark in the castle complex and offers a viewpoint over the complex, the historic landscape closely associated with the castle, and the Sierras Subbéticas Nature Park.

The Museo Histórico-Arqueológico in the Casa de la Cultura «Juan Valera» preserves material from more than 300 archaeological sites in the province of Córdoba and the adjoining area of Jaén. It also displays remains from the Lower Palaeolithic, dated to between 250,000 and 100,000 years old.

The Iglesia Vieja was built in 1420 and extended by the Dominican community between 1737 and 1742. The site of the former Iglesia Vieja was converted into an open-air auditorium in 2000; cultural events are held there in summer.

Doña Mencía’s Semana Santa combines tradition and modernity through the Vía Crucis, the Lavatorio, the Prendimiento, the Descendimiento and the Bendición at the «cuatro esquinas», accompanied by «rezaores» and «pregoneros». It has been recognised as an event of tourist interest in Andalusia and is organised around fourteen brotherhoods or religious associations.

Other Places

Other places include Posadas, Bujalance, La Celada, El Vacar, Zuheros, Benamejí, Santa Cruz and Córdoba.

Cycling and Hiking Trails

The Vía Verde de la Subbética runs for 58 kilometres between Linares and Puente Genil along a former railway line and passes through Doña Mencía. The Doña Mencía station on the Vía Verde houses a restaurant and a recreational area with picnic facilities, bicycle parking, a water point, a parking area for caravans and motorhomes, and a rental service for bicycles and environmentally friendly vehicles.

The Vía Verde de la Subbética is intended for cycle tourists, walkers, hikers and horse riders. The Ruta de las Fuentes is an approximately 11-kilometre circular route that ends at the former Doña Mencía railway station. Another circular route starts and ends in the centre of Doña Mencía and is approximately 2,780 metres long.

An approximately 7-kilometre circular route starts and ends at the Pilar de Abajo or, respectively, at the «Fuente del Ejido». You can directly compare the different distances and types of route for your personal planning.

Landscape and Wine

The Sierra Abrevia hiking trail runs through the municipalities of Zuheros and Doña Mencía. The Sierra de la Abrevia is considered a landscape of high natural value, is protected as a nature park within RENPA, and has been designated a Geopark by UNESCO.

Doña Mencía belongs to the wine-growing region with the Montilla-Moriles designation of origin; the associated wine and tourism offering includes bodegas and lagares open to visitors. Wines with the Montilla-Moriles designation of origin are tasted and sold in Doña Mencía.

For the higher-level travel overview: Cordoba.