Fontanar – Baroque architecture, riparian forests and rural paths

Casa Cartuja in Fontanar is a good example of Castilian Baroque architecture, predominantly constructed with bricks. It was built at the end of the 15th century by Carthusian monks from the Santa María de El Paular Monastery in Rascafría, in the Autonomous Community of Madrid.

If you are planning a holiday apartment in Fontanar, you can compare travel dates, room categories and cancellation policies on the respective offer pages. For your personal shortlist, you can organise your priorities between architectural heritage, landscape, rural paths and festival dates; the topics mentioned place different emphases.

Culture and history

The building contains a two-storey central courtyard with an open lower gallery. Its characteristic corbel system is supported by wooden pillars on stone bases.

Arched water channels carried water from springs to Casa Cartuja and to the La Ría area, historically known as Huerta de San Fernando. An arched water channel in Fontanar is more than 50 metres long.

The ruins of the Romanesque church of Jócar are regarded as an example of 12th-century rural Romanesque architecture in the province of Guadalajara. The remains were moved by the municipality of Fontanar from their original location in Jócar to their present location in Parque municipal Ricardo Francés.

The Ermita de la Soledad is a restored 17th-century building with a simple structure, predominantly made of bricks and rubble stone, and a columned portico. Inside, it has a Mudéjar coffered ceiling.

Nature and paths

Parque Corral de Beleña has a covered picnic shelter covering an area of 140 square metres. El Salgar covers 45,000 square metres within a LIC protected area and includes a natural riparian forest.

Parque Beljafel comprises an extensive woodland area with holm oaks and oaks. Vega del Arroyo Zaire is an area characterised by riparian forest, while Vega del Henares in Fontanar is designated as a river course.

The green spaces and rural paths around Fontanar offer opportunities for easy hikes and bike rides in an easily accessible and well-connected setting. The named natural areas and paths can be placed alongside one another as different thematic priorities when planning the day.

The Red Rocinante, Corridor VII, Section E, is designated as a tourist route in Fontanar. The Ruta de la Arquitectura Negra is also designated as a tourist route in Fontanar.

Festivals and customs

Eight days before Palm Sunday, the Virgen de la Soledad, the patron saint of Fontanar, is taken from her chapel to the church. She remains there until Good Friday, when she returns to the chapel in a procession in the late afternoon.

The celebrations of San Matías take place on the weekend closest to 14 May and include, among other things, verbenas, encierros, a mass and a procession. The celebrations of San Roque take place over approximately one week around 16 August and include verbenas, encierros and novilladas.

On 3 February, bread is blessed in Fontanar and then given to the residents together with chorizo.

Getting there

Fontanar is located approximately 10 kilometres from the provincial capital Guadalajara and can be reached via the CM-101. A regional bus route connects Humanes, Mohernando, Yunquera de Henares, Fontanar and Guadalajara.

Other places

Other town pages: Mazuecos, Hiendelaencina, Berninches, Ruguilla, Pálmaces De Jadraque, Rillo De Gallo, Mirabueno, Zaorejas

For the higher-level travel overview: Guadalajara.