Los Molares

Los Molares

In the region of the countryside, to 43 kilometres to the southeast of the capital of the province, is located the town of Los Molares, whose silhouette features a special mark, the presence of the beautiful castle of great artistic and architectural importance.

The population grew around the castle built in 1336 by Don Lope Gutiérrez de Toledo who had received the meadow of the hands of Don Lope Chico. King Ferdinand IV gives the pastures of El Molar to the gentleman Lope Chico for services rendered in the war against Muslims.

In 1430, the castle became an important fortress.

Finally, the villa belonged to the Dukes of Alcalá to the abolition of the domains in the XIX century, where it would depend on Utrera until 1919 when it became an independent municipality.

The origin of Los Molares points to 2500 BC, that is, the Neolithic period, this information has been verified by the Department of Prehistory and Archaeology of Sevilla. This statement was verified by a study conducted by this department in the village environment. There were found archaeological material (axes, adzes …) which suggest that this land should have a great economic prosperity, particularly in farming and cattle activities. Subsequently, from the Iberian Period (second half of the first millennium before Christ), there has been many settlements such as the Torre del Bao, Cerro Pedrito, Las Hinojosas, where archaeologists have found important burials from the age.

While it is true that the land surrounding the town had to be of great importance in the past, its topographic position had to be excellent because their lands were downtown crossing creeks; this made possible an easy access to water subsoil. Before these circumstances, it was logical that in their lands were established later Roman settlements.

Once discussed its prehistory, it would say that it story has a much more accurate and reliable data, all collected in the archives of Medina (Alcalá de los Gazules). Of these files we know that El Molar was liberated from the Moors being King Ferdinand III, the Saint, and later, in 1316 King Ferdinand IV gives the estate of El Molar to Lope de Haro (El Chico) in appreciation of the conquest of Gibraltar. His son, López Gutiérrez de Toledo, first lord of Los Molares, who built the castle around 1923 and began the settlement around it. It is in this time when El Molar was renamed Los Molares. The descendants of López Gutiérrez de Toledo could not keep over the years the economic stability of the land, so that Los Molares was sold at public auction. This was acquired in 1443 by Diego Gómez de Ribera. By this time, the land reverts back to buy great splendour and importance to the point that King Henry IV, the 30th of May 1465 granted the authority to conduct a fair, known as “fair silk.

Silk Fair became the largest in Spain for sale of cloth, silk and brocades. It was attended by traders and merchants from many places: Genoese, Venetians, Germans, Portuguese. During the stock of the Ribera it acquired a great recognition and economic boom until the XIX century that eventually disappears.

Several generations of the Riberas toured the Castle of Los Molares, among them, San Juan de Ribera born in 1952 and lived his childhood in the castle. He was canonized in 1960 and it is believed that some of his writings can refer to Los Molares.

Another extremely important character in the history of the people is Baltazar de Alcazar who, in 1573 was appointed mayor of the town, a position he held for almost twenty years, many of the poems of his work were written in the Castle.

After spending time, in 1837 Los Molares starts to have its first Constitution Town Hall that arises from the abolition of entailed states. The years before independence will be hard for the town, the low population and the difficult economic situation makes that Los Molares has to be added to the nearby town of Utrera (Royal Order of June 7, 1876), this aggregation lasted thirty and three years and was an era characterized by social stability and economic splendour.

After the segregation, the first mayor in Los Molares was D. Francisco Rincón Pérez, at the beginning of the XX century.

As more recent data might point out that in 1929, the telephone company installs in Los Molares, giving a great step forward for local development and progress.

Before the Civil War, Los Molares was affected by considerable tensions, protests by mainly political reasons, then preceded by a period of stability to the 60 and 70 where the population is strongly shaken by heavy emigration, forced migration in search of labour and social welfare.

In 1988, the city takes a step forward for their prosperity, since it is integrated in the Commonwealth of the Lower Guadalquivir which brings together a number of villages in the province of Sevilla and Cádiz with a common goal: to carry out projects that revive the economies of the different municipalities and its citizens.

Los Molares Monuments

Church of Santa Marta

Castle

Archaeological Remains

Los Molares Gastronomy

The dish par excellence in Los Molares is the pot (puchero).

But also, it preserves the tradition of baking and pastry on a small scale in the centre of the town. Near the Castle, you can buy lemon muffins or c freshly cakes made in an old bakery, the friendly staff is another incentive to not miss the old bakery with a wood oven.

How to get there

You have to leave Sevilla. Take: A-376. Alleyway of Montequinto, then you pass near Utrera. Turn left: SE-429 and you get Los Molares.

Distances from Los Molares

Cádiz 114 km
Ronda 91 km
Utrera 8,5 km
Coripe 44 km
Sevilla 40 km
El Coronil 15 km
Montellano 28 km
Jerez de la Frontera 75 km
Arcos de la Frontera 64 km

Los Molares Town Hall