Monteagudo Castle and its monument of reparation to the Heart of Jesus

Monteagudo Castle (Sp. Castillo de Monteagudo) is a fortification that is located about five kilometers northeast of the city of Murcia (Murcia Region, Spain) and about 18 kilometers southwest of Orihuela, in the district of the same name.

The castle is located on an impressive rocky point that rises 149 m above sea level, so it dominates the entire Huerta de Murcia, watered by the Segura river. Its strategic location and its unique layout make this fortress a fundamental landmark of Murcia’s pre-coastal depression, located on the northern edge of La Huerta.

Monteagudo Castle dates back to Islamic times. The first documentary references to this fortification indicate its existence around 1078-1079. However, it is in the time of Ibn Mardanis when the castle acquires its current disposition. However, the transcendental fame that it still conserves would come with the incorporation of the kingdom to the Crown of Castile in 1243.

On the top of the hill and dominating the valley, we find the monument of reparation to the Heart of Jesus, a 14-meter-high sculpture designed in 1951 by the sculptor Nicolás Martínez. This monumental work, which enjoys great devotion, is actually the replacement of a previous sculptural group, built in 1926 by Anastasio Martínez Hernández, with the patronage of the mayor of Murcia at that time (in the middle of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship), Francisco Martínez García, monument that was destroyed in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.

Recently, attempts have been made to remove the Cristo de Monteagudo from the top of the hill. The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid dismissed the appeal that demanded its withdrawal, claiming that in addition to a religious symbol, it is part of the Murcian cultural tradition.

GPS coordinates: 38°01′13″N 1°05′51″E

How to get to?

From Madrid 4 hr 1 min (404 km) via AP-36 and A-30

See here Andorra travel guide

See here Pyrenees travel guide

See here France travel guide

See here Spain travel guide

Read more: Castles and fortresses of Spain and France with Mathew Kristes ...