Aguilar de Campos, Spain: travel guide to the Mudejar village of the Tierra de Campos

Aguilar de Campos is a small village in the province of Valladolid, in Castile and León, set in the wide cereal plains of the historic Tierra de Campos in north-west Spain. Home to only a few hundred people today, it preserves a surprisingly rich medieval heritage and one of the finest brick-built Mudejar churches in the province.

For travellers searching for Aguilar de Campos, Mudejar architecture, the Tierra de Campos or villages near Valladolid, it offers a quiet but rewarding stop steeped in Castilian history.

History

Some historians identify Aguilar de Campos with the ancient settlement of Intercatia, and it was later known as Castro Mayor after the great earthen castle that once crowned the hill. From around 1200 it belonged to the Admirals of Castile, the Enríquez family, who held it for centuries, and it retains the status and pride of a historic villa.

Main sights

On the Plaza Mayor stands the village's great treasure, the Church of San Andrés, a 14th-century Gothic-Mudejar building of brick and masonry with a striking Cordoban-style portal of horseshoe arches, declared a site of cultural interest. Beside it rises the Gothic Rollo, a 15th-century jurisdictional column that is one of the most interesting in the province, together forming a beautiful monumental ensemble. The 16th-century Church of Santa María, the scant remains of the old castle and a quarter of traditional cave houses complete the picture.

Practical information

Aguilar de Campos lies about 61 kilometres from the city of Valladolid and around 20 kilometres from Medina de Rioseco, in the Tierra de Campos between Valladolid and León. A farming village off the main roads, it rewards those who seek out the quieter heritage of inland Castile.