San Cristobal Hermitage

San Cristobal Hermitage

VILLARRUBIA DE LOS OJOS

This 16th-century building, located on the so-called Balcón de La Mancha, in the foothills of the Montes de Toledo, overlooks the plains of La Mancha.
It has undergone several restorations, the main one after the Civil War.

Since its foundation, the Fiesta de la Cruz de Mayo has been celebrated here and since 1986 it has also been celebrated the Romería de San Cristóbal, on 10th July, where the popular “bateo” (toasted wheat) is distributed to all the inhabitants of Villarrubia and visitors. Sanctuary of La Virgen de la Sierra

During the campaigns and expeditions of the Castilian kings against the Muslim positions based in the castle of Consuegra at the end of the 11th century, the hermitage of Ntra. Sra. de la Sierra and the castle of Villarrubia were located in the so-called no man’s land, an area characterised by a way of life based on the nomadic lifestyle of its inhabitants, subjected to the Muslim occupation and the continuous passage of the Christian soldiers.

In 1147, lands included in the municipality of Villarrubia were donated to the Order of Monte Gaudio and Monfranc for their repopulation and defence, which was legitimised by a papal bull in 1180. One year later, paradoxically, Alfonso VII made a donation to the Order of the Hospital de San Juan, in the person of Rodrigo Rodríguez, of the castle of Consuegra with all its surrounding boundaries, which included the municipalities of Daimiel and Villarrubia.

As a result of the battle of Las Navas in 1212, the powerful Order of Calatrava proceeded to repopulate the territory under its control, bringing in large numbers of peasants from Zamora and León and establishing them in ancient villages. In 1221, Ferdinand III granted all the belongings of the Order of Monte Gaudio de Monfranc, no longer in existence, to the newly created Order of Calatrava, including the castle of Villarrubia, which undoubtedly contributed to the conflict with the Order of the Hospital of San Juan.