Temprana Fountain (Bedar - Almeria)

What to see in Bedar

 
 

Church of Saint Mary


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Church of Saint Mary (Bedar - Almeria)
 
It was commissioned by Bishop Antonio Carrionero around 1558-1570.

It is a church that looks like a fortress, and that is because the structure was designed to withstand possible attacks during the time when invasions and attacks were common.

It attracts attention long before reaching it, because the structure of the bell tower stands above the houses of Bedar.
 
Although the church has undergone several modifications and repairs over the years, the square structure of the tower and the construction of red bricks remain as in the building’s infancy, although visibly affected by the ravages of time.
 
 

Virgin of the Head Hermitage


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Virgin of the Head Hermitage (Bedar - Almeria)
 
Located on the hill of Bedar, the hermitage of the Virgin of the Head is a small building of great sentimental and religious value for its inhabitants. They are responsible for keeping it in excellent condition for devotion to the patron saint, but also to receive tourists and visitors from nearby towns, who attend the festivities in honour of the Virgin, in which the hermitage has a privileged position.

Of square plant, this hermitage has a triangular roof and a small bell, emulating to a church in smaller scale.
 
It is estimated that this hermitage was built in 1507, as a result of an agreement reached with the neighbouring town of Antas. Formerly, both towns were one, and in this homage was paid to the Virgin of the Head.

When the villages separated and the question arose which of the two would remain with the original hermitage, the image of the Virgin, and of course the festivities in her honour, the Solomonic decision was made to make two hermitages, one for each town, with their respective images and establish different dates of the parties, so that they did not coincide.
 
 

Hermitage of Serena


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Hermitage of Serena (Bedar - Almeria)
 
It is a hermitage that has been recently built, and houses Saint James the Greater throughout the year, celebrating a party in honour of this saint.
 
 

Nasrid Mosque of Serena


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Nasrid Mosque of Serena (Bedar - Almeria)
 
The Church of Serena, nowadays in ruins, dates from the Moorish era and everything suggests that it is an old mosque from the Nazari era, converted into a church from the forced conversion to Christianity of the Muslims of the Kingdom of Granada.

It is still standing thanks to the fact that in the past it was used as an olive oil press.
 
 

Loading station


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On the road that leads from Bedar to Los Gallardos is this peculiar building that immediately attracts the attention of those who travel in the area.

This is the “Tres Amigos” Loading Station, the starting point of the mining routes that Bedar used to have and that attest to its mining culture.

The loading station is the most striking point of the route, but not the only one.
 
In the area you can find the hopper or funnel that allowed the loading of minerals to the railroad cars, a beautiful house known as "Casa Rosada", which is the house where the executives, chiefs, and engineers involved in the mine lived, as well as the regulatory hoppers.

These mines were active with the extraction of iron from 1525 and closed their operations in the year 1970. These mines represent evidence of the economic activity that for a long time sustained Bedar, but also an enclosure loaded with industrial history, in which parts, materials, and equipment that are considered historical and have been sheltered to preserve them.
 
 

Temprana Fountain


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Temprana Fountain (Bedar - Almeria)
 
The Temprana Fountain is not the only water source that exists in Bedar, but it is considered the most important, because it is located in the heart of the town, next to the public laundry.

Formerly, when the town was in the hands of the Arabs, the source was called “Albaquira Alfaguara”. At present it has been reformed by the authorities, who for quite some time have been looking to renovate the old structures that are part of the historical, cultural, architectural, and social heritage of the towns of Almeria.
 
The fountain, like the laundry room next to it, still flows with water and is one of the most characteristic sites of Bedar and its Arab-Spanish culture.
 

  What to visit in the Levante Almeriense