This town is located on the banks of the Río Barbatas by the Sierra de la Encantada. Itsmanor houses are particularly lovely and they still bear their coats of arms on their façades. The town belongs to the Diocese of Toledo and this explains its many religious buildings, including the Colegiata de Santa María from the 16th century.
Other attractions include the Iglesia de Santiago, the Convento de Santo Domingo, the Convento de San Francisco and the Parque Rodríguez Penalva.
Huéscar is set in beautiful natural surroundings where you can see some giant sequoias, planted there over a hundred years ago. The Río Guardal has several monuments around it including the Puente de las Ánimas dating back to the 16th century, which was declared a national monument of historic and artistic interest in 1982, and the Puente Duda, whose pillars rest on a rock face. The Canal de Carlos III springs from the Finca de las Fuentes de Guardal.
Huéscar has been a human settlement since Prehistoric times, as it can be seen from the numerous archaeological sites in the area. In 1915 the Piedra de Letrero, a natural shelter dating back to the Neolithic period, was discovered.
The Arabs used the town, which was dotted with Roman villas, as a military centre. It was under the rule of Tudmir in the 7th century and it later became part of the Kingdom of Granada. From the beginning of the 13th century to the late 15th century it was the site of many fights between Arabs and Christians, as it was located on an important border. In the early 14th century it was besieged by the army of Ismail I, who destroyed the castle called Uxkar. The most important year of the history of Huéscar is 1435, when the fortress was conquered by Don Rodrigo Manrique, father of the poet Jorge Manrique, who celebrated this event in his poem Coplas por la muerte de su padre.
Huéscar fell under the jurisdiction of the Crown of Castile in 1488, and seven years later the Catholic Monarchs gave it to the Constable of Navarra. The town had 6,000 inhabitants by the 16th century, but after the expulsion of the Moors the population was halved. It belonged to the Diocese of Toledo from 1544 to 1953.
Huéscar has an extensive range of dishes based on local products such as lamb, pork, legumes and vegetables. Typical dishes include Remojón de San Antón, Lata de cordero, Lata de conejo, and its famous Relleno. Local pork products such as sausages and blood sausage are excellent.
Huéscar is also famous for its vineyards. The following grape varieties are grown in the area: Blanquilla, Gordal, Generval, Blasca and Tinta doble.
