Caravaca unveils newly repurposed historic green space in town centre
Los Huertos del Vicario has been transformed from a long-abandoned site into a sustainable public park
Caravaca de la Cruz has opened a new 3,500-square-metre green space in its historic centre, reclaiming land that had stood neglected for over 30 years.
The park, named Los Huertos del Vicario, stands on the former ‘Europán’ block and forms a key part of the Town Council’s ‘Camino a Caravaca’ Tourism Sustainability Plan, funded primarily by EU Next Generation funds.
The space blends heritage with ecology, restoring historic irrigation channels, planting fruit trees and installing eco-friendly lighting.
A central viewing platform offers sweeping views of the Castle and Basilica, while four entrances, including one beside the Caballos del Vino Museum, ensure easy access. The park also includes a space for cultural events and surveillance cameras for safety.
Mayor José Francisco García described the project as “a turning point” in revitalising the city’s historic heart. The €427,000 initiative includes a second phase with a new children’s play area and artistic mural, based on community input.
Designed with biodiversity and public wellbeing in mind, the gardens include native species, shaded rest areas, and nesting boxes for birds and insects, reconnecting the old town with nature.
For more local news, events and visitor information, you can go to the home page of Caravaca Today
Images: Ayuntamiento de Caravaca de la Cruz
Address
Calle De Las Monjas, 19, 30400 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZTel: 968 702424 / 968 701003
Oficina de Turismo de Caravaca de la Cruz
More information about the places of interest which can be visited in the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz, along with what's on and local news can be found in the Caravaca Today.
Caravaca de la Cruz, in the north-west of the Region of Murcia, is one of only 5 Holy Cities in the Roman Catholic world, a centre of pilgrimage, along with Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Santo Toribio de Liebana, and is home to the Cross of Caravaca, the Vera Cruz.
The status of Holy City was bestowed by Pope John Paul II in 1998, granting the City a Permanent Jubilee year every 7 years for perpetuity, the first one held in 2003 and the next in 2024.
The strategic and natural advantages of Caravaca de la Cruz have attracted the attention of settlers for more than 800,000 years, the Cueva Negra yielding remains of Homo Heidelbergensis, forbears of the Neanderthals and the municipality also houses important archaeological remains from the Argaric, Iberian and Roman cultures. many of these can be seen in the Municipal Archaeological Museum.
As a border town caught between the Catholic forces of Castille and the last remaining Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada, Caravaca had a turbulent medieval history, but it was during this period that the legend of the Cross of Caravaca was born, bringing the religious orders which shaped the structure of Caravaca today, with its impressive hilltop castle and eclectic collection of churches and monasteries, religious tourism today being a backbone of the town´s economy.
Caravaca de la Cruz is a municipality with important natural resources, including extensive forests, part of which have protected status due to their wealth of flora and fauna, and due to the abundant water supplies is also a major area for canned fruit production, apricots in particular being an important crop.
Caravaca is renown for its important May Fiestas, held in honour of the Vera Cruz, which also incorporate the Moors and Christians celebrations and the Running of the Wine Horses.
Caravaca de la Cruz is also the home of Europe´s largest collection of ethnic instruments at Barranda, the Museo de Música Étnica Barranda and is the location of the Barranda festival de Cuadrillas, which celebrates the Region's ethnic music traditions.
The municipality is home to around 26,000 inhabitants and shares boundaries with Moratalla, Cehegín, Lorca, Puebla de Don Fadrique in the province of Granada and Vélez-Blanco in the province of Almería.
Opening times:
Weekdays: 10.00 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30
Saturdays: 10.30 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30
Sundays and public holidays: 10.30 to 14.00
Click for map, Caravaca de la Cruz Tourist Office
