New park-and-ride car facility planned at entrance to Caravaca's historic centre
The new facility will include bicycle parking, accessible spaces and a rest area for visitors, pilgrims and residents
Work is underway on a new park-and-ride facility in Caravaca de la Cruz that will create around 50 parking spaces close to one of the main access points to the town's historic centre.
The new car park is being built on Calle Las Monjas, beside the Uribe Bridge and directly opposite the Fiesta Museum, on a site that was previously unused.
Caravaca Town Hall says the project is designed to make it easier for residents, visitors and pilgrims to reach the old town while helping to improve traffic flow and accessibility in one of the municipality's busiest areas.
The development forms part of the Camino a Caravaca Tourism Sustainability Plan and is being funded through European Next Generation funds. The total investment amounts to €58,171.
Mayor José Francisco García visited the site this week alongside the councillor for urban planning and municipal technicians to check on progress.
"This project allows us to reclaim a previously degraded and unused space for public use, transforming it into an infrastructure that will improve mobility and accessibility to the historic centre," Mayor García said during his visit.
The new facility is being created on a municipal plot of almost 2,000m² in a prominent location opposite the Tourist Office and Fiesta Museum.
Alongside standard parking spaces, the plans include designated bays for people with reduced mobility, bicycle parking to encourage more sustainable transport and a small gathering and rest area aimed at enhancing the experience for visitors arriving in the town.
The project also includes access improvements, fencing, ground preparation and the installation of the various facilities planned for the site.
As part of the wider transformation, a large mural is being painted overlooking the new parking area by Cartagena-based urban artist Kraser, whose real name is José Jorge Nicolás Salas.
The artwork will offer a contemporary interpretation of the arrival of Ferdinand the Catholic in Caravaca in 1488, blending local history with modern urban art in a prominent location at the gateway to the old town.
The land was transferred to the town hall by the Regional Government of Murcia. It was previously occupied by a building that suffered severe fire damage before being demolished, leaving the vacant plot now being redeveloped.
Officials believe the combination of improved parking and the new public artwork will help create a more welcoming entrance to one of the Region of Murcia's most important historic and religious destinations.
For more local news, events and visiting information contact the local tourist office (telephone 968 702424) or go to the home page of Caravaca Today.
Address
Calle De Las Monjas, 19, 30400 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZTel: 968 702424 / 968 701003
Caravaca de la Cruz tourist office
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.
Tourist office 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
