The Jardín del Calvario in Alhama de Murcia
A church, a cross, and an occasional venue for outdoor events in Alhama
In approximately 1916 a small church was built on a privately owned bare hill in the outskirts of Alhama de Murcia and a large cross was erected next to it, and in subsequent years the owners allowed residents in the town to climb up to it. This quickly became a “Vía Crucis" procession from the church of San Lázaro along what is now known as the Calle de los Pasos, the “pasos” being the stations of the cross along the route: some of these still exist.
In the 1980s the area was absorbed into the urban area of the town, and the then owner, María Dolores Sánchez García, ceded the church and twenty other plots of land to the Town Hall so that the building could be restored and a park created around it. Thus, in 1990 and 1991 the land was flattened, a containing wall was built, two means of access were created (one with a ramp, the other a flight of steps) and the vegetation planted included palm trees, olives and cypresses, representing the three cultures which shaped the identity of Alhama in the Middle Ages.
Curiously, since then five “stricta” cypresses have grown of their own accord, without the Town Hall having planted them!
The park is located between Calle San Isidro, Calle Salzillo, Calle de Los Pasos and Calle Tenerife, and is also used as an occasional venue for outdoor events in Alhama.
For more local information, including news and forthcoming events, visit the home page of Alhama Today.
