Historical Ensemble of Colmenar de Oreja

The territory where Colmenar de Oreja sits is marked from ancient times to the Middle Ages by the existence of a strategic passage or ford to cross the Tagus River, already used by Aníbal in the Punic wars. The Romans settled permanently in the valley, with several “vicus” documented, one of which may be the origin of the city of Aurelia. During the Muslim domination, in the caliphal stage, the castle of Aurelia or Oreja was built on the left bank of the river, in order to control and protect the ford. 

After the conquest of Toledo by Alfonso VI in 1085, the lands of the Tagus valley alternately change hands, until in the year 1139, coinciding with the decline of the Almoravid power, Alfonso VII definitively conquered the castle of Oreja and that same year grants the "Jurisdiction of Aurelia", beginning the repopulation process of the territory. Some researchers consider that when Oreja was conquered, in Colmenar there was already a farmhouse or a fenced nucleus on the left bank of the ravine.

The formation and development of Colmenar de Oreja during the 1171th century is closely related to the vicissitudes of the reconquest. The initial failure of the repopulation process and the new Almohad danger caused that in 1174, Alfonso VIII surrendered the fortress of Oreja with its terms and villages, among which Colmenar is found, to the newly created Order of Santiago, in order to reinforce the Tagus line. The Order, which has its head in the nearby Uclés and Ocaña, constituted in XNUMX the Encomienda de Oreja, which includes the terms of Oreja, Colmenar and Noblejas, thus beginning the Santiago period that lasts until the XNUMXth century. 

Although there is no unanimity among historians on urban evolution in that period, the most widely accepted idea is that growth occurs by aggregation in the small initial nucleus, giving rise to a kidney shape adapted to the topography. Simultaneously, another population nucleus is forming on the right bank of the ravine, which is called "suburb". The structure of this second nucleus is more open and irregular, since the hamlet extends to the north and south following the natural topography, forming blocks by aggregation of houses along the roads. In the suburb, a church dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Sagrario and the Comendador's palace were built in the second third of the XNUMXth century. 

From the Visiting Records of the Order of Santiago, it is known that in the XNUMXth century there was a wall that delimited the population center located on the left bank of the ravine with twenty plaster-clad towers. 

Colmenar is soon favored by various privileges. In 1329, the Master of the Order granted him the privilege of pastures, which favored the development of livestock. In 1440 he granted the privilege of free passage through the fords of the Tagus, ratified by the Catholic Monarchs in 1494 and by Carlos I in 1523. In 1513 he obtained by royal privilege, the rank of Free and Exempt Villa. 

All this contributes to its becoming one of the most flourishing commercial centers in Castilla la Nueva, hand in hand with sustained demographic growth. Already in 1468 it was the most populated nucleus of the Encomienda de Oreja with 300 neighbors and 1.131 inhabitants. 

In 1511, the Order decided to expand the small church of Nuestra Señora del Sagrario, starting with the head. Its transformation into a large Gothic church with three naves lasts a century, the tower being completed in 1615. 

In 1540, in an operation linked to the acquisition of land for the future Royal Site of Aranjuez, Emperor Carlos I dismembered the Encomienda de Oreja and created two jurisdictional lordships: Noblejas and Colmenar de Oreja con Oreja, which became property of Don Diego de Cárdenas y Enríquez, first Duke of Maqueda. The Comendador's palace became the residence of the Lords of Colmenar. As of that moment, the Order of Santiago only conserves in the area some religious obligations that last until 1811. In the year of creation of the Señorío, the population of the town is 761 residents and 2.869 inhabitants. 

In the second half of the 1825th century, the most relevant event for urban development was the founding of the Franciscan Convent of San Bernardino de Siena, by Don Bernardino de Cárdenas y Carrillo de Albornoz, second Lord of Colmenar de Oreja, killed in the battle of Lepanto, which is located to the west of the suburb. In the building, teachings such as grammar, philosophy and theology are taught, monastic life developed normally until the confiscation of XNUMX, when it passed into private hands. 

The crucified Christ that Pope Pius V gave to Dona Luisa de Cárdenas in 1571 was placed in a humilladero until at the end of the century a hermitage was built in the area of ​​Santa Catalina, origin of the current hermitage of Santo Cristo del Humilladero. 

In 1625, King Felipe IV created the County of Colmenar de Oreja, his first count being Don Bernardino de Velasco Rojas y Ayala. 

Until that moment the town lacked a unitary structure, counting on a fenced nucleus and the suburb, separated by the ravine. In the seventeenth century, the connection of both settlements with a simple bridge was proposed and then the covering of the ravine with a platform that formed a new urban space, a laborious process that culminated two centuries later. 

In these years a second convent was built to the north of the urban complex. Don Diego de Cárdenas, former Lord of Colmenar, founded the convent of the Incarnation of Agustinas Recoletas. The plans are made by the architect Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás and the works began in 1639, although they stopped in 1646. Francisco de Ayala y Velasco, second Count of Colmenar gives new impetus to the construction, which his brother Antonio concludes, in a way that in 1688 the community of religious was constituted. Forming a body with the convent, the same architect built a house-palace for the Cárdenas, which replaced the ruined palace of the suburb. In the XNUMXth century, the confiscation partially affected the assets of the convent, although the religious community conserved the building and obtained ownership of the annexed palace. 

Throughout the 1751th century, the population of Colmenar de Oreja consolidated and diversified its activities, being, after Madrid and Alcalá de Henares, the most populated nucleus in the region. The 1.224 census shows a population of 4.618 residents with 40 inhabitants, of which 100% are dedicated to agriculture, 32% to industry and quarries, and the remaining 100% to other activities. The town has a privileged rainfed and irrigated agriculture, a prosperous cattle ranch and numerous industries, among which we must mention the esparto, the exploitation of stone quarries, the production of wine and brandy, but above all, the manufacture of clay jars, which are famous throughout the peninsula and are exported overseas. This industry conditions and shapes the urban landscape and its surroundings, due to the presence of numerous jaraízes or mud settling ponds, workshops for the manufacture of pieces and firing ovens, which require large amounts of firewood. 

Starting in 1738, the work of the quarries received an extraordinary impulse by the construction of the new Royal Palace of Madrid, and for more than a century the limestone of Colmenar became an essential material for the public and monumental buildings of the capital and of the Real Sitio de Aranjuez. 

Between the years 1751 and 1772 the hermitage of Santo Cristo del Humilladero was expanded with a monumental baroque construction, and shortly after, already in the enlightened spirit, the fountains of Barranco and de los Huertos were built, equipped with a complex system of troughs and laundry rooms. 

The expansion works of the Zacatín bridge and the new Plaza Mayor resumed and concluded in 1794. The front of porticoed houses at the eastern end of the plaza was built. In 1792 the construction of the new granary was completed, which delimits and separates the Plaza del Mercado and the Plaza Mayor, and the City Hall building is renovated. In this way, the square is perfectly delimited by the east and west ends. 

The Floridablanca census (1786) carried out with modern methods registers 4.427 inhabitants, which reflects the stability of the population throughout the century. 

In 1811 the Cortes of Cádiz decreed the abolition of the manors, ending the period of vassalage of the Cárdenas family and their descendants. In 1833 the new territorial division of Spain was approved, by which the town became dependent on the judicial district of Chinchón, integrated into the province of Madrid. Thus the historical ties with Toledo are broken. The 1847 census shows a population of 5.027 inhabitants. 

According to the Geographical-Statistical-Historical Dictionary of Spain and its Overseas possessions by Pascual Madoz (1845 and 1850), Colmenar de Oreja has 800 houses, almost all with a single habitable floor, very wide and capable, and describes the Plaza Mayor indicating that to the north and south only has a wall. The City Council finally decided to complete it, commissioning in 1862 the project of the houses of the two alignments. 

Throughout the 1834th century, various infrastructures and public endowments were made, such as the Parish Cemetery of 1853, the Theater of Charity of 1872, built on an old hospital and later called the Diéguez Theater, or the XNUMX Food Market. As a reflection Due to economic prosperity, many houses and farmhouses were renovated and expanded, maintaining the characteristic typology but enabling the chambers and warehouses on the upper floors as habitable spaces. 

The urban configuration is reflected in the plan of the Geographic and Statistical Institute of 1879, where it is appreciated that the complex has hardly undergone any modifications to this day, preserving the layout of most of its streets and squares. The population continues to grow during those years, completing the layout of the southwest sector, and developing a linear suburb parallel to the ravine. 

The new urban developments located in the northern area form the industrial district of La Tinajería. In the streets Malcasado, Afuera de Tinajeros, Poza del Moral or Casas Quemadas there are numerous warehouses and factories where local crafts and industry are concentrated. The manufacture of jars reached its greatest splendor at the end of the century, with 29 ovens in operation. 

In 1903 the railway arrived in Colmenar de Oreja, opening great expectations for commercial development. The ease of transportation promotes quarrying for a few years. King Alfonso XIII granted it the title of City in 1922 for the growing development of its agriculture, industry and commerce, and its constant adherence to the monarchy. 

The appearance of “portland” cement means the decline of the clay pot construction industry, due to the impossibility of competing in price with the larger, more resistant concrete jars made with simple techniques. On the other hand, the depletion of the stone quarries deprives the city of one of its traditional sources of wealth. The railway line is losing profitability after the Civil War, gradually eliminating the passenger and freight service, until its total closure at the end of the sixties. 

As the XNUMXth century progresses, the city grows in a north and northeast direction, taking advantage of a more favorable topography, as it is limited by ravines in the rest of the urban perimeter. From the sixties, urbanizations scattered throughout the municipal term and new residential or industrial developments attached to the urban area began to appear. 

Along with a significant number of buildings and public works of a monumental nature, there is an important set of large labor houses from the XNUMXth, XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries that incorporate into their architecture, of high typological interest, elements of the ethnographic and industrial heritage, such as caves and cellars. There is also a set of autonomous buildings of an industrial nature, not linked to labor houses, among them various factories, workshops, oil mills, jar kilns and lime kilns. The rest of the urban area protected by the declaration is made up of houses of more modest proportions, with a characteristic volume and composition of holes, which add environmental interest to the complex. 

We must also mention the archaeological heritage, the scope and importance of which is yet to be determined, which must provide the keys to the historical knowledge of the origins and development of the city, the object of controversy to this day. For this purpose, the CM / 0043/040 deposit that occupies a part of the urban area is delimited. 

The urban fabric of Colmenar is made up of two clear structures, linked by old roads and today linked by the Plaza Mayor, superimposed on the Zacatín ravine that once separated them. 

The first fabric, which seems to respond to the original nucleus of the population, sits on the eastern slope of the ravine, delimited on the southern and southwestern edge by retaining walls that take advantage of the steep terrain. The eastern edge is delimited by Cava Street, forming the edge of the old wall along its route. The implantation in the territory, the layout of the streets and the density of the subdivision reveal its medieval origin, despite the absence of singular buildings inside. The wall that embraced this first nucleus had, among others, the Merina tower and the Espolón tower, which were still preserved in 1825. 

The second fabric is developed on the west side of the ravine, structured around the parish church, which configures the urban space known as Plaza Vieja. A first enclosure is sensed in it, whose rounded shape could respond to a disappeared fence. Here are settled the wealthy and stately homes, as well as the conventual buildings of the modern era. 

Both fabrics are definitively connected with the creation of the Plaza Mayor, a large, sensibly rectangular porticoed space that responds to the typology of a traditional Castilian plaza, in this case the result of careful planning over two centuries. Located on the ravine and tunnel of the Zacatín, its genesis has been described when dealing with the historical evolution of the town. It is a group of homogeneous buildings with a popular flavor, with arcades and galleries around the perimeter, which incorporate elements typical of cultured architecture, such as Tuscan stone pillars and columns. The most significant piece is the Pósito, a construction completed in 1792 in which the arcades are flanked by two symmetrical bodies with windows. Less resounding is the City Hall, a pre-existing building that was adapted to the conditions of the new square in 1798, adding a new façade, which reduces typological clarity. Under the floor of the square, in a north-south direction, it crosses the Zacatín tunnel, built between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, with several perfectly differentiated sections corresponding to each construction stage. The whole of the tunnel, the square and the perimeter buildings has the maximum architectural and urban interest. 

The parish church of Santa María la Mayor is the great religious building of Colmenar, and has started a file for its declaration as a Site of Cultural Interest since 1982. It is a Gothic-Renaissance construction made between 1515 and 1615, whose conception goes evolving from a model of a Latin cross church with a single nave and side chapels to a church with three naves with a hall plan. The three façades are already Renaissance in the Herrerian spirit, and the tower with its slate spire corresponds to the austere style of the first third of the XNUMXth century. The church is completed with two baroque chapels, due to Juan Bautista Monegro and Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás. 

The convent of the Incarnation of Agustinas Recoletas was built from 1639 according to plans by Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás, and is one of the most important convent complexes in the Community of Madrid, fundamental for the study of the work of this architect. The temple, with a Latin cross plan, is covered with barrel vaults, and a dome recessed over the transept, very visible in the urban landscape. The convent is structured around several patios and has a garden and orchard enclosed with a high wall. On the outside, the atrium and the facade of the church stand out, dominated by a divided pediment with concave-convex lines. Badly damaged in the Civil War, it was rebuilt in 1947 by the General Directorate of Devastated Regions. 

The hermitage of Santo Cristo del Humilladero is a work of the 1592th and XNUMXth centuries. Around XNUMX, the construction of the first hermitage began, with a Latin cross plan with a quadrangular head, covered with a dome and barrel vaults. It responds to a model widely used in that period. The ensemble is completed with a body with a Greek cross plan attached to the foot of the nave, with a large dome on pendentives, built in the third quarter of the XNUMXth century within the aesthetics of the late Baroque. 

The remains of the Franciscan convent of San Bernardino de Siena, built in the second half of the 1825th century, occupy a complete block in the northwestern sector of the city. The building is built within the parameters of simplicity and sobriety typical of the Franciscan order, and is in poor condition as a result of its confiscation in 1879. It preserves the transept and presbytery of the church, and the rooms around the cloister principal. It also preserves the remains of the irrigation waterwheel and part of the walls of the convent. From its industrial stage it conserves two kilns for jars documented in XNUMX, one of them fitted in the transept of the church, and several naves made with stone masonry. 

The hermitage of San Roque, located at the junction of the Valdelaguna and Belmonte roads, is the work of the 1957th and XNUMXth centuries. Badly damaged in the Civil War, it was rebuilt and shortened in XNUMX. 

The Santa Catalina cemetery, created by private initiative in 1860, is located to the south of the urban nucleus, on the homonymous hill. Its initial structure is a single cloister with arcaded galleries, being expanded in 1922 with a second cloister of a similar type with cast iron columns. 

The Diéguez municipal theater is the most important civil building in the city. Built on the old Hospital de la Caridad in the mid-1901th century, it has undergone successive transformations to adapt it to the requirements of theatrical use. The configuration of the hall and the stage date from 1908 and XNUMX, respectively. The stage preserves the wooden stage, one of the oldest in the Community of Madrid. 

The food market, built in 1872, follows the typological model in vogue in those years, with an open patio and arcades around the perimeter, made with a wooden structure supported by stone pillars. The building has recently been converted into a guesthouse. 

The cream of tartar factory is an industrial construction from the end of the XNUMXth century made with stone masonry, reinforced with ashlars in the corners and with a brick factory in the enclosures. It has two main bodies of different heights arranged orthogonally and other auxiliary bodies, a tower and chimneys. It also has a complex system of caves and cellars dug at different depths. Despite its poor state of preservation and some mutilations, it is one of the most important elements of the city's industrial heritage. 

The source of the Barranco is a construction located at the exit of the Zacatín tunnel, which collects the channeled waters that are born in the ravine. It is made up of a collection gallery, a basin covered by a three-section vaulted structure made of limestone ashlar masonry bearing Cárdenas shields, a water trough and laundries made of the same material. The fundamental parts of the ensemble can be dated to 1779. 

The Fuente de los Huertos is located in a valley to the west of the urban area with catchment galleries dating back to the beginning of the seventeenth century, a basin covered by a two-section limestone vaulted structure, a water trough and wash basins also made of limestone. The basin and trough are from the end of the XNUMXth century and the laundries from the end of the XNUMXth century. 

The jar ovens are constructions of the greatest interest that are part of the ethnographic-industrial heritage. Of the 32 that the local chronicle collects at the end of the 29th century (9 in operation), six have been identified, one attached to the head of the church of the old Franciscan convent of San Bernardino, another in the old orchards of the same convent, two very close in Calle Casas Quemadas, numbers 9 and 2D, another in Calle Poza del Moral, number XNUMX, and the sixth, called “Jai Alai”, on the road to Vallehondo, outside the historic complex and its protected environment . These are constructions with a square plan, with a lower chamber or hearth covered by a vault of parallel arches of refractory brick, and forged of the same material with holes or grooves to allow the passage of heat. The upper chamber is covered with a hemispherical dome, which concentrates the heat. Almost all of them are in poor condition. 

The lime kilns are constructions that are part of the ethnographic-industrial heritage. In the southern limit of the urban area, near the suburb, a complex of symmetrical structure of great interest is preserved, although quite deteriorated. 

The Pilarejo bridge is an XNUMXth century construction of ashlar masonry and stone masonry that spans the valley that separates the town from the Santa Catalina hill, to facilitate access to the hermitage of Santo Cristo del Humilladero. 

The Ulpiano Checa municipal museum is a hybrid building built from an old house, more important for its content than for its architecture. 

The hermitage of San Juan is a XNUMXth century construction inscribed in the Mudejar tradition that incorporates Gothic and Renaissance elements. It is linked to the urban area, but is outside the delimitation of the historic complex and its surroundings, so it must be the subject, where appropriate, of an individual protection file. 

The parish cemetery, created in 1834, is located to the north of the town. The original square enclosure was extended in 1907 with a rectangular one, which incorporates 

a long arcaded gallery with slender cast iron columns. It is also linked to the urban area through a tree-lined path, but outside the delimitation of the historic complex and its surroundings, so it must be the subject, where appropriate, of an individual protection file. 

The residential architecture of Colmenar deserves a separate chapter within the general description of unique properties. A good number of large farmhouses are preserved in the urban area, with a perfectly identifiable typology that incorporates interesting variations on other examples from its geographical area. The historical subdivision has resulted in long frontages to the public road, allowing direct access to several of the interior courtyards of each house. This has led to the appearance of different models of doors adapted to specific uses and situations. The gates for cars or vehicles frequently incorporate limestone guards and jambs, with exposed wood lintels. The main doors for access by people usually have a careful treatment of the jambs and the lintel, where stone and wood are frequently combined. Of particular interest are the door leaves, which have a complex structure to allow different degrees of opening. 

The composition of the facades is always orderly and of rare uniformity, despite the absence of ordinances in this regard. They are organized by sections, sometimes with different cornice heights, which reflect different uses of the interior. During the XNUMXth century, many bourgeois or labor houses were renovated to adapt the upper floor to residential use, introducing balconies to highlight the noble parts. The main courtyards usually have arcades on one or more of their sides with stone, wood or cast iron columns, and wooden sunrooms or galleries on the upper floor. Under the houses, the existence of cellar caves is common, whose dimensions are proportional to the importance of the estate, which are accessed from the arcades of patios or corralizas, and ventilated to the outside through holes made in stone slabs . They are often comb-shaped, with niches for the jars. In addition to the caves, there are usually surface cellars with a gabled roof type of nave, where the press or press is located. The rest of the space is usually occupied by lines of large jars. 

The basic material used in traditional architecture in Colmenar is stone masonry with reinforcements of ashlars in the corners, sometimes adding brickwork. The Toledo-type masonry is not frequent, except in singular buildings. The format of the stone used in the mortar is small and with edges, which denotes the relative scarcity or scarcity of quarry limestone since ancient times. This is reserved for reinforcing or ornamental elements. The masonry factory is generally covered with gypsum plaster in its natural color, greyish white. However, there are examples of treatment of facades with cladding or drawings, generally in reddish tones. In the floors and steels, the limestone and the ceramic material obtained from the cutting of the defective jars (badger) are combined, forming drawings. Exposed brick is hardly used in traditional architecture, except for unique buildings from very specific periods. Wood is used extensively in pillars, footings, galleries, railings, eaves and roofs. 

In short, it is a sober, orderly construction that is perfectly adapted to the surrounding conditions, far from picturesqueness and ostentation, which adds to its architectural values ​​others linked to the ethnographic and industrial heritage. The residential architecture of Colmenar therefore deserves a systematic and detailed study for its documentation and correct conservation.

Download ► DECREE 98/2013, of December 26, of the Governing Council, by which the city of Colmenar de Oreja (Madrid) is declared a Site of Cultural Interest, in the category of Historic Complex