Routes Routes around Olivenza

The Walls of Olivenza

The goal of the visit is to provide a basic vision of the location and functions of the four walls that successively protected the city of Olivenza, based on the remains of the first wall of Templar origin and the observation of two of the bastions that make up the fourth wall, originally from the 17th century. The three different visits have been designed to follow walking.

Royal Olivenza  

The purpose of the visit is to provide an overview of the wealth of Olivenza heritage through a circular tour of thirteen stops. Samples of popular, civil and religious architecture illustrate the history of Olivenza and its relationship with different kings and queens from Spain and Portugal.

The Churches of the Districts  

This route is based on the churches and parishes of the Olivenza districts, although it is proposed as an excuse for visiting the different districts and their particularities and samples of popular architecture. It is necessary to have your own vehicle to carry it out, or a coach in the case of organized groups. The road trip takes about two hours, in addition to the stops in the different districts: it is best to have a full day to be able to complete the route and enjoy the visit. The best place to start is in San Francisco de Olivenza and, in a circular way, to visit all the district churches ending in Villarreal, where the dock is located and complementary activities to this route are available.

Route of the pasos 

The ”pasos” (a type of religious parade where “pasos” translates to “steps”) are typical of the most traditional Portuguese Easter. La Hermandad de las Llagas (The Brotherhood of Wounds), in Portugal, used to build five chapels on the façades of some streets, alluding to some “pasos” of the Vía Sacra. The origin of these altars is found in the procession of “Los Pasos”, in which the patron saint of Olivenza, El Señor de los Pasos (Lord of the Steps), walked them in procession on Passover Sunday, also called Passion Sunday (V of Lent; the previous to Palm Sunday). The reason behind the construction of five steps is due to the number of wounds from the Passion of Christ.