Page 334 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

332  M ADRID

The church of Santa María del
Castillo, dating from the 14–15th
century, has a Mudéjar tower and
ceilings which were moved here
from the old hospital. The town
hall (ayuntamiento), in the newer
part of Buitrago, preserves a
16th-century pro cessional cross.
In the base ment is the Museo
Picasso. The prints, drawings and
cera mics were collected by the
artist’s friend, Eugenio Arias.
E Museo Picasso
Plaza de Picasso 1. Tel 91 868 00 56.
Closed Mon, Sun pm. ∑ madrid.
The village of Montejo de la Sierra in the Sierra Norte org/museopicasso
1 Sierra Norte of the sierra is the village of
Patones, which is thought to
Madrid. @ Montejo de la Sierra.
n Calle Real 64, Montejo, 91 869 have escaped invasion by the
70 58. ∑ sierradelrincon.org Moors and Napoleon’s troops
because of its isolated location.
The black slate hamlets of the
Sierra Norte, which were once 2 Buitrago del
known as the Sierra Pobre
(Poor Sierra), are located in the Lozoya
most attractively rural part of Madrid. * 2,000. @ n Calle Tahona
Madrid province. 19, 91 868 16 15. Open Castle: 10am–
At Montejo de la Sierra, the 1pm & 4–6pm Tue–Fri, 10am–2pm
largest village in the area, an Sat–Sun, 4–7pm Sat. ( Sat. _ La
information centre organizes Asunción and San Roque (15–16 Aug),
riding, the rental of traditional Cristo de los Esclavos (14–15 Sep).
houses (see p559), and visits to Altarpiece in the Monasterio de Santa
the nearby nature reserve of the Picturesquely sited above a María de El Paular
Hayedo de Montejo de la Sierra. meander in the Río Lozoya is 3 Monasterio de
This is one of the most southern the walled town of Buitrago
beech woods (see p84) in Europe, del Lozoya. Founded by the Santa María de
and a relic of a previous era, Romans, it was fortified by the El Paular
when climatic conditions here Arabs, and became an import-
were more suitable for the beech. ant market town in medieval Southwest of Rascafría on M604.
From Montejo, you can drive on times. The 14th-century Gothic- Tel 918 69 19 58. @ Rascafría.
Open 11am–1:30pm & 4–7pm
to picturesque hamlets such as Mudéjar castle is in ruins, daily (Nov–mid-Apr: to 6pm). 8
La Hiruela or Puebla de la Sierra, al though the gatehouse, arches obligatory. Closed some public hols.
both in lovely walking country. and stretches of the original ∑ monasteriopaular.com
The drier southern hills slope Arab wall have survived. The
down to the Embalse de Puentes castle is open to the public. Founded in 1390 as Castile’s first
Viejas, a reservoir where summer The town walls retain a Carthusian monastery, Santa
chalets cluster around artificial charming atmos phere and María de El Paular stands on the
beaches. On the eastern edge can be visited for a fee. site of a medieval royal hunting
lodge. Although it is mainly
Gothic in style, Plateresque
and Renaissance features were
added later. The monastery was
aban doned in 1836, when gov-
ern ment minis ter Mendizábal
ordered the sale of church goods
(see p67). It fell into disrepair
until its restoration in the 1950s.
Today the complex comprises a
working Benedictine monastery,
church and private hotel.
The church’s delicate alabas ter
Buitrago del Lozoya, standing next to the river altarpiece, attributed to Flemish
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p569 and pp593–4

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Date 15th January 2013
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