My Visit to Chinchón, Spain

Hello friends. I’d like to talk about a rather spontaneous trip I took this year, with no special plan behind it. We visited a very interesting place called Chinchón. Chinchón is a historic town, or rather a small village. Today, it is listed among the most beautiful villages in Spain. What makes it special is the feeling that history has almost frozen in place here. This is medieval Spain in its most authentic and pure form.

As usual, we started at the Plaza Mayor. However, the Plaza Mayor in Chinchón was nothing like the squares we had seen before. Those are usually grand and well maintained and either square or triangular in shape. This one was completely asymmetrical, and everything looked deeply authentic. There were wonderful green balconies here, exactly 234 of them. The square itself was actually an arena. Bullfights are still held here, just as they once were in other Plaza Mayors.

In a way, we were lucky because only a few days earlier the famous bull runs had taken place here. The bulls ran through the town streets and ended up in this arena. Along the route where the bulls ran, special protective barriers had been set up. I had never seen anything like this anywhere before. The most famous bull runs are held in Pamplona, but it turns out Chinchón has them too.

This square was built in the 15th century. In general, the history of the town is closely tied to the Counts of Chinchón, who also gave it its name. Since there were counts, there was of course a castle as well. It stood a little outside the village, but unfortunately it was destroyed during the Napoleonic Wars, also known as the Peninsular War. You cannot go inside, but even from the outside it still looks quite impressive.

As for bullfighting, if you think “this is horrible, it’s cruelty to animals,” I agree with that. Still, I see it as a cultural phenomenon. After all, we don’t cry when we see a steak on our plate, and I suppose most of us are like that.

We climbed a bit higher. The most important religious building in Chinchón is the Church of the Assumption of Mary. Its construction began in the 10th century, and it was also completed in the 10th century. It traditionally includes several architectural styles: Gothic, Plateresque, Baroque and Renaissance. Honestly, it was hard to tell which detail belonged to which style. To me, it felt quite plain and even minimalist.

What was interesting was that this church had no bell tower. It was probably located elsewhere. Indeed, this was a rare situation: the bell tower stood apart from the church. In fact, this tower had once been part of the Church of Nuestra Señora de Gracia, which was destroyed during the War of Independence in the Napoleonic period.

From here, it was also possible to see the castle clearly, and it had suffered damage during the same era. The view from this point was genuinely impressive. Once again, that unique Plaza Mayor stood before us. In my opinion, this might be the most authentic Plaza Mayor in Spain.

You could also see part of the Augustinian monastery here, which has now been converted into a Parador hotel. Honestly, if you are going to stay one night in Chinchón, this is the best place to do it. There really isn’t much to do in town for more than a day anyway. The Parador chain usually operates in former monasteries and historic buildings.

The life of the Augustinians was, of course, very modest. I doubt they had a swimming pool, but they certainly had well kept gardens and quiet corners where they could withdraw and be alone with God. The monastery is in very good condition today. It too was founded by the Counts of Chinchón. It is clear that they placed great importance on religious life, and from the details in their coats of arms you can also tell that they were close to the royal family. In addition, they had founded the convent of the Clarisas nuns. Next to the Church of the Assumption of Mary, there was also a theater. If it had been possible to enter the church, for some reason it was closed that day, it would have been possible to see a very interesting altar inside.

There was another building here worth mentioning: the Casa de la Cadena, or House of the Chain. On February 26, 1702, the future king of Spain, Philip V, stayed here. He belonged to the Bourbon dynasty and ascended the throne after the War of the Spanish Succession. Interestingly, one of the other claimants to the throne had once stayed in the Augustinian monastery. In this tiny town, the power struggles over the throne of a vast empire had intersected.

I can say this: I really liked Chinchón. Time seemed to have almost stopped here. The atmosphere was extremely authentic. Was it worth coming here specifically from Madrid, which is about 40 km away? Probably not, because there are many more places to see in Madrid itself and nearby: Segovia, Ávila, El Escorial, Toledo. However, if you are driving from Madrid toward Valencia and the coast, stopping here for a few hours or even spending a night at this lovely Parador definitely makes sense.