What to See in Jerez de la Frontera - Top Sights and Attractions

Palace and gardens in a Moorish fortress. The Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera is a former Moorish alcázar, now housing a park, in Jerez de la Frontera, in the South of Spain. It was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in 1931.

The first fortress was probably built in the 11th-century, when Jerez was part of the small kingdom of the Taifa of Arcos de la Frontera, on a site settled since prehistoric times in the south-eastern corner of the city. In the 12th-century, a new structure was erected to be used as both residence and fortress by the Almohad Caliphate. Later, after the Reconquista, it was the seat of the first Christian mayors and its development continued with a palace and other structures. The alcázar is one of a few structures that best exemplify Almohad architecture in the Iberian Peninsula.

Features include:

• a grossly quadrangular line of walls, with a perimeter of approximately 4,000 m
• the Octagonal Tower, in Almohad style
• the Tower of Ponce de León (14th-century), annexed to the keep.
• a mosque, the only remaining of the eighteen once present in the city. After the Christian conquest of the fortress in 1261, it was put under the command of Nuño González de Lara. Later, it was turned into a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary by King Alfonso X of Castile. The minaret, still extant, was turned into a bell tower. The prayer hall, preceded by a small room of ritual ablutions, features a mihrab, indicating the direction of Mecca, and a rib vault with a circular window at the top.
• the Palace of the Patio de Doña Blanca, dating to the 12th-century Islamic structure, originally a leisure pavilion
• the bathhouse (hammam), they include an entrance area for undressing, leading to the cold and warm rooms, the latter being the largest in the complex. The final room is the hot room, whose heating system is still partially visible.
• the Palace of Villavicencio, built in 1664 in Baroque style.

Edifice. The Palace of Bertemati is a historical edifice in Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain.

The palace is a Baroque building, constructed by the Sopranis-Davila family in the 18th century on the inner slope of a stream. At the beginning of the 19th century, the family sold the palace. It was subsequently divided into two buildings. The larger building become the property of Jose Bertemati, a successful retailer. Bertemati transformed the property into a neoclassic structure. The smaller building went through a series of owners. It was transformed into an eclectic house with French influences and other neonazaries.

In 1942, under the auspice of Monsignor Bertemati, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jerez de la Frontera assumed ownership of both buildings. They provided the entire for use by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate.

The restoration of the palace began in 2002. It was finished in 2006 taking place the transfer to the new Seat. Monteiro de Castro was inaugurated by the Apostolic Nuncio and the bishop on 8 December 2005.^[5]

Edifice in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. San Marcos is a Gothic church in Jerez de la Frontera, southern Spain. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1931.

The church originates from one of the six parishes founded by King Alfonso X of Castile after his conquest of the city in 1264. The current edifice was likely started in the mid-14th century, due to the style of its polygonal apse and the Mudéjar portal, perhaps above a pre-existing mosque. The construction is anyway not documented until the middle of the 15th century, including a substantial renovation in late Gothic style.

The church has three façades, with a main entrance portal in Mannerist style (16th century). The interior has a Baroque high altar (18th century)^[10]