Yeste

Castle

Located in the centre of the village, it is an old Islamic fortress, extended and renovated in subsequent centuries. In the second half of the 14th century it was renovated to reinforce its exterior defence elements and the Keep, whose access door shows the stonework coats of arms of the Order of Santiago (Saint James) and of the Figueroa family, who was then the holder of the mastership of the Order. In the early 16th century, Commander Rodrigo Manrique adapted the fortress to a more courtly way of life, building a columned courtyard and spacious rooms, of which some of the old interior corridors remain, as does as a beautiful Gothic window that presided  the main hall of the castle. The fortress had a battlement and roofs, which are one of the most typical architectural elements of this monument, and characteristic of all the castles of the Order of Saint James located in the region of the Segura Mountain Range. 

It was the place of residence of the commanders of the Order of Saint James from the 13th to the 16th century, among whom were some of the most noble Castilian families. Of all of them, the Manrique family was especially relevant, as it had the control of the Order during almost the entire 15th century. Don Rodrigo Manrique, the head of the lineage, was commander of Segura de la Sierra from 1434 to 1474, and also Master of the Order, and placed his son Rodrigo Manrique as commander of Yeste between 1466 and 1518.

As from the second half of the 16th century, the successive commanders of the Order of Saint James were not obliged to live in Yeste, and the castle became the residence of its governors. 

In Mediaeval times, the village extended from the foot of the fortress southwards, comprising the council square, the parish church and the 'Infierno' (Hell) quarters; all this was surrounded by a wall, of which some battlement section still stand today.
From the Keep eastwards lies the Barrio del Cabezuelo (Cabezuelo quarters) , which was built in the 16th century, including the hermitages of San Juan (Saint John) and Santa Quiteria (Saint Quiteria), which no longer stands today. To the West of the Castle, lie the Santiago quarters, dating from the 15th century and was built around the hermitage that bears its name, and the San Marcos quarters, which began to be occupied in the mid 16th century, and where a hermitage devoted to the Saint was built, which does not remain today either. Lastly, to the North lies the current area of expansion of the village, in the lands that were once the crop land of the Order, centuries ago; above this neighbourhood, at the top of the hill, is the hermitage of San Bartolomé (Saint Bartholomew), patron saint of the village since the 16th century, and the hermitage of San Cristobal (Saint Christopher), whose image is currently kept at the Iglesia del Convento (Church of the Convent). Other hermitages, now disappeared, were the one devoted to Saint Sebastian to protect the population from epidemics and that devoted to Saint Gregory, whose image is currently in private property.

Today, the Castle's courtyard houses the Centre for Mediaeval Interpretation “Vivir en la Frontera”, a centre which disseminates Mediaeval history through a documentary and a Museum. In the rooms where the commanders once lived, today we have the chance of travelling to Mediaeval times through the Museum, divided into three rooms: Room of the Order, Christian Room and Muslim Room, as well as the Arms Room, where the different models, paintings, arms and clothing exhibited provide us with a better understanding of history.

The Castle hosts several events all year round, among which the following are of special interest: Music concerts, summer cinema, animation events, with the Popular Traditions Fair as one of the most significant events. 

Find out more about visiting the Castle at the Tourism Office. 

Castle opening times
Summer, Mondays to Sundays:
10:30  am to 2:00 pm.
5:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

Winter:
10:30 to 2:00 pm.
5:00 to 7:30 pm.

Guided cultural visits:
Mondays to Saturdays:
12:00 h Castle and Church.
6:00 pm Castle and Convent Summer.
5:00 pm Castle and Convent Winter.
Sundays: 12:00 Castle, Church and Convent.

These timetables are subject to possible changes due to special events organised at the Castle.

Old Council and Granary Building

Coming back from the Castle along the Calle del Rayo and before reaching the Parish Church, is the old Council square dating from the Mediaeval period, where the Town Hall stands today. It was built in the 16th century for meetings of the members of the Council,  for the mayors to administer justice and as a Granary or grain store. It has a beautiful porticoed courtyard with two coats of arms, one of them the imperial coat of arms of Charles V and the other the coat of arms of the Villa of Yeste.

Iglesia Parroquial Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Parish Church of Our Lady of the Assumption)

From the Plaza del Ayuntamiento (Town Hall Square). you reach the Iglesia Parroquial (Parish Church) through a flight of stairs from which the views of this religious building allow visitors to appreciate its full splendour. The architectural monument is formed by two naves that are joined in a T shape and that correspond to two different construction periods of the temple.

One of the naves, today the transept of the church, is Gothic  and corresponds to the original temple, which started to be built towards the end of the 15th century and was completed approximately in 1539. This part of the building was designed by Biscay quarrier Ortuño de Villar. The plan is elongated and comprises three vaults, with a polygonal front, where the main altarpiece was inserted. One of the Gothic exterior access doors still stands. This Gothic temple was the first building in this style built in the region, and its external appearance is compact and closed, similar to the aspect of the fortresses in the area.

The increase in population experienced by the villa during the first decades of the 16th century implied that this first Gothic church soon became too small for all the congregation, and there was soon a project for its extension. The difficulties posed by the land conditions and the scarcity of space available, made it necessary to build a new nave, and join it to the original nave at the centre, giving rise to the final floor plan, that is one of the special characteristics of this church, very different from architectural and stylistic norms at the time. This second part of the building was started in the decade of the 1540s and was completed in 1560, although the current vaults and roof, as well as the bell tower, were not completed until 1739. Its style is Renaissance and has two access doors, one main access door, more spacious and with more varied decoration and another back access door, once used by the neighbours of the Cabezuelo quarters to access the church. 

The main façade of the church was completed in 1588 and its design is attributed to the Murcia sculptor Juan de Orea.

This nave is formed by four chapels of unique beauty. Capilla de la Santa Espina (Chapel of the Holy Thorn), Capilla de San Martín (Saint Martin's Chapel) and Santa Maria Magdalena (Holy Mary Magdalene Chapel), where a magnificent baroque altarpiece is kept, with a sculpture of La Dolorosa (Our Lady of the Sorrows) by the Murcia sculptor Francisco Salzillo between 1773 and 1774, from the Franciscan convent of Yeste.

The Capilla de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción (Chapel of Our Lady of the Conception), built in the 16th century, and the  Capilla de los Santos Reyes (Chapel of the Holy Kings) or Capilla del Baptisterio (Chapel of the Baptistry); dating from the 16th century, by Melchor de Reolid, who left it in his will for the burial of his family members. It has a magnificent example of coffered ceiling in stone, with vegetation motifs and a crypt, where some of the vicars of the Order of Saint James were buried.

Franciscan Convent

The settlement of a community of discalced Franciscans in Yeste was approved by king Phillip II in 1618. The building was built during the following years under the protectorate and patronage of the constables of Castile, who helped with the acquisition of the land and plots necessary to build the convent.  In 1628 several parts were still to be built: part of the church, the altarpieces, cloister and the sick bay. The neighbours of Yeste contributed alms and the council contributed one thousand five hundred pines towards its completion.  The contract with Pedro de Orrente for the altarpieces to the sides of the main altar dates from 1629.

This convent of discalced Franciscan friars became part of the province of San Pedro Alcántara, of the Kingdom of Granada, and was to become an important cultural centre during the 17th and 18th centuries. Some of the attractions of the convent, are the paintings by Pedro de Orrente, the sculpture of La Dolorosa (Our Lady of the Sorrows), by Francisco Salzillo,  dating from 1773-1774, all kept at the parish today.

Friar Blas Fernández was responsible for commissioning the figure of La Dolorosa from Salzillo, as well as for other commissions.

The friars left the building in 1820, and it became property of the vicarage of Yeste. In 1826, its church was built, as support to the Parish, dedicated to Saint Bartholomew, the Patron Saint of Yeste, whose figure was transported to the main altar in a solemn procession. Since then, the building is also home to the priests of Yeste.

Other Monuments

Hermitages of Saint James, the Conception and Saint Bartholomew, Vicarage and Ancestral Homes.
Dotted across the town there are other unique buildings, of great artistic or historical interest. Of all of them, the oldest is the Hermitage of Saint James (Santiago), in the quarters that bear the same name and which was built in 1494. Its interior houses an altarpiece with an image of Saint James the apostle represented as a pilgrim. The hermitage also keeps a figure of Saint Ana, originally in Her old hermitage, which once stood at the entrance, but no longer stands today.

Near the castle and on the way towards the Cabezuelo quarters, stands the 16th century Hermitage of Our Lady of the Conception, which was the see of the brotherhood and which was home to another small community of Franciscan friars. The current building is fully renovated and refurbished for other uses. Part of the original façade structure still remains, as well as the rich polychrome wood coffering in the interior.

Near this Hermitage, is the see of the Vicarage of the Order of Saint James, which was home to the Saint James vicars from the second half of the 16th century until the 19th century. The building occupied the entire block, and it was also used as a store and cellar to keep the agricultural products gathered from the tithe. Today it is entirely renovated, although the original stone façade and interior columned courtyard still remain.

Outside Yeste, at the top of the hill that also bears its name, is the hermitage of Saint Bartholomew, Patron Saint of Yeste. The hermitage is the final destination of the pilgramage held every year on August 24. The hermitage was built between 1629 and 1633, although the celebrations in honour of the saint date from even earlier, with dances, bulls, bangers and 'mask comedies'. The hermitage underwent several extensions to adapt to the increase in popularity of the pilgrimage, with the bonfire tradition during the ceremony. Its interior houses the image of the patron saint, by an anonymous artist.

Lastly, there are several ancestral homes in Yeste, built by noble families in the 17th and 18th centuries. Along the Calle Guerreros, there are several of these houses, with columned courtyards and upper wooden corridors, with a similar structure to the central courtyard of the Castle, although their current interior structure has been extensively modified. There are also some façades with the family court of arms chiselled into the stone.