20 QR Video English
Channel: TURISMO ALMADEN
Date: 2023-06-16

We welcome you to the church of Santa María de la Estrella.
Also known as iglesia de Jesús, it is the town’s main church.
Originally, it was the chapel of the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, until 1709, where the image of Jesus Christ was brought from Seville, changing its name to Ermita de Nuestro Padre Jesús de Nazareno.
In 1747, it is expanded thanks to the support of miner charity, losing this name after it received the role of parish in 1812 under the patronage of Nuestra Señora de la Estrella as a consequence of the destruction of the church of San Sebastián, which was the parish of Almadén until then.
A fire occurred in 1954, burning the image of Jesus Christ, which had been carved in 1699. In 1955 a replicate is ordered, made by Cuenca native Luis Marcos Pérez, payed for by popular donations, and is currently standing in the main altar.
The church’s main doorway is in the Renaissance style. It can be divided into two parts, where the lower part has an entry door flanked by two columns supported by plinths.
The upper part consists of a central opening finished with a triangular pediment. It is all topped with a bracketed cornice, with a bell-gable standing out over a roof lantern.
In 1885, an iron-finished clock tower was built over the bell-gable.
The inside of the church has a Latin cross plan with lateral chapels. The main altarpiece is dedicated to the worship of the image of Jesus Christ. Other prominent images include la Virgen de la Dolores, commonly worshipped in Almadén, and el Cristo de la Fuensanta, from the 16th century, the oldest in the building.
At the base of the altarpiece, a semi-circular baroque painting displays Christ, similar to the central figure of the painting ‘Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan’, possibly belonging to the works of local artist Juan Martín Cabezalero, one of the most important painters of Spanish Baroque painting in the 17th century.
We will now leave this place, but you can continue discovering more of Almadén’s stories by visiting the next point of interest.