Caravaca de la Cruz (Spanish: [kaɾaˈβaka ðe la ˈkɾuθ] ), often shortened to Caravaca, is a town and municipality of southeastern Spain in the region of Murcia, near the left bank of the River Argos, a tributary of the Segura. It is the capital of the northwest Region of Murcia. It has a population of 26,449 as of 2010 (INE). In 1900, it had 15,846 inhabitants.
It is the fifth Holy City of Catholic Christianity, having been granted the privilege of celebrating a jubilee year in perpetuity in 1998 by Pope John Paul II, along with Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Camaleño (also the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana). It celebrates its jubilee every seven years, the first being in 2003, when it was visited by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI. In 2010, the second jubilee was celebrated, and it surpassed the one million visits received in 2003. Festivities of International Tourist Interest have occurred since 2004.
Caravaca is dominated by the medieval Santuario de la Vera Cruz (Shrine of the True Cross), a complex of several convents and a parish church that houses what are believed to be fragments of the True Cross. These relics are attributed miraculous properties, and celebrated with a feast day every 3 May. The cultural festival surrounding this liturgical occasion, held between 1 and 5 May of each year, has been declared of International Tourist Interest in 2004. Along with processions and parades of Moors and Christians, the celebration of Horses of Wine is especially relevant, which now aspires to be listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
The Neoclassical painter Rafael Tejeo was born in Caravaca.
Caravaca is home to other monuments and museums. The hills which extend to the north are rich in marble and iron, while the town itself has been a considerable industrial centre, with large iron-works, tanneries and paper, chocolate and oil factories. A large archeological site was found in January 2009, comprising 1,300 graves dating from 2400 to 1950 BC. [1]
Distance between:
Madrid to Caravaca de la Cruz188 Miles / 303 Kms Barcelona to Caravaca de la Cruz313 Miles / 504 Kms
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