Aguilar de la Frontera - Córdoba

Aguilar de La Frontera is a municipality located at the south of the province, in the region of La Campiña. Its land, of soft undulations, is dedicated to agriculture, where the olive grove, the cereal cultivation and some vineyards predominate. In its district we meet the Natural Reserve of Las Laguñas de Zoñar y Rincón, the most important of all those that form the humid Complex of the south of Cordoba. Place of great beauty framed by labor land, numerous aquatic birds live in it, standing out the white-headed duck due to its significance.

When we speak about Aguilar we have to speak of a city, since we are in the presence of one of the most important cities of Cordoba. Located in a small hill, it spreads towards the fields with its white houses, the remains of its castle, its stately houses and its vast history included. Numerous buildings speak of its past and wealth, but the Torre del Reloj (Tower of the Clock), the Iglesia del Hospital (Church of the Hospital) and the splendid octogonal shaped Plaza de S. Jose stand out.

Aguilar de la Frontera is the former Iberian - Roman Ipagrum, involved in Munda's battle, that brought face to face César´s supporters and those of Pompeyo. Precisely of this period belong its more ancient remains, a necropolis of big dimensions. There are different versions of the etymology of the name. For some, Ipagrum would mean "high field", whereas others think that the origin is turdetan-greek, coming from the greek name hippos, i.e., horse. 

At present there is a place named Llano de los Caballos (Plain of the horses) in Aguilar. The Muslim conquest of the city caused that it was named Bulay or Poley, maybe deriving from the Greek. The defeat, on April 5th of the year 891, of its  Christian settlers and of the rebel troops by the troops of the emir Abdallah, originated that the village happens to belong to the cora of Cabra. Some time later, in the 11th century, Poley was integrated in the ziri kingdom of Granada.

The current name of Aguilar was given to it after the Christian conquest. It was King Fernando III el Santo who won it for Castilla in the year 1240. The first Christian governor was a Portuguese coming from a family of Toledo, Gonzalo Yáñez Dovinal or of Ovinal. It is with Alfonso X that the village is renamed as Aguilar, name of the family of the mother of don Gonzalo, thus the monarch compensated him for some services rendered. Finally, the expression "de la frontera" (of the border) is given to it due to its  proximity to the border of Granada during the Low Middle Ages. 

After the Castilian civil wars, which bring Pedro I and Enrique II face to face, the village happens to belong to Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba. The XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries represent a period of decadence and crisis for the village, due to the strong population decrease caused by the epidemics. 

Already in the 20th century, the political repression that affected  Spain after the victory of Franco's troops fully involved Aguilar, being many of its citizens affected. Agriculture and ceramics are nowadays the two main economic activities of the population. Located on a hill that goes down to the road, Aguilar has a rich cultural heritage.

Monuments

Iglesia de Ntra. Sra. del Carmen: 16th century

Monasterio de San José y San Roque: (1668 y 1761), Andalusian baroque.

Sta. María de Soterraño: from the 13th century in Gothic style. .

Plaza de San José: dates from1806, octogonal-shaped

Torre del Reloj: made of brick and decorated with glazed tile, albarran tower

Iglesia del Hospital de Sta. Brígida: Renaissance and baroque elements.  .

Ermita de la Candelaria (16th century): with a beautiful coffered ceiling (artesonado)

Iglesias de los Peregrinos del Cristo de la Salud (17th century).

San Blas y Sta. Cruz (16th century)

Imagery of great interest and  richness of baroque altarpieces, as well as pieces of goldsmithery.

Archaeological sites

Poley´s Fortress: remains of the Neolithic and Iberian and Roman ceramics, in ruins, have been found.

Town planning

Stately Houses.
Its urban center is a great showcase of stately houses, for instance “La casa de las Cadenas" (The house of the Chains).

Gastronomy

Aguilar de la Frontera´s gastronomy is very simple, varied and particularly tasty, accompanied by the renowned wines of the Denominación de Origen de Montilla-Moriles.

Among the different regional dishes the "joecas" (potatoes in sauce) stand out as genuine aguilarense dish. It is also worth mentioning the tomatoes and eggs purée, the artichokes stew, the rabbit in sauce, the partridge in salmorejo or the rice with rooster, linked to the celebrations of the Feria de San Miguel.

As for the desserts, the gachas de mosto (grape juice porridge), the pan de higo (fig bread) or the “arrope” (result of boiling grape juice till it thickens) are peculiar.
But above all, Aguilar has reputation for its exquisite merengás of coffee and strawberry, the turrón (nougat candy), the borrachuelos (cake with rum), the roscos de San Blas (ring-shaped cake) with their traditional “bulilis” or bows of varied colors.

The caliphal reminiscences are found in the "risaos" consisting of almonds, sugar, yolk and lemon shavings.

How to get to Aguilar

Distances

To Almería 49 km
To Montilla 9 km
To Montalbán de Córdoba 16 km
To La Rambla 18 km
To Santaella 23 km
To Espejo 24 km
To La Carlota 39 km
To Castro del Río 31 km
To Nueva Carteya 27 km