Tourism Bacares – Almería

Located northwest of the province, it is the highest town in the Sierra de los Filabres, at 1201 meters high. It is dedicated to the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and livestock. The modern history of Bacares is closely linked to the conquest of the city, an important Muslim enclave, by the Catholic Monarchs. Centuries later, it is the mining industry that underlines the future of this town. The mining wealth of the area was known from very old, although it is not until 1870 when it begins its massive exploitation by Spanish, English and Dutch companies, which made the town and neighboring regions prosper remarkably. In its heyday, mining employed more than four thousand workers, not counting technicians and specialists, who moved from different parts of the province. The industry survived until 1968, the year in which ICONA took over land and manufacturing facilities.

The most interesting architectural elements of this town are the ruins of the old Bacares Castle, probably of Roman origin, and the Parochial Church (1502).

The festivities of Santo Cristo de Bacares are celebrated from 12 to 14 September. The procession is typical during which the faithful make offerings to the Christ, including bills that cover the entire skirt of the image.

The origins appear a bit confusing. Its mining deposits suggest that the Phoenicians and Carthaginians were the first to settle.

Going down the river we find remains of a foundry and a blacksmith shop that made Bacares famous at the beginning of the century. For the rest, from Bacares all the Al-Andalus was supplied with arms and tools, the ironwork was later provided to the cathedral of Almeria and those of many noble buildings.

Its people, due to their isolation between the mountains, organized themselves in groups of muleteers who transported the products of the land. These products were chips, hardware and silk tools. They brought wheat, rye and barley, as well as oil and wine, to mill in their mills. Many families also dedicated themselves to the transhumant shepherding, in winter, when the mountains were covered with snow, they went to the sunny terrace overlooking the sea and in spring they returned to the pastures of their mountains.

It is known that centuries ago its mountains had forests of pines and oaks that with the passing of time have been cleared for the construction of ships and mining smelters, among others.

Between the end of the XIX century and the beginning of the XX Bacares came to shelter more than five thousand inhabitants, between farms and villages, due to the mining fever. When the activity of the mines stopped, in the seventies a large part of its population emigrated in search of new opportunities.

Each September, Bacares welcomes thousands of pilgrims, who show their devout veneration to the Holy Christ of the Forest. The legend tells how this image appeared in a place away from the village, in the middle of the forest.

The Procession is celebrated on September 14.

The route begins at La Plaza and immediately heads down Calle Real, passing through narrow and winding streets and of great difficulty due to its slope, until reaching the end of the urban core and entering the Camino del Bosque, through orchards and terraces. The final destination is the place where the image appeared and where its Hermitage is located. This is the other key point of the party: when the squad of Moors and Christians dance their flags and the legend of Santo Cristo is recited in verse. After all those acts, the procession returns to the parochial temple, where the Christ is dismissed until the following year by the thousands of pilgrims, who try to obtain as a souvenir the basil and the flowers that have accompanied the image on this day.

On February 2 is celebrated in Bacares on the day of Romero. In August the cultural week takes place (from August 3 to 15).

Finally, the pilgrimage to the Hermitage of El Layón hill is celebrated in May together with the municipalities of Tijola, Serón and Bayarque in honor of the Virgin of Lourdes.