“The 14th of October, after riding four leagues through a productive, level plain, we arrived at the ancient city of Murcia, which is as big as Nüremburg, as I could appreciate from its very high tower. It has a superb and wide vaulted church, whose width is eighty-two paces and its length 130, with beautiful chapels and a grand choir, adorned with magnificent seats, and a very beautiful cloister. It is consecrated to the Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary, and it has a bishop. The city is located on a big and beautiful plain, completely surrounded by mountains, like Milan. It has a river called the Segura, which waters the entire area via various irrigation ditches. It was once a kingdom, called Murcia. Now it belongs to the realm of Castile; it is the first city after the realm of Valencia to its southwest.
Murcia has its own bishop. It is a territory abundant in oil, rice, grain and all the produce has an unbeatable market.”
What Münzer Saw:
Since Münzer was in Murcia less than a day, he was only able to see the Cathedral. In basic structure, vaulting, shape of chapels, choir and high altar, the Cathedral retains much of its original 15th century structure and appearance, though construction began in the 13th century, basically on the site of its Great Mosque. Newer choir stalls have replaced those that Münzer saw (there was a big fire in 1854 that destroyed both the choir stalls and the original high altarpiece), and its present imposing bell tower dates from the 16th-18th century.
The area continues to be rich in produce.
What Münzer Would Never Have Seen:
Murcia is in the heart of Southeastern seismic zone, and so, except for a few scattered monuments, even the “old city” post-dates – most of the “old” monuments are products of a boom in the 18th century (and this includes the Cathedral’s main façade). There have been earthquakes over its history, the most destructive in 1829. The modern city has wide streets and high-rise buildings—to this writer, it’s reminiscent of Chicago’s downtown to some extent. And it even has an Ikea store. The protestors here are extremely well organized; an orderly tent city.
Münzer on the Road to Almería (Oct. 15- 17, 1494):
“Leaving Murcia on the same day, traversing six leagues of flat land, we arrived at a little town of perhaps thirty houses. On the mountain there is an admirable castle, called Alhama. We found some clear thermal hot springs there--we bathed in them—they are of great use for dropsy, colic and other ailments. We also encountered an excellent glass factory there.
October 15th, leaving the small town of Alhama, through a very extensive and flat countryside, after six leagues we arrived at the city of Lorca, that is situated in the foothills of a mountain, at which top is a very strong castle with a high square tower; they say that there is no stronger castle in Castile. It is on the southern border of Castile, facing Granada. During many years it was continually at war with the Saracens of Granada, and they always showed themselves to be very valiant and strong Christians, who inflicted the greatest casualties on the Saracens.
Lorca has such fertile land! It can be irrigated throughout by a little river. It has, as I said, a very strong castle. I believe it contains around eight hundred very fortified houses, because the army is continually stationed there. Oh, how it abounds in excellent and aromatic fruits! There were still huge pears on the trees.
[Entry into the Kingdom of Granada from Castile]: The 16th of October, leaving the Castilian frontier and entering into the Kingdom of Granada, after traveling nine leagues on horseback through pretty fertile countryside, but without rivers or inhabitants, we arrived at the first city in the Kingdom of Granada, called Vera.. It is a beautifully situated place. It is half a league from the sea, and it has a little river that irrigates the land; but, for the most part, it is desolate, because, when the Saracens were expelled, the soldiers of the King of Spain made much destruction.
On October 17th, leaving Vera through very high, horrible and bare mountains and valleys, we arrived in the interior of the Kingdom of Granada, to a little city called Sorbas, situated on a high mountain about six leagues from Vera. And since its inhabitants are all Mohammedans, we had our meal at the foot of the mountain, near a running stream, listening to them shouting at midday in their towers, conforming to their custom. And having traveled, finally, on that day a very long road of five leagues, we arrived very late in the night at the town of Tabernas, also full of Saracens, excepting a lone Christian, in whose house we stayed.”
What Münzer Saw:
The basic character of the land between Murcia and Almeria remains the same, with a great deal of agricultural land, between mountains. There are remains of castles at Alhama, Lorca, Sorbas and Tabernas, this last one the most impressive because of its restored sections of what was a Muslim castle. All of them are, as usual, on the tops of hills or mountains. The town of Vera still exists, but not where Münzer saw it—that Vera was destroyed in an earthquake in 1518 and moved to another location.
Lorca is still where it’s always been, though terribly damaged by an earthquake on May 11, 2011. Its massive Christian fortress has survived, though it bears evidence of this and earlier earthquakes.
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