The Villa de Montanejos is a small town of 500 inhabitants in the interior of the Province of Castellón, crossed by the Mijares River, a river that gives its name to the region where the town is located: Alto Mijares. Below, we offer you a brief tour of the history of Montanejos from the Neolithic to our times, the Contemporary Era.
Montanejos in the Neolithic
Current knowledge allows us to trace the origin of the landscape of the Mijares River as it passes through the town of Montanejos back to the Neolithic period (the time when the archaeological site of the Cueva Negra dates back, which can be easily visited thanks to its access via a family path that starts in the same town). Given the importance of water through the course of the Mijares River for so long, a multitude of cultural resources related to water stand out, such as fountains, mills, fulling mills, bridges, wash houses, orchards and irrigation systems, located along the course of the river and which provide the landscape with exceptional values.
Islamic culture in Montanejos
For centuries, the Islamic community was installed in the territory that we now occupy. As a result and legacy of the importance that they gave to water in their lives, both physically and spiritually, the imprint of Islamic culture has been fossilized in the orchards and their irrigation systems, as well as in the urban planning of Montanejos and especially in La Alquería, the current town center and original neighborhood of the town on which the Castle is located, an incredible balcony and viewpoint over the Mijares River. This is the result of the prolonged presence of Islamic culture, whose inhabitants were finally expelled in 1609.
Montanejos from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age
In later centuries, there were various periods that affected the landscape of Montanejos and its town, but we can highlight the agricultural expansion that happened during the 17th and 18th centuries (Modern Age), a system that entered into crisis towards the middle of the 20th century, resulting in the current landscape. The dry and irrigated areas from this period stand out, as well as the construction of farmhouses and agricultural infrastructures.
Unlike other areas that surround it, both in the Alto Mijares region and beyond, and due to the presence of the river and its thermal water springs with mineral-medicinal properties, Montanejos has an interesting history of more than 200 years related to health and well-being, with the flow of the Mijares River always as its base.
Montanejos today
The current model of health and wellness tourism in Montanejos has its origins in the 18th and 19th centuries, where we find the first documented references to the medicinal use of its waters. The botanist Cavanilles mentions that: “…there were already sick people who came to take the thermal waters, which meant a monetary outlay for them, …which in turn became a source of income for the town” (Cavanilles 1795-97). In the 19th century, Madoz mentions in his dictionary: “…very good waters, the most abundant being called los Baños(Madoz 1845-50”. And in the Yearbook of Commerce, Industry, the Judiciary and Administration of the year 1886, one can read: “The baths of its name are important; its waters are of a sulphide-magnesium nature…).”
The mineral-medicinal waters of Montanejos were declared of Public Utility in 1863. Where ancient Arab baths existed back in the 12th century, today you can enjoy a leisure and relaxation area, and water at a constant temperature of 25ºC throughout the year. In addition to the mild temperature both in summer and winter, its medium mineral content and sulphurous properties have attributed health benefits to these waters for centuries.