Eslida is a village located at an altitude of 381 mbsl in the heart of the Serra d’Espadà Natural Park, at the foot of the majestic Puntal de l’Aljub (949 m), in the foothills of its Muslim castle.
Its fascinating orography has lush forests of pines and cork oaks, with peaks such as La Costera, Tarraguan, El Puntal de l’Aljub, Fonillet, El Batalla and Cocons. In a small valley furrowed by the Anna river as the main watercourse and a multitude of steep ravines that end up flowing into it, one can still observe the intense agricultural exploitation and the terraces to which the area has been subjected for more than a millennium.

Origins of Eslida
The oldest finds in the municipality date back to the Eneolithic or Bronze Age (1900 BC). In the l’Oret cavern, near the village, several funerary offerings were found in the 1970s out of context, consisting of lithic industry, adzes, two copper axes, beads of different types, bone tools (awls and spatulas), animal skeletal remains, human teeth and some ceramic remains, deposited in the archaeological collection of the Museum of Fine Arts of Castellón.

In the absence of new research, little else is known about its development in other historical periods. It was during the Muslim period when the territory was colonised in a main settlement (present-day Eslida, at the foot of the castle) and in various farmhouses or farms linked to the watercourses, with more or less intermittent settlement throughout its eight-century stay (Lauret, Benissanda, Almoxarca, Cilim, Benalbutx, Alfetx, Alcúdia, Castro…).

In the Late Middle Ages, Eslida was the capital of a small cadiazgo, which gave it a certain prestige due to its great cultural and religious development, as it had a school of alfaquies that was a reference point among the Islamic intelligentsia. With the conquest of Burriana (1233) by Jaume I, this area of influence in La Plana gradually surrendered without much opposition thanks to the friendly pacts signed by the Saracens with the Christian king. Thus, in 1242, a Town Charter was granted to Eslida and other farmhouses under its influence, whereby the new regime allowed them to continue living in their secular space and practising their religion and customs. Basically, they only changed their lord.

Over the years, those Muslims (Mudejars) subjected to the power of Christian lords continued to colonise some of the scarce lands offered to them by the abrupt and fractured terrain of the municipality of Eslida. At the beginning of the 16th century, events took place that changed their status and identity: the Germanías and the Hispanic Monarchy of Carlos I brought about the forced baptism of all followers of Islam, who came to be known as Moriscos. The Espadán revolt of 1526, parallel to that of the Alpujarra in Granada, would be the end of tolerance and the decline of those communities, who were definitively expelled from these lands in the autumn of 1609. Along the way, there were agreements, renewed pacts, protests, failed attempts at evangelisation, selective expulsions, abandonment or destruction of farmsteads, accusations of collusion with the Berber pirates who lurked along the coast…

The Duke of Segorbe (later called the Duke of Medinaceli), lord of Eslida and other villages in the Serra d’Espadà, therefore found it necessary to repopulate his domain with new inhabitants in order to continue to obtain income from his possessions. In 1611 and 1612, population deeds were signed with several families from La Plana, old Christians as they were called at the time. This initial nucleus was given a house and land, always owned by the Duke, to whom censuses were paid for the use of the basic communal services (oven, mills, shop, butcher’s shop, etc.). The population began to grow towards the end of the 17th century, and in the 18th century there was already a need to extend basic buildings such as the parish church, which was enlarged and artistically renovated in the Baroque style in 1750. This growth also implied the abandonment of the old walls as a protected redoubt for the population, and at the beginning of the 19th century the first great expansion took place with new streets under the Carrer de Baix street, which marked the eastern boundary of the wall. With the 20th century came another new gradual enlargement beyond the Barranquet, which constituted another natural and protected medieval border. The last enlargements, which have been carried out up to the present day, are carried out around the road and with some small urbanisations.
As far as the economy throughout history is concerned, we can only call it a subsistence economy until well into the 20th century.

Traditionally, we can speak of agriculture and livestock farming with little surplus, basic mining, beekeeping, charcoal making, etc. With the change of settlers in 1611, the community began to work new lands. As the botanist Cavanilles wrote in 1797, “Artana, Eslida and Haín, who do not cease to reduce to cultivation even those places that seemed useless for agriculture”. This visitor observed the state of our town as follows: “Eslida, situated to the right of the riverbed on the slope of a steep limestone hill: its buildings are in an amphitheatre, and at a short distance present a picturesque view, which I have tried to copy in the enclosed picture; they have all that is necessary for the shelter of farmers, and form streets that are very uncomfortable due to the rough and continuous slopes. There live 170 inhabitants who are busy reducing the area to cultivation, which may be an hour and a half from east to west between Artana and Haín, and the same with a short difference from north to south between Veo and Alfandeguilla de Castro; it is all hilly, with some less rough ravines. In the past, many almond trees were raised there, since the founder granted the first settlers a free fruit, and they chose the almond: today this tree is hardly known on that soil; but in return, the olive trees, which 100 years ago were no more than three, have been multiplying (…)”.

Other crops that became more important in the 18th century were the mulberry tree for the breeding of silkworms, which was sold to foreign workshops for the production of luxury fabrics. Cork was a material used since ancient times, whether for house covers, floats or bee hives, known as vessels. We can trace various glass workshops up to the 80s of the 20th century, but it was at the beginning of the century when this family industry, which supplied several Valencian regions, was already on its deathbed due to the appearance of new devices that improved productivity and the production of honey. This did not prevent the beekeepers of Eslida from adapting to these new developments, and as early as 1930, wooden box hives and extractors were built and exported all over Spain. The beekeeping tradition continues to the present day with several families exploiting and selling honey and other high quality bee products in their own shops.

The more intense cultivation of olive groves since the 18th century, as we have seen, gradually placed Eslida among the largest producers of oil in the Sierra de Espadán, which came to have 10 oil mills and a high quality oil production. Vines were also an important crop, as were wheat, maize, dried figs and various vegetables for self-consumption. The carob tree occupied a similar area to the olive tree, with a production of 90,000 kilos, but was gradually replaced by the almond tree as farm animals disappeared and the market had other demands. Linen was still produced in small workshops for the manufacture of fabrics used to make underwear and household items; with the arrival of cotton in the 19th century, this production declined until it disappeared.

During this period at the end of the 19th century, the Town Hall (1868) and the public washhouse (1899) were built at the outlet of the historical spring that led to the foundation of the town by the Muslims.
During the first third of the 20th century, the cultivation of mulberry trees, vines (due to the phylloxera disease) and flax gradually disappeared. The population continued to increase until the 1910s, when it reached 1,552 inhabitants. At the beginning, emigrations were of a temporary nature to work in large harvests in other areas, but with the Spanish Civil War they became permanent and the village lost population to the current 725 inhabitants. However, the seasonal population in summer is around 3,000 people due to its attractive landscape and as a summer resort for almost a century.
Currently, in addition to its good bee products, it is important to highlight for Eslida’s economy the existence of the cork industry in all stages of the process of obtaining high quality cork stoppers due to the characteristics of the material.

Spring water
Sant Josep
It is located at the foot of Penya Miró. It has 3 low-flow spouts. Its waters have organoleptic properties. It drains through rocky ground. It has a picnic area.

Fosques
It is the most prestigious and well-known in the municipality. It has 6 spouts. It enjoys mineral-medicinal recognition for kidney ailments; its water has a low mineral salt content, thus favouring diuresis. It can be reached from the Aín road, after crossing the bridge over the Oret ravine and the Rambla, along a concrete track that climbs up to the Fosques area.

Fonillet
At 527 mbsl, it is an aquifer spring with little underground flow and little contact with the ground, which is why the water is scarcely mineralised. It is noted for its diuretic properties. It drains between red sandstones. The spring is set in a landscape of great beauty and tranquillity. The site is very pleasantly landscaped, with stone walls that isolate small enclosures populated by tall pines and cork oaks. In 1936, it was intended to build a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients in this area.

Matilde
There are two fountains: one in the lower part, from which very little water comes out (Font de Gregori), and another nearby that is more abundant. The water is light and pleasant. It drains through the rocky area. There are paella stands and tables next to the small Chóvar ravine. It can be reached by three routes: from the road from Eslida to Artana, from the road from Eslida to Chóvar and from the village itself along the old Alfetx (or els Caminets) road.

Castro
Next to the Barranco de Castro ravine. It only flows when it rains, and stands out for its freshness (12 ºC). It drains between red sandstones. It can be reached by the road from Eslida to Artana: about 500 metres from the village we take an asphalted track that crosses the Barranco de Castro ravine and later forks in two; this spring is to the left.
Font de les Escaletes. Located in the Ombria de l’Oret. Its flow depends on the autumn and spring rains.

Castle of Eslida
It crowns the image of the village, on the top of a cliff. Today, only the ruins of some sections of the double walled enclosure and the keep remain. This tower, the only one visible from afar, is a triangular construction with cubes at the corners (together with that of the castle of La Mola in Novelda, they are the only examples of triangular Muslim towers in Valencia). It has just been acquired by Eslida Town Council and a first phase of recovery and consolidation has been carried out. From this watchtower you can see the sea.
In medieval times it had as an auxiliary tower the building we now call the Molí d’Aire, on a nearby mound that controlled access through the Oret ravine.

Saviour Church(or of the Transfiguration)
The present building dates from the Baroque extension of 1750, but it seems that the construction of a Christian church had already begun in 1430 on a site adjacent to the mosque (one metre apart), as the small chapel in the castle was in a dilapidated state.
Thus, the church is not built on top of the old mosque, but right next to it in the main public square.

La Rambla Aqueduct
Eslida has numerous aqueducts distributed in the different ravines and networks of irrigation channels, given that the shortage of water for irrigation forced the new settlers of the 17th-18th centuries to make the most of it in the expansion of the farmland they carried out on both sides of the watercourses. They usually have one or two eyes at most.
The aqueduct over the river Anna, or de la Rambla, is a different example in terms of its historical origin: it can be dated to an undetermined time in the Middle Ages and was built by the Muslims to channel the abundant water from the public fountain to the orchard of the alquería d’Almoxarca and, possibly, to the baths. This example of an aqueduct, which has been reconstructed throughout history, shows up to five rounded arches.

Christ Chapel Calvary
Chapel dedicated to Stmo. Cristo del Calvario, inaugurated in 1722 as a simple chapel of the Cross and built in rural Baroque style. Throughout history it has undergone extensions and decorative interventions. It is reached by following the Stations of the Cross, also dating from the early 18th century and remodelled in the 1950s. Attached to the chapel is a cistern with a ceramic altarpiece of the Virgin of the Holy Cave, widely worshipped in the neighbouring Alto Palancia region.
The interior has recently been restored, where the remains of ancient decorations have been found and consolidated and are now visible.

El Molí d’Aire
Remains of an old wind-powered cereal mill, dating from the mid-19th century. It was possibly built on an old auxiliary tower of the castle of Eslida that controlled access through the Oret ravine. When it fell into disuse, it was later adapted for use as a windmill, which is not very common in the Sierra de Espadán.
At the foot of this construction, a section of trenches and a shelter of the Republican army of 1938 have been recovered.

Els Corrals de la Rambla
This group of corrals, now in ruins, is located on both sides of a livestock track of great beauty due to the quality of the cobblestones. They are located on the left bank of the Rambla, on a spur of the Rossa.
Until 1609, part of these buildings were houses inhabited by the Moorish inhabitants of the farmhouse of Almoxarca (or Almaxracà), who were busy cultivating what is now the Bany market garden. With the expulsion, they were no longer repopulated and were converted into corrals for livestock. Eslida thus became part of the transhumance network, which was active in these lands until the 1970s.

War heritage
From the summer of 1938 onwards, Eslida was evacuated due to the advance of Franco’s army. The front was stabilised in the following months by the Battle of the Ebro and Eslida was left in no man’s land; in other words, both armies were present in our mountains. Thus, we can find remains of the Republican XYZ Line created to stop the advance towards Valencia and a centre of resistance of the rebel army in the Cocons area. The Town Council has made a notable effort in recent years to recover and enhance the value of the Civil War heritage in the areas of Cocons, Fosques, l’Oret and Molí d’Aire.

Caves and cavities
There are numerous caves throughout the municipality (there are up to 50 caves catalogued by the Espeleo Club de Castelló). The most notable are the Oret, Ferrera, Fonillet and Matilde caves, the first of which contains Eneolithic burials, as mentioned above.

Festivities
Sant Antoni festivities
It is held on the weekend closest to the 17th of January. The events of this popular and widespread celebration consist of a parade of people and animals to be blessed, a bonfire in the square and the transfer to the street of Sant Antoni where the priest blesses the rolls (a kind of panquemao without sugar), which are then distributed among the attendees.

Festes de la Joventut
Multiple festive and popular events organised by a youth committee during the last two weeks of July.

Main festivities
In honour of the Stmo. Cristo del Calvario, normally organised by a group of clavarios and the Town Hall. They are held in the last week of August.

Exhibition of Eslida Products
It is held on the Sunday closest to 15th August.

Sant Lleó
Patron saint of Eslida. It is celebrated on the Sunday after Easter.

Sant Vicent
It is celebrated on the Monday following Sant Lleó.

Gastronomy
The typical dishes of the town are the “olla de pueblo”, with multiple variations of ingredients depending on the time of the year; the “arroz caldoso” or the mountain paella, as well as its varied confectionery: “orelletes amb mel”, dried fig fritters, “coca escudellà”, “coca malfeta”, “cristines”, “rotllets”, “rosegons”, “pastissos”, etc.
Due to its orography, it has been a cycling territory for many years, which has been a good source of income for the hotel and catering trade in Eslida and the whole of the Serra d’Espadà mountain range.

Òscar Pérez Silvestre