Iglesia Parroquial de Santa María de Albendín

The Parish Church of Santa María de Albendín is a 17th century building that was erected as a parish church in 1788.

We can find the rich heritage of religious images, like the images of the patron saint Mª Santísima de Albendín in a Baroque side chapel, and the 16th century image of Our Lady of Sorrows. After visiting the church, right at the back, in Plaza Juliana Lara la Partera, we can see the Cross in honour of Christ the Redeemer, a 12-metre monument on a 15-metre natural stone pedestal, erected in 1961.

There is a legend about the pedestal of the cross, which says that under Moorish domination the invaders buried a solid gold baby Jesus under its rocks to get rid of people's Christian faith, and even today there is talk of the existence of that baby Jesus. And for the more adventurous and always following the instructions of a local, you can climb up the pedestal and on a rock you will be able to see the fossilised footprint of a hominid. What is strange about this is that the footprint is not on a horizontal rock, but vertical. How it got there is a mystery!

From Plaza Juliana Lara we can go to Calle Castro, a narrow street that looks Moorish-Andalusian and which houses the Brotherhood houses of the Santo Sepulcro and Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno. In the latter, if we visit at the weekend we can taste a typical Albendín tapa with a soft drink, beer or Montilla- Moriles DO wine.