Jerez de la Frontera - Iglesia de San Miguel

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Vandals and the Visigoths ruled the area until in 711 the Arabs defeated the troops of Visigoth King Roderic in a battle near Jerez.

In 1145 the Almohads conquered the city. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Jerez underwent a period of great development, building its defense system and setting the current street layout of the old town.

In 1231 the Battle of Jerez took place. Christian troops under the command of Álvaro Pérez de Castro, grandson of Alfonso VII, defeated the troops of the Emir Ibn Hud. After a month-long siege in 1261, the city surrendered to Castile, but its Muslim population remained. It rebelled and was finally defeated in 1264.

Today Jerez de la Frontera has well over 200,000 inhabitants.

A plaque at the door of San Miguel´s facade is dated 1484. It is believed that the church was commissioned by the Catholic Monarchs when they visited the city in 1484. Its construction, however, would last several centuries resulting in a cathedral-like set with where latest Gothic elements and other ones typical of Renaissance and Baroque.

Relics of the martyrs of the Theban Legion are kept in an 18th century reliquary. In the Middle Ages, the cult of this legion spanned all of Central Europe. The best-known member was the leader St. Mauritius. His remains are venerated in St. Maurice in Switzerland.