What to do · Jerez de los Caballeros
Templar Festival
Information
- Duration
- 4 h
- Season
- July, four days
- Who it's for
- Everyone
Every July, for four days, Jerez de los Caballeros returns to the time when it was capital of the Templar bailiwick. The Templar Festival is a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest and in 2026 held its 23rd edition, from 9 to 12 July. The setting is the monumental zone around the old fortress, which is transformed into a medieval town.
Why the Temple
In 1230 Alfonso IX of León took the town and gave it to the Order of the Temple, which rebuilt the fortress and the wall. When Ferdinand IV decreed the dissolution of the Order, in 1312, tradition places the knights' last resistance in the keep of the alcazaba, the Bloody Tower, where they are said to have been beheaded. The festival recreates that past.
What there is
According to Turismo de Extremadura, the programme brings together parades and theatrical performances, the Three Cultures Market, medieval music concerts, lectures, guided visits of the historic area, food routes and Templar dinners. For children there are games, puppets and workshops. Along the streets you meet knights, beggars, falconers, clerics, merchants, musicians, minstrels and rogues, and visitors are encouraged to dress in period costume.
The most awaited event is the open-air theatre at the castle, which recreates the end of the Templars. The tourist office presents it as "In the Name of Jerez". Tickets for the play are sold at the tourist office and at giglon.com; the street festival is free.
Dates and programme
It is always held in July, over four days, but the exact dates change each year. The town council chooses the poster by competition and the tourist office publishes the programme on its website. For questions, the phone number is 924 730 372 and the email is [email protected].
Tips
July in Jerez is hot: bring water and a hat for the middle of the day and check the programme to see which events are in the afternoon and evening. The old town is cobbled and sloping. On those days accommodation fills up quickly: book in good time at the Hotel Los Templarios, the Hotel Oasis or the Hotel Rural Arroyo la Plata.
If you come at another time, the Templar story is understood just as well by climbing the alcazaba and the Bloody Tower, free to enter, or with the guided visit, which tells the legend of the tower.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Templar Festival in Jerez de los Caballeros?
In July, for four days. In 2026 it was from 9 to 12 July; each year's dates appear on the tourist website.
Do you have to pay?
The street festival is free; the theatre at the castle has an entrance fee.
Since when has it been held?
The 2026 edition was the 23rd.
As a family
