The current legislation regarding historical monuments in Spain dates from 1985. However, ''Monumentos nacionales'' (to use the original term) were first designated in the nineteenth century. It was a fairly broad category for national heritage sites protecting, for example, the
Alhambra. The overarching category for Spanish heritage sites is now ''
Bien de Interés Cultural'' ("good of cultural interest").
Definición de bienes culturales protegidos
Ministry of Culture (Spain).
Now there are some 13,000 monuments registered by the Ministry of Culture within the wider category of ''Bien de Interés Cultural''.
As well as monuments, the category of ''Bien de Interés Cultural'' includes the following sub-categories of non-movable heritage:
* ''Conjunto histórico In Spain, the legal designation ''Conjunto histórico'' (formerly ''Conjunto Histórico-Artístico'' or "Historic-Artistic Grouping") is part of the national system of heritage listing. It is applied to buildings in a given locality. It is typicall ...
'', a type of conservation area (which may include one or more monuments).
* ''Jardín histórico A jardín histórico is a Spanish historic garden. In Spain ''Jardín histórico'' is a heritage listing which protects historic gardens. (The English equivalent would be the English Heritage 'Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special histo ...
'', historic garden (for example the gardens of Aranjuez
Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid.
Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...
)
* ''Sitio histórico'', which includes cultural landscapes (for example the Bulls of Guisando)
* ''Zona arqueológica'', archaeological zone (for example the Archaeological Site of Atapuerca)
Some Spanish sites are protected under more than one sub-category. For example, the Alhambra and Generalife
The Generalife (; ar, جَنَّة الْعَرِيف, translit=Jannat al-‘Arīf) was a summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus. It is located directly east of and uphill from the Alhambra ...
receive protection as monument, garden and ''conjunto histórico''.
Examples
A few of numerous articles at Wikipedia covering Spanish monuments are:
* Numantia (designated 1882, and protection enhanced by a ''Zona Arqueológica'' in 1999)
* Castle of La Mota (1904)
* Church of Nuestra Señora de la Mayor (1929)
* Cuéllar Castle (1931)
* San Sebastian Church, Madrid (1969)
* San Cayetano Church, Madrid (1980)
See also
* Bien de Interés Cultural
References
Heritage registers in Spain
Architecture in Spain
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