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Hermitage Virgin of the Hope
It is a short route, suitable for the whole family, and in the case of returning on the way out, it is even suitable for pushchairs. Its first part, from the town’s washing places, runs almost in a straight line along a gently sloping road, in a pleasant walk between fruit fields, until a final revolt that faces the Hermitage of Hope. To return to Albocasser we can take a wagon road that goes through fruit fields until we find wider roads and that finally ends at the access road to the town. Just 400 meters from this junction is the Torre de la Falsà, visible on the right from the road and can be visited by a short detour. From there it is a short walk to return to the laundries in Plaça de la Font.
Distance: 4.5 km
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Elevation: 90 mts
Circular route
Difficulty: easy
Old Publico Laundry
EThey are located in PLà de la Font square, one of the central areas of the town. They consist of two large stone vats with sloping edges to facilitate the cleaning of clothes. They were built in 1912 and their importance is not only practical, but also has always had a strong function of social cohesion and a meeting point where women regularly shared their lives. In addition, they are still used by the inhabitants today.
Hermitage of the Virgin of Hope
It is located on a small elevation of 90 meters above the town, on the old Serratella road, a kilometer and a half from Pà de la Font Square. It was built on the initiative of Bernart Fort (1350-1425), son of the Village, dean of the Cathedral of Segorbe and advisor to Pope Luna, as he did not obtain authorization to found a chapel in Albocàsser. In 1409 Benedict XIII himself granted indulgences to his visitors.
The temple is a venerable building with whitewashed walls except for the façade, where the stone has been exposed. It has an attached guesthouse with a small courtyard with pointed arches. The belfry stands on an eaves, with a bell and weather vane. It has two entrances, both in pointed arches: the main one opens at the foot, with old ironwork and a flared window on it, while the other – currently bricked – is on the side of the epistle.
The interior is rectangular with a single nave without lateral altars, divided into three sections by pointed stone arches that rest on pilasters. This nave is covered with a flat wooden roof supported by stone corbels while the presbytery, separated by a triumphal arch, exhibits a ribbed vault.
This hermitage housed a magnificent one attributed to Marzal de Sax or Jaume Mateu and Antoni Peris and dated from 1415, which is now in the Church by the center of Albocàsser. The one in the chapel is a partial reproduction.
Its festivity is celebrated on December 18 and it is a tradition that pregnant women visit the hermitage to pray for a happy birth.
Torre de la Falsà
To access the foot of the monument it is necessary to make a short detour to the right of the route, from which you can see the tower.
Its real name is the tower of l’Alfasar, but it is known as the “Falsà”. Located very close to the urban center, it was initially conceived as a defensive element of a farmhouse, a common practice in the 15th-16th centuries. On the lintel of its entrance is signed the date and authorship of its construction (1584, by the notary Joan Miquel). The tower has a square plan with masonry walls and reinforced with ashlars at the corners. It has a height of two floors plus the ground floor, and on the roof it is divided into a flat part of tile and another part of the roof is a flat part and another with battlements.