Uclés

Uclés lies in the Castilian interior beneath a fortified hill. In 1174 Alfonso VIII granted the town and castle to the Order of Santiago, making Uclés an important seat of the military and religious order. Its estates and convent linked the town to the order's wider possessions in Castile.

Construction of the present monastery began in 1529 under Charles I and continued until 1735. The building replaced much of the earlier complex and reflected the order's continuing prominence under royal administration. During the Peninsular War, a Spanish force was defeated at Uclés on 13 January 1809, and the town was plundered.