Jerez de la Frontera is a town on the Costa de la Luz and is famous for the best sherry in Spain, flamenco shows and "dancing Andalusian horses". There are also valuable monuments from the times of the Moorish rule.
The settlement in the place of today's city already existed in Phoenician and then Roman times. During the migrations of peoples it turned into a significant castle. In 711, on the nearby Guadelete River, the Visigoths suffered a defeat at the hands of the Moors, which put an end to their country's existence in these areas. After the Reconquest, Jerez de la Frontera became an important trading center, and in the following centuries the production of sherry developed here.
The most important monument of the city is the Jerez Cathedral, built in the 17th century on the site of a former mosque and a Romanesque church. There is an old minaret next to it, which is one of the evidence of the presence of Arabs in these areas. The other is the Alcazar de Jerez, the palace of Arab provincial rulers. There are also many historic churches and tenement houses in the Old Town.
Tourists coming to Jerez de la Frontera, apart from visiting the monuments, also enjoy the cultural attractions of the city. The most famous are shows of "Andalusian dancing horses". The Real Escuela Andaluza de Arte Ecuestre riding school operates here, which trains Andalusian horses, bred in the local Carthusian monastery. The shows gather dozens of viewers and resemble ballet. The city is known as one of the most important flamenco centers in Andalusia. There are numerous schools of this dance, and flamenco shows can be watched both in auditoriums, bars and in the streets.
