The beginnings of the primitive population of Valdepeñas are quite confusing, although the great archaeological wealth and remains found in its municipal area allow us to glimpse a rich settlement of populations since prehistoric times. However, it is from the first millennium BC that the settlement of what we now know as Valdepeñas begins to generalize. It is during this period that settlement begins on the Cerro de las Cabezas, an Iberian site from the 7th to the 3rd centuries BC, which we must consider as the origin of the future settlements that will lead to the current location of Valdepeñas during the Roman era.

With Rome, the abundant remains found in the urban area of the city allow us to glimpse a stable settlement. Among all the findings, the discovery of a Roman funerary slab at the Convent of San Nicasio stands out.

The medieval period is the historical era for which we have the least reliable data, although, according to some authors like D. Eusebio Vasco and Cecilio Muñoz Fillol, it is during this time that the current population of Valdepeñas emerges from the union of a series of neighboring villages. D. Vicente Ambroz disagrees with this idea, believing that Valdepeñas was founded by Dª Urraca, although this thesis has little historical foundation.

From the 15th century onwards, Valdepeñas experiences a considerable increase in population, surpassing towns like Almagro, and the Encomienda of Valdepeñas is mentioned for the first time during the time of the 25th Master of the Order of Calatrava.

Philip II sold our town to the Marquis of Santa Cruz, for which the monarch issued a royal decree on May 21, 1582, by which the town ceased to belong to the Order of Calatrava and was sold to D. Álvaro de Bazán for 104,985 reales and 8 maravedíes.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, illustrious residents of Valdepeñas ventured into the New World, including the well-known epic poet Bernardo de Balbuena and the Merlo lineage, who actively participated in the conquest of the New World.

However, the most significant historical event in our city, a prologue to the Battle of Bailén and a synthesis of the romantic mentality of its time, occurred on June 6, 1808. It was on this day that the people of Valdepeñas put up strong resistance against the Napoleonic troops commanded by General Ligier Belair. The inhabitants, with the most rudimentary defense tools, prevented the arrival of French troops in Bailén, thus favoring the triumph of General Castaños. Notable in this historical event are the famous guerrillas Juana “La Galana” and Francisco Abad Moreno “Chaleco.”

This feat earned Valdepeñas the title of Very Heroic City on January 29, 1885, as inscribed on its coat of arms. Thus, Valdepeñas became not only a city in fact but also in law, and by the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, it was one of the periods of greatest economic splendor.

As a result of this economic boom, numerous modernist constructions arose on Calle Seis de Junio and Paseo de la Estación. It was during this time that Valdepeñas was referred to as the richest and most populated city in the province. In the early decades of the 20th century, Valdepeñas saw the necessary infrastructure of a city being established, such as the installation of electric lighting, a fire department, and the first hospitals.

“With all of this, Valdepeñas is adapting to the changes of the times, and its history is the same as that of its people who, with the work and resilience of their land, strive to create a modern and attractive city for those who visit us.”