Cruz de los Tres Reinos. Veguillas de la Sierra
How to get there: La Cruz de los Tres Reinos is in the municipality of Veguillas de la Sierra, near the hamlet of Arroyo Cerezo, which belongs to the municipality of Castielfabib. From Arroyo Cerezo towards Veguillas de la Sierra, we take a detour on the left, there is a signpost indicating it to us.
La Cruz de los Tres Reinos (or Mojón de los Tres Reinos) is a geographical landmark where the provinces of Teruel, Cuenca and Valencia converge. The hill where we find this place is located in the last foothills of the Montes Universales and has a height above sea level of 1557 meters and separates, respectively, the lands of the South of Albarracín, the Señorío de Moya and the region of Rincón de Ademuz. Although historically these lands and borders have been the cause of disputes and confrontations, today their inhabitants, over the years, share many cultural, linguistic, folkloric and even family affinities.
The most legendary aspect of the Cross tells that, in medieval times, when the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were independent and Valencia was a Taifa kingdom, the three kings of each of the dominions would meet at this point during the full moon and celebrate a feast, at the same time taking the opportunity to resolve differences and settle disputes. According to this legend, the kings divided the area into three parts so that none of them would have to leave their kingdom and placed a triangular table at the confluence of the three territories so that each throne would have its own throne. Behind each of the kings, a cross was placed and, of course, behind the Arab king, a crescent moon.
The many meetings between the three kings were very fruitful, but after the Arab king disappeared, his son hatched a plan to get rid of the other two kings and kept his late father’s pact with the intention of deceiving them. However, emissaries from the Kingdom of Aragon alerted the King of Castile to the arrival of the Arab king at La Cruz with a large number of soldiers, an act that meant the definitive breaking of the pact. Later, James I conquered Valencia and the crescent moon disappeared from the peak of the Cross of the Three Kingdoms. With the subsequent union of Castile and Aragon brought about by the Catholic Monarchs, only a cross remained on the peak which, to this day, is simply a geographical landmark.
Nowadays, the Cross of the Three Kingdoms appears on all the geographical charts, as well as in the hiking guides of the area.