Fuente Álamo Iglesia de San Agustín.

Hours of mass , Iglesia de San Agustín (Fuente Álamo)

Fuente Álamo Iglesia de San Agustín. The Iglesía of San Agustín lies at the heart of Fuente Álamo, it´s bell tower dominating the skyline, above the main Rambla del Fraile which runs through the heart of the town. The church has been constantly remodeled at various points throughout its history: the latest renovation being the bell-tower in the 1960s, although even in 2011 the Plaza and areas surrounding the church were being re-modelled to create a new pedestrianised zone.

History

( To see a brief history of Fuente Álamo click, History of Fuente Álamo.)

The real beginnings of Fuente Álamo as a town date to about 1520.

At that period in time the countryside right along the coast of Murcia had suffered de-population due to the combined danger of Berber pirate attacks all along the coastline and also being close to the border between the Kingdoms of Murcia and Granada, during the period of Moorish sovereignty in Granada. Frequent border skirmishes made life dangerous for those farming the area, so many moved inland.

The land in what is now Fuente Álamo was formerly divided brtween three other municipalities. Murcia , Cartagena and Lorca. In around 1520, Lorca made an attempt to repopulate the area by issuing farming concessions, and around this date, about 25 people took up the offer and established a settlement next to the "Fuente del Álamo" the spring by the poplar tree, and the Rambla of El Fraile.

The first religious structure would have been a very simple chapel, which was amplified in 1583.

An inscription which has survived in the choir that the first tower was completed in 1621.

Fuente Álamo Iglesia de San Agustín. The settlement was awarded the status of "villa" by Felipe IV in 1634, although the decision was opposed by Murcia, Cartagena and Lorca, all of which hoped to continue reaping benefits from the administration of the locality. The independence of the "villa" was not renewed until 1702, when Carlos III reaffirmed it, although the question of administration remained, and an unsatisfactory system of alternating turns among the three cities was instigated.

In 1783 a new door was opened in one side of the church, and in 1820 Fuente Álamo was proclaimed a municipality in its own right.

The church was badly affected by fire at the start of the Civil War in 1936, and among the items destroyed were images, altars, the organ, the pulpit and the tabernacle.

Towards the end of the Civil War the church was used as a prison, housing the prisoners captured during the sinking of the Castillo de Olite, Spains worst shipwreck disaster in 1939.( click Castillo de Olite.)

The basic structure of the building remained intact, as was the case with so many other churches throughout Spain, but in the 1940s it was necessary to purchase new furnishings and images, with the help of donations from the general public.

Replacement sculptures were commissioned from Murcian sculptor José Sánchez Lozano, ( See Conjunto Monumental San Juan de Díos Murcia) and include San Agustín and the Virgen del Rosario, patrons of the town, and a Dolorosa.

The current bell tower and clock were completed in 1963.

Fuente Álamo celebrates it´s main Fiestas in honour of San Agustín, the Saints Day being 28th August.