Holy Week in Huelva

Holy Week in Huelva has brotherhoods documented since the 16th century and went through a golden age between 1920 and 1936: in 1935 the first official route was held, centred on Plaza de las Monjas, and the first official programme was published. The Civil War destroyed churches and images, and the brotherhoods were rebuilt from the 1940s; the Comisión de Cofradías was set up in 1944 and the first official proclamation was given in 1945.

Today it is coordinated by the Consejo de Hermandades y Cofradías de Huelva. Twenty-seven brotherhoods process from the Friday of Sorrows to Easter Sunday, and the City Council supports the official route, the stands, the official guide and a special security and services operation.

The brotherhoods set out from their churches all over the city and make their penitential station at the parish church of the Purísima Concepción, on the official route, which runs from La Placeta along Plus Ultra, Méndez Núñez and Plaza de las Monjas to the Gran Vía (avenida Martín Alonso Pinzón). The authorities' stand is in Plaza de la Constitución, in front of the City Hall.

Each year the City Council publishes an official guide, distributed by the Council of Brotherhoods for a donation, and free route sheets showing each procession street by street in half-hour sections, available from the tourist information point in Plaza de las Monjas. Stands are set up along the official route so that processions can be watched seated.

Civil Protection advises against standing at church doors or at crossings on the official route, which are evacuation routes, and asks people to keep children in sight.