has two floors, with a total area of 250 m2. It served as the town hall while a new one was built. Cultural activities including lectures and social gatherings, public and official ceremonies, and general presentations take place here. At present the first floor is an adult education center and the main hall; the second floor houses the municipal library. Library The present town library was inaugurated in 1986. Until 1990 it was situated on the second floor of the old medical center, now the Office for Youth Information (Oficina de Informacion Juvenil). At that time, the library had 1300 volumes. In 1990 it was moved to the second floor of the Culture House; at this writing the library has over 7000 volumes. Tentecarreta Catacombs Tentecarreta is 2 km from Montalban. Large underground galleries were found here which served as a necropolis during the 4th and 5th centuries. These galleries form catacombs which were rare in most localities of the Roman empire; the catacombs of Montalban are the only such catacombs in Spain. Tentecarreta has two galleries, crossed and oriented to the cardinal points. The galleries are narrow, tortuous, and heavily eroded due to humidity, collapses and avalanches of mud. The south gallery housed a collective burial. El Mesto The Mesto was an old tree, a hybrid between one species, evergreen oak, and another, cork oak, located about 7 km from Montalban. During the 8th century it provided shade, shelter and rest for peasants and travellers. The ancient tree measured 15 m in circumference, but it was severely damaged when someone built a fire in a hollow in its trunk. In 1980, an association was founded for its preservation, as the Mesto had long served as an inspiration to poets, writers and artists, arousing a special sensibility of appreciation for the beauty of nature. The Mesto was destroyed in the summer of 1995; yet it remains a symbol, and evokes a feeling for this beauty and a memory of something deeply meaningful being lost. Festivals August Fair The fair is celebrated during August 6–8, in honour of Nuestro Padre Jesús del Calvario; this is harvest time for area farms and the end of the season for agriculture generally. Romería The pilgrimage is celebrated on May 15 in honour of Saint Isidore the Laborer. Almost everyone in town goes to Huerta Dios, a distance of around one kilometre. For around half