Onda’s history goes back thousands of years according to several findings. The flint tiles found in the area of Murtera are proof of the presence of human beings in these lands in Neolithic times. The remnants of Torrelló and Castell date back to the Valencian Bronze age and the ceramic items found in Torrelló, Castell, Pla dels Olivars and Sitjar Baix belong to the Iberian period.

The Greeks called Onda “Sepelacón”. Besides the remnants of a bridge on the river Mijares and a bit of a roman road, five of the eleven Latin inscriptions are all that remain of the Romanisation.

Historical and artistic collection
The old town, with its narrow, steep streets is bordered by the ancient wall at the foot of the hill where the castle is located. The emblematic “Torre del Moro” is the main feature of the castle. The area was designated as a Historical and Artistic Location and a Culturally Interesting Asset in 1967. Other important sites are Sabater fountain, Sant Pere gate (16th century), which is crowned with a coat of arms of the Aragón family and especially the plaza de l’Almudí (also known as Dins Fountain), with its clearly medieval arches and structure.

A castle with three hundred towers
Muntaner the historian wrote that Onda’s Roman castle had as many towers as there are days in the year («el castell e la vila d’Onda que hi ha aiantes torres com dies ha en l’any»). This is why the castle is known as the “Trescientas Torres” castle. The fortress is located on a hill near the town and occupies a big area with four terraced areas. In 1967 the castle and the old quarter of the town were designated as a Historical and Artistic Location.

Tile Museum
It has over 8,000 items collected since it was established in 1968, from Gothic tiles to current productions, with collections of the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, modern and contemporary periods. There are also industrial ethnological objects and documentary series about local, autonomic and national productions. The Museum’s collection is completed with items from the 19th and 20th century, some local and others from Ribesalbes. There are also works by renowned ceramists (Peyró, Alós, Mundina, Safont, etc.) and samples from the Province Ceramics School, a true learning centre for young artists.

Natural Sciences Museum
This interesting museum is situated on the outskirts of the town, next to the Mare de Déu de l’Esperança sanctuary. Its collection contains over 10,000 species from the animal kingdom and the equivalent amount of species from the vegetable and mineral kingdoms. Among the most important collections there are mammals, fish, reptiles, crustaceans and batrachians and also unique species in the sections of entomology, minerals, plants and molluscs and a great number of anatomic and osteological samples. However, maybe the most striking place is the Malformations Room that shows how the whims of nature have created species with two heads or a leg on the back, among other things.