What are the most beautiful towns in Huesca? Huesca is a province of Spain, municipality and city, north of the community of Aragon. It rests in the Ebro Valley along with the Pyrenees, so its landscape is with mountains and rivers that run between them.
Huesca has many beautiful towns, towns that can be visited following a rural tourism route. Let's meet today the most beautiful towns in Huesca.
Ainsa
On our list of most beautiful towns in Huesca We first meet Aínsa: a beautiful medieval village in the middle of a valley where the Peña Montañesa of 2295 meters predominates. This in the region of Sobrarte and in part of its territory are the Guara Canyons and the Sierra Natural Park.
It was born as a citadel in the XNUMXth century and his charms gave him the recognition of Historical-Artistic Set in 1965 after being completely restored. Ainsa It is the Capital of Rural Tourism and its historic center is a beautiful place, with cobblestone streets that turn here and there.
The origin of this historic center is at the confluence of two rivers, the Ara and the Cinca, and is framed by two streets, Santa Cruz and Mayor, both ending in the Plaza Mayor. Then there is the castle with its wide esplanade and also the Shrine of the Covered Cross which dates back to 1665. It is a monument built by the General Council of Aragon commemorating the victory of the Christians over the Muslims in the XNUMXth century.
The beautiful Ainsa Castle It dates back to the 1124th century and was part of a Christian defense line in its territories. The walled town was born here in the Middle Ages, which would ultimately be the capital of the county of Sobrarbe. In XNUMX Alfonso I gave it the Puebla Charter, honoring the town and elevating it in category with charters. In addition to the castle you can see the Parish Church of Saint Mary, House of Bielsa with twin windows, the Arnal House with bars and the beautiful Plaza Mayor.
When Sobrarbe began to be less and less important, that had an impact on the town, and at least until the beginning of the XNUMXth century life here was almost subsistence. The works of modernity, bridges, dams and others to produce electricity in the valley, did not have positive effects on traditional productive activities and that determined the loss of farmland and the emigration of many people.
Aínsa began to emerge from the crisis slowly as the rural and natural tourism.
Alquézar
On our list of most beautiful towns in Huesca, In the region of Somontano de Barbastro, there is also Alquézar, on one of the banks of the Vero River, at the height of its last canyon and at the foot of the Balcez and Olsón mountains. This just 51 kilometers from Huesca.
The name indicates an Arab past and this is how it is: al-qasr It was said to castles and in this case this one in particular It served to defend the entrance to Barbitania. The castle was ordered to be built in the 1069th century by Jalaf ibn Rashid. In XNUMX, King Sancho Ramírez gave Alquézar privileges, but he was not the only monarch who granted him benefits throughout its history.
Today there are some treasures that you should know: one's own urban area which is charming, parish dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel and Collegiate Church of Santa María la Mayor which was consecrated in the year 1099. Well, collegiate church and castle, it is the same one that the Arab built in the XNUMXth century to stop the Christians. and ultimately conquered by Sancho Ramírez.
As Christians prevailed, the fortress abandoned its military character and became 100% religious. It had some structural modifications and among them we can name the construction of the gothic cloister in the XNUMXth century, or the frescoes on the cloister walls painted in the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. The current Collegiate Church of Santa María has the signature of Juan de Segura and is one of the most visited places in the village.
Torla
It is a village in the north of the province, on the border with France although there is no road that connects both countries. The village It is the access door to the Ordesa Valley, within the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park. This just 100 kilometers from Huesca capital.
Torla It is in the glacial valley of the Ara River, after the confluence of the Bujarruelo and Ordesa valleys. The name seems to derive from the word Tower because there was a tower built to defend the area from the French. It is estimated that this tower was where a Romanesque church stands today, on a rock overlooking the valley.
Torla counts hundreds of legends about border crossings, persecuted Cathar smugglers and hospitable monks. The medieval essence is breathed everywhere: there is the castle where the Ethnographic Museum operates, the church of San Salvador, the old mansions from the XNUMXth to XNUMXth centuries, and of course the culture and history present in the local festivals.
Ansó
In the list of most beautiful towns in Huesca a small village follows with less than 500 inhabitants what is near the border with France: Ansó. It was James I of Aragon who benefited the people with several privileges, many of them to safeguard the border.
Since ever The main economic activity of Ansó has been livestock, especially cattle., so transhumance is a long tradition here. But what places of interest does Ansó have?
Well, the town itself is a medieval beauty with little streets and houses sometimes joined by craft, hallways really just 50 centimeters wide. There is the Ethnological museum, Museum of Sacred Art, the Town Hall building and the beautiful Parish Church of San Pedro with its defensive structure, its Gothic style, its organ and its choir made in France in the XNUMXth century.
You can't miss a photo of Anso's chimneys, it is a splendid collection, not one of the Medieval keep where Blanca II of Navarra is said to have been or its beautiful natural surroundings where, wonderfully, there are still native bears of the Pyrenees.
Santa Cruz de la Serós and San Caprasio
This charming little town is famous for Church of San Caprasio, a small medieval temple that dates back to the first decades of the XNUMXth century when Sancho III the Greater reigned. There is also a small temple, the temple of San Caprasio, Lombard style and with proportions tailored to the man.
The town is the starting point towards the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña.
Jaca, beautiful town in Huesca
Is the capital of the La Jacetania region and is 72 kilometers from Huesca. It is on a plateau at 820 meters above sea level, next to the Aragón River and used to be, with its ancient name of Iaca, the capital of the Iacetans, an ancient town that extended from the Pyrenees to the plains.
Marcus Porcius Cato, Roman consul, he conquered the city in 194 BC and integrated it into the empire as a surveillance point for the roads of the Pyrenees, which made it a prosperous city for a time, until the Empire fell and the presence of bandits complicated the lives of the merchants who traveled those roads.
At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, Jaca was a fort of the Kingdom of Pamplona, surrounded by houses that over time became more numerous as it was very well located on the Camino de Santiago, For example. But the diseases of the Middle Ages and the fires that took place almost at the end of this historical period plunged Jaca into a deep crisis from which only Ferdinand the Catholic would rescue it.
Among other things Jaca It was the first capital of the kingdom of Aragon, the first to stand up in favor of the Republic and the first to hail Ramiro II the Monk. What treasures do you have in store for your visitors?
La Cathedral of San Pedro de Jaca, Romanesque style, church of carmen, Church of Santiago, the royal Monastery of the Benedictines, some hermitages, the Castle of San Pedro o Citadel of Jaca, Clock Tower, the Town Hall, the Episcopal Palace, the medieval bridge of San Miguel over the Argón River or the Rapitán Fort, among others.
Here we come with our list of the most beautiful towns in Huesca. Of course there are many more, the list should add them up but we leave it to you to get to know them.