An aura of mystery and secrecy has surrounded trasmoz along the centuries. On the slopes of the Moncayo, a few kilometers from the Cistercian monastery of Veruela, is located this Zaragoza town famous for being the only cursed and excommunicated town in Spain. Halloween is just around the corner, what better time than now to find out why Trasmoz was excommunicated?
It was the XNUMXth century when the excommunication took place. According to legend, at that time the activity of the witches was in full swing and, within the walls of their castle, the covens and all kinds of pagan acts were a constant despite the tight control that the Veruela monastery had from the surroundings of this territory.
Trasmoz was independent, for example, in the use of water since the Crown had granted it a series of rights that placed it in a more advantageous position than the rest of the municipalities. In addition, there are those who point out that in his castle what was really done was to mint false coins that undermined Veruela's income and all this led Trasmoz to be excommunicated by papal order.
That the popular Spanish romantic poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was inspired by the Trasmoz castle For his legends about witchcraft and covens during his stay in the monastery of Veruela, he helped spread the town's fame as cursed.
Currently there are 80 residents registered here and they are not affected by this situation. What's more, thanks to these dark stories, hundreds of tourists visit Trasmoz every year. The town has a museum dedicated to witchcraft and every summer a fair dedicated to witches, magic and medicinal plants that attracts many curious.
However, if there is a date indicated in the calendar, it is the celebration of All Saints, the Day of the Dead and, in Trasmoz, the night of the souls. A very old celebration that has Celtic origins, which celebrated the arrival of the empire of darkness, brought about by the long winter nights.
The El Embrujo Cultural Association has recovered part of the ancestral ritual of this magical and mysterious night and every October 31 it celebrates «The light of the souls»And invites locals and tourists to experience a terrifying night.