The visitors, coming from the east, come to the city of Huesca are greeted by the figure of the Montearagón Castle-abbey . Although its ocher color blends in with the arid terrain of the Huesca basin, it is clearly visible from several kilometers away.
As our title says, we can consider it a kind of poor brother of Loarre Castle. While the latter receives thousands of visits every month, and a large part of the public investments in Heritage. Montearagón castle seems doomed to complete oblivion by both parties. All this despite the fact that clearly in the Middle Ages it was totally the opposite, since our protagonist today was one of the most important headquarters of one of the most influential powers of that time, the Christian church.
Brief history of the castle-abbey of Montearagón.
The struggles to reconquer the young Kingdom of Aragon led King Sancho Ramírez to conquer this hill located just 5 kilometers from the city of Huesca in 1085. The place was ideal to undertake the taking of the city, so the Aragonese king decided to build on the remains of some small Arab construction, what would be the control post for the taking of Wasqa, as Huesca was called in times of the Taifa of Zaragoza.
The views from the Castle, ideal for the control of Huesca.
The first task that their conquerors had to undertake was the construction of the defensive walls to house the necessary buildings, to address their purposes. The first building that was erected already foreshadowed its future, specifically the Church consecrated to Jesús Nazareno, of which there is already evidence in the year 1086. Next to it and in a period between the years 1086-1089, the houses and buildings for the troops of the King of Aragon. All this without forgetting the main protagonists of the castle-abbey of Montearagón, the monks who, after settling in the enclosure as a monastery, will welcome the rule of San Agustín.
This fact seems to be crucial for the aforementioned future of the new castle-abbey, as it is blessed by these new kings, who also became its main economic patron. It also had the protection of Pope Urban II and was consecrated in 1090 in the monastery of San Juan de la Peña.
Of the few buildings that remain standing, the Palace of the Canons.
Although the conquest of Huesca would have to wait a few years, in which the Christian troops were taking up positions around the capital of Huesca. In addition, in one of the battles, the king of Aragon, Sancho Ramírez, lost his life, specifically in 1094. After which his son succeeded him, adopting the name of Pedro I of Aragón, who together with his younger brother, by the way, only father, and future king Alfonso I the Battler will definitively conquer the city of Huesca, after the famous Battle of Alcoraz at the end of the year 1096.
From that moment our protagonist of today will lose his main defensive condition. But he will be at the forefront of the struggle between religious, for control of the new territories conquered by the Christian kings of Aragon. On the one hand, the bishop of the recently recovered diocese of Huesca, and on the other, the Abbot of Montearagón tried to take over as many churches as possible, behind which there was always the collection of tithes and offerings. It is estimated that during the period from its foundation, until the middle of the 13th century, it had more than a hundred churches.
Remains of the dependencies of the monks of Montearagón.
One of the access doors
The decline of Montearagón.
The reasons for this decline will be several, and also over a long period of time. To begin with, in 1242 the infant Fernando de Aragón died, according to various sources the most important Abbot that the monastery had. The problem is his succession, in which the bishops of Valencia and Huesca will interfere, and which will lead to a significant loss of churches that Montearagón was in charge of.
The next major drawback will come in the convulsive fifteenth century, which will begin with the loss without a successor of the king of Aragon, Martin the Humane in 1410, an event that will lead to great instability to the Crown. This fact will affect the castle-abbey of Montearagón in the form of robberies and looting, which will lead to a new reinforcement of the walls, despite which they will not be able to avoid the serious fire of 1477, which was about to end it.
The altarpiece of Montearagón elaborated by Gil de Morlanes "the old" in 1506, is currently in the Cathedral of Huesca.
Despite all the ills, the 16th century seems to have started in a better way, with some remodeling and alterations, such as the phenomenal alabaster altarpiece that decorated the church of Jesus the Nazarene. But the lace will come shortly after, specifically in 1571 with different Papal Bulls in charge of Pius V, who took almost all his properties, ceding them to the bishoprics of Huesca, Jaca and Barbastro. Despite this, he continued his monastic path until 1835, when after the War of Independence and the confiscation of Mendizábal the following year, the castle-abbey of Montearagón would be completely ruined.
In 1834 the castle-abbey of Montearagón had this magnificent presence.
The castle-Abbey of Montearagón today.
At this point we must return to the title of our article, Loarre's poor brother is evidence when you visit both. Despite the fact that the rehabilitation and consolidation campaigns began in 1976, they have never had firm support from the institutions, therefore, in my opinion, they have not borne any fruit. Now it seems that the latest news that arrives open a thread of hope, to see one day this space museumized and valued, without a doubt the best way to preserve historical heritage. Although, on the other hand, the 1.4 million euros placed on the table of the Quicena City Council, today responsible for the building, seem very scarce to me.
After the fences you access the castle
Still, the enclosure can be visited and it is really worth it, some parts can remind us of its glorious past. On the other hand, note that precautions must be taken to carry out visits, since there are no security measures and knowing that the place you are visiting is everyone's heritage.
Finally, I invite you to get to know it a little better through the following images, which give a sad example of what remains of such a glorious past.
More info:dehuesca