Logbook · 5 places

What to see and do in Loarre

What to see and do in Loarre (Hoya de Huesca, Huesca): 5 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Activities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Loarre

Castle of Loarre 1.5 km

Towns near Loarre

Spain › Aragon › Huesca › Hoya de Huesca › Loarre

What to see and do in Loarre

Loarre
Village
Loarre is a town in the Hoya de Huesca comarca, situated at the foot of the sierra of the same name, between Bolea and Ayerbe, about 27 kilometres from the capital. Its municipal territory also includes the villages of Linás de Marcuello, Santa Engracia de Loarre and Sarsamarcuello. It gives its name to the castle of Loarre, whose construction began in 1016 and continued in several phases during the 11th century, considered one of the best-preserved Romanesque castles in Europe. The fortress and the town changed hands several times during the Middle Ages: they were sold in 1381 to Pedro Jordán de Urriés and again in 1408 to Ramón de Mur, councillor and Bayle General of Aragon, always with the possibility of reverting to the royal estate if the sum paid were returned.
Castle of Loarre
Monument
An eleventh-century Romanesque fortress considered the best preserved in Europe, built by Sancho III the Great and Sancho Ramírez. Also called the castle-abbey of Loarre, from its position it dominates the entire plain of the Hoya de Huesca and, in particular, the town of Bolea, then the main Muslim stronghold in the area. It sits on a limestone-rock promontory that serves as its foundation, which prevented its walls from being undermined, and it is surrounded by a wall with towers. It was declared a Monumento Nacional (a former Spanish heritage-protection designation, now included under Bien de Interés Cultural) in 1906 and today is a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) with the category of monument. Among its spaces, the small chapel stands out, as does the crypt of Santa Quiteria, at the entrance and with remarkable acoustics, and the castle church, whose dome is unusual in Romanesque art.
Festivities of Loarre
Activity
Loarre celebrates its fiestas mayores in honor of Santiago on 24 and 25 July, at the foot of its Romanesque castle, and a second patronal festivity for San Demetrio on 8 October. Pilgrimages to Santa Águeda and to the hermitage of Santa Marina are also traditional.
The Augustinian canons of Loarre
Historical milestone
Sancho Ramírez installed in the fortress a community of Augustinian canons regular, protected on 17 October 1071 by a bull of pope Alexander II; the monastery was later moved to Montearagón under Peter I.
Pumpkin empanadico
Food and drink
Sweet pie of scalded dough filled with roast pumpkin, raisins and pine nuts, identified with Loarre and traditionally baked at Christmas and All Saints making use of the dough left over from the bread.