Village
Binéfar is the administrative capital of La Litera, in eastern Huesca province, and its most populous settlement, with 10,235 inhabitants. Documented since the 11th century, it received a charter of settlement from the Templars of Monzón in 1158 and in 1363 hosted the signing of the treaty of Binéfar between Peter IV the Ceremonious and Henry of Trastámara. In 1585, fleeing the plague ravaging Monzón, it hosted the Cortes of Aragon presided over by Philip II. It has been a town since 1785; the railway arrived in 1861 and in 1906 Alfonso XIII inaugurated the Canal de Aragón y Cataluña, a pillar of its development. During the Civil War it was one of the most important collectives in Aragon. Today it is the commercial and agricultural-livestock centre of the comarca, with a livestock market of national reference.
Monument
Parish church of Saint Peter the Apostle, in Binéfar (Huesca), in Gothic style with Baroque additions, the result of two building phases: the Gothic fabric, in ashlar, was begun in 1462, and in the second half of the 18th century side aisles were added under the direction of the master builder José Burría. It has a rectangular plan with three naves, a transept, an apse with chapels, a choir and an octagonal tower, with a star-ribbed vault over the central nave. Its portal, in Flamboyant Gothic style, is a unique example in Aragon. It preserves a main altarpiece with sculpture by Damián Forment and an altarpiece of 1627 dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, the work of the sculptor Antón Franco. In 1585 it hosted a session of the Cortes of Aragon summoned by Philip II, and in the Civil War it lost much of its artistic heritage.
Activity
The patron saint festivities of Binéfar are held from 13 to 17 September in honour of the Santo Cristo de los Milagros (14 September), with the traditional parade of giants and cabezudos (big-heads), the parade of floats and local groups, and the opening speech that officially begins the celebrations.
Activity
Binéfar's winter festival is held in the town to which the Templars of the commandery of Monzón granted a settlement charter in 1158, and where in 1363, in the midst of the War of the Two Pedros, a treaty was signed between the royal houses of Aragón and Castile.
Nature
Landscape transformed by the Canal de Aragón y Cataluña in the comarca of La Litera. The canal irrigates more than 98,000 hectares spread between Huesca and Lérida, and turned dry cereal land into an area of intensive farming and industrial livestock production. Its construction, already planned in the 18th century, was approved in 1896 after years of popular pressure, including a rally in Binéfar attended by about 10,000 people, and it was inaugurated by Alfonso XIII in 1906; the Barasona reservoir, a key part of the system, came into service in 1931. Binéfar, the comarca's administrative centre, hosts the headquarters of the Comunidad General de Regantes (General Irrigators' Community), and together with Tamarite de Litera, San Esteban de Litera, Albelda, Fonz, Estadilla and Estada forms the group of municipalities irrigated by the canal.
Monument
The historic bridge of Binéfar is found in the town that in 1585 hosted sessions of the Aragonese Cortes with Felipe II present, who was impressed by the church of San Pedro, and where in 1936 the unions organised one of the most important agrarian collectives in Aragón.
Historical milestone
The Templars of the commandery of Monzón granted in 1158 a settlement charter to the place in order to attract residents to the frontier; the document marks the beginning of the town that today is the comarca's administrative capital.
Historical milestone
In the town was signed in 1363 an agreement between the royal houses of Aragon and Castile in the middle of the War of the Two Peters, one of the many attempts at truce in that conflict which devastated the frontier for a decade.
Historical milestone
The town hosted in 1585 sessions of the Aragonese Cortes with the presence of Philip II, who was impressed by the church of San Pedro; it was the moment of Binéfar's greatest political prominence in the Early Modern period.
Historical milestone
After the outbreak of the war, in 1936, the unions organized here one of the most important agrarian collectives in Aragon, which socialized land and livestock until the military columns put an end to the experiment.
Food and drink
A humble stew of the Litera market-garden area in which dried beans, rice and potato are cooked together with a sauté of garlic and paprika and a little bacon; it was the daily meal of the irrigation day labourers. It was the Aragonese cook Teodoro Bardají who made the recipe known, published in February 1922 in the magazine El Gorro Blanco and dedicated to his home town, Binéfar. The name recao alludes to the provisions daily brought from the market to stock the house. It is served hot and freshly made, midway between brothy and dry, and by itself makes up the first midday course in the family kitchens of Alto Aragón.