Logbook · 8 places

What to see and do in Estercuel

What to see and do in Estercuel (Andorra-Sierra de Arcos, Teruel): 8 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Nature · 3 Activities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

How far each place is from the centre of Estercuel

Church of Estercuel 50 m
Monastery of Nuestra Señora del Olivar 3.5 km

Towns near Estercuel

What to see in Cañizar del Olivar 4.4 km · 2 places
What to see in Gargallo 4.6 km · 7 places
What to see in Crivillén 5.6 km · 4 places
What to see in Torre de las Arcas 7.4 km · 2 places
What to see in La Zoma 8 km · 2 places
What to see in Castel de Cabra 8 km · 2 places
What to see in La Mata de los Olmos 9.4 km · 3 places
What to see in Obón 9.4 km · 3 places

Spain › Aragon › Teruel › Andorra-Sierra de Arcos › Estercuel

What to see and do in Estercuel

Estercuel
Village
Estercuel is a municipality in the province of Teruel, in the Andorra-Sierra de Arcos comarca, located at 829 metres above sea level on the slopes of the sierra de San Just, beside the Estercuel or Zarzosa river. It has 198 inhabitants. Within its municipal area is the Mercedarian monastery of Nuestra Señora del Olivar, declared a bien de interés cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) in 1982, where Tirso de Molina set La dama del Olivar. The village also preserves the castle-palace of the Baronía de Estercuel, documented since the 13th century, with a defensive west façade with loopholes, and the chapel of the Santos Mártires, above the only surviving gateway of the old town wall. Its economy, once tied to coal mining, now rests on the extraction of clays and aggregates, olive oil and tourism.
Church of Estercuel
Monument
Baroque church of Santo Toribio de Estercuel, dating from the 17th century and restored in the 21st century. Inside, the paintings on the central dome, from the 19th century, depict the Preaching of San Pedro surrounded by the four evangelists.
Festivities of Estercuel
Activity
Festivities of Estercuel on 16 April, for Santo Toribio, patron of the parish church, and on 9 September, for Nuestra Señora del Olivar.
Festivities of invierno de Estercuel (San Antón)
Activity
Estercuel leads the winter festivities of the Teruel Bajo Aragón with the Encamisada, its distinctive way of celebrating the San Antón bonfire, on 17 January. The feast of the Sanantones, celebrated on the weekend closest to the 19th, begins with the Salve sung at the Santos Mártires gate and the lighting of the bonfires, followed by the procession and cavalcade of the Encamisada through the whole village, the communal supper by the fire and the traditional El Reinau dance. The following day comes the Llega, a neighbourhood collection to cover the cost of the festivity, the High Mass with candles and the distribution of blessed bread, ending with refreshments and the Baile de las Coronas, which represents the change of festive authorities.
Festivities of invierno de Estercuel (San Blas)
Activity
As in other villages of the comarca, Estercuel also lights the bonfire of San Blas, on 3 February, in addition to that of San Antón which gives its name to its distinctive Encamisada.
Landscape of the Sierra de Arcos in Estercuel
Nature
Estercuel sits on the slope of the Sierra de Arcos where the Order of Mercy founded the monastery of Nuestra Señora del Olivar in the 13th century, today a Monumento Histórico-Artístico (Spain's heritage designation in force between 1931 and 1985).
Monastery of Nuestra Señora del Olivar
Historical milestone
Founded by the Order of Mercy in the 13th century, the monastery was declared a historic-artistic monument in 1982. Tirso de Molina set the action of La dama del Olivar, a play that spread the legend of the apparition, within its walls. The building seen today mainly reflects the renovations of the 16th and 17th centuries, and it stands on the slope of the Sierra de San Just, on the left bank of the río Estercuel, also called Zarzosa.
The oil of the Estercuel cooperative
Food and drink
The municipal cooperative mills the olives of the district and makes extra virgin olive oil, an activity that largely replaced mining as the economic base. The season is concentrated between November and January.