Logbook · 5 places

What to see and do in Alfambra

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

1 Villages · 1 Monuments · 1 Activities · 2 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Alfambra

Church of Alfambra 50 m
Battle of Alfambra 24 km

Towns near Alfambra

What to see in Escorihuela 5.3 km · 2 places
What to see in Orrios 5.9 km · 1 place
What to see in Peralejos 7 km · 1 place
What to see in Perales del Alfambra 10 km · 2 places
What to see in Cuevas Labradas 10 km · 1 place
What to see in Celadas 13 km · 2 places
What to see in Camañas 14 km · 1 place
What to see in El Pobo 15 km · 4 places

Spain › Aragon › Teruel › Comunidad de Teruel › Alfambra

What to see and do in Alfambra

Alfambra
Village
Alfambra is a municipality of the Comunidad de Teruel, in Aragon, situated at 1,043 metres above sea level and with 485 inhabitants. Its name comes from the Arabic Al Hamra, the red one, after the intense colour of the clays that outcrop in the area. It is the head town of the Alfambra river valley, with an origin going back to the Bronze Age, according to the sites of Peña Dorada and El Castillo. Under Muslim rule it belonged to the Banu Razin, and after being reconquered by Alfonso II the Chaste in 1169, it was ceded in 1174 to the Order of Monte Gaudio, which later passed to the Temple and to the Order of St John. Between 5 and 8 February 1938 the Battle of Alfambra was fought here. Its economy was traditionally based on agriculture and livestock farming, with old irrigation channels already mentioned in its charter (fuero).
Church of Alfambra
Monument
Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, from the 17th century, with a single four-bay nave with a choir, side chapels between buttresses and lunette barrel vaulting; it preserves a reliquary of Santa Beatriz.
Festivities of Alfambra
Activity
Patronal festivities of Alfambra, in the Community of Teruel, held around 3 and 4 July in honour of Santa Beatriz and San Simplicio, with religious acts combined with novilladas, fire bulls and popular dances. The municipality's festive calendar also includes a pilgrimage to the hermitage of San Juan Bautista on 24 June and celebrations in August dedicated to the Virgen de la Asunción and San Roque.
Alfambra and the Order of Monte Gaudio
Historical milestone
Reconquered by Alfonso II in 1169, the town of Alfambra, in Teruel, saw the founding at its castle, in 1174, of the Order of Saint Mary of Monte Gaudio of Jerusalem, also called of Montegaudio or of Alfambra, in the Kingdom of Aragon, by Count Rodrigo Álvarez de Sarria with the consent of the monarch himself; approved by papal bull the previous year, it lacked possessions until it received the castle, which became its master seat. It became one of the most important military orders of the 12th century and absorbed, with the support of the Aragonese monarchs, the Order of the Hospital of San Redentor of Teruel. In 1196 it was in turn absorbed by the Templars, and after their dissolution most of its possessions passed to the Order of Saint John, in which Juan Fernández de Heredia, former commander of Alfambra, stood out as Grand Master of Rhodes.
Battle of Alfambra
Historical milestone
The Battle of Alfambra was fought between 5 and 8 February 1938, during the Civil War, in the basin of the Alfambra river, about 25 kilometres north of Teruel. After the Republican recovery of the city on 7 January, the insurgent command launched a counterattack towards the Alto de Celadas and El Muletón, and on 17 January broke through the Republican lines amid fierce air combat; the 35th Division, with International Brigades, came to contain it. Extreme cold halted the offensive, giving the Nationalist command time to prepare the definitive attack, led by General Antonio Aranda. Fourteen insurgent divisions surrounded and destroyed the Republican XIII Army Corps, opening the way for the recapture of Teruel two weeks later.