Logbook · 6 places

What to see and do in Montalbán

What to see and do in Montalbán (Cuencas Mineras, Teruel): 6 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

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

How far each place is from the centre of Montalbán

Cultural Park of the Martín River 21 km

Towns near Montalbán

What to see in Escucha 4.4 km · 6 places
What to see in Utrillas 4.6 km · 9 places
What to see in Torre de las Arcas 6.9 km · 2 places
What to see in Palomar de Arroyos 7.2 km · 3 places
What to see in Martín del Río 8.2 km · 4 places
What to see in Castel de Cabra 9.1 km · 2 places
What to see in Obón 10 km · 3 places
What to see in La Hoz de la Vieja 11 km · 2 places

Spain › Aragon › Teruel › Cuencas Mineras › Montalbán

What to see and do in Montalbán

Montalbán
Village
Montalbán is the historical and cultural capital of the Cuencas Mineras comarca, in the province of Teruel, with 1,162 inhabitants, situated at 851 metres above sea level on the left bank of the río Martín, on the northern slope of the sierra de San Just. The town takes its name from the castle that once presided over its centre, and it is mentioned in the Cantar del Mio Cid, since El Cid dominated the sierra de Segura and Montalbán in the late 11th century; Ramón Berenguer IV seized it around 1160. In 1208 King Pedro II granted it its own fuero, ratified by Jaime I in 1225, and in 1210 he gave it to the Order of Santiago as the Encomienda Mayor de Aragón. Of the castle and the monastery of the commandery only the foundations survive, after their destruction in the first Carlist War, in 1839.
Historic Ensemble of Montalbán
Monument
The historic centre of Montalbán preserves its medieval layout, with a wall built in 1363 against the Castilian threat and the Gothic-Mudéjar church of Santiago, from the 12th-14th centuries. The town was the head of the Encomienda Mayor of the Order of Santiago in Aragón from 1210 and also preserves an old 14th-century Jewish quarter.
Cultural Park of the Martín River
Nature
The Parque Cultural del Río Martín has protected, since 1995, some 160 square kilometres around the middle course of the río Martín, which runs through gorges cut into limestone formations of the Aragonese branch of the Iberian System. Its villages belong to three comarcas: Cuencas Mineras to the south, with Montalbán, Peñarroyas, Torre de las Arcas, Obón and Alcaine; Andorra-Sierra de Arcos in the centre; and Bajo Martín, with Albalate del Arzobispo, to the north. To the south, wetter, grow reforestation pine woods and holm oak groves; to the north, drier, rosemary scrub and thyme scrub predominate. The continentalized Mediterranean climate allows the presence of juniper (sabina), and the park also preserves a notable set of rock art declared a World Heritage Site.
Festivities of Montalbán
Activity
Montalbán celebrates its local festivals on 27 May (Los Sagrados) and 9 September (Saint Faustus), according to the official festival calendar of Teruel. The patronal festivals, in honour of the Virgin of the Castle and Saint Faustus, are held on the second Sunday of September; the municipality's festive calendar is completed with Saint Anthony in mid-January and the Festival of El Cid at the end of July.
Montalbán's own Fuero
Historical milestone
In 1208 King Pedro II granted the villa a fuero of its own that regulated its government and its boundaries. Jaime I ratified it in 1225, consolidating Montalbán as the legal head of a broad sector of the upper Martín.
Grand Commandery of the Order of Santiago
Historical milestone
Pedro II donated Montalbán to the Order of Santiago in 1210 and the villa became the Encomienda Mayor of Aragon. In 1241 the castle housed a Santiago convent dependent on the priory of Uclés.