Logbook · 10 places

What to see and do in Monreal del Campo

What to see and do in Monreal del Campo (Jiloca, Teruel): 10 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 1 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 3 Historical milestones

How far each place is from the centre of Monreal del Campo

Church of Monreal del Campo 50 m

Towns near Monreal del Campo

Spain › Aragon › Teruel › Jiloca › Monreal del Campo

What to see and do in Monreal del Campo

Monreal del Campo
Village
Monreal del Campo is a town in the Jiloca comarca, of which it is the capital of agricultural and livestock development, in the province of Teruel, situated beside the Jiloca river. It has 2,578 inhabitants. In its municipal area rise the Ojos del Jiloca, a string of springs that form the largest groundwater discharge wetland at the confluence between the Iberian mountain range and the valleys of the Ebro basin, and which give rise to the river itself. After the conquest of Calatayud and Daroca from the Almoravids and the Battle of Cutanda in 1120, Alfonso I the Battler founded a castle beside these springs. The town is linked to the cultivation of saffron and has a monographic museum devoted to this spice.
Monographic Saffron Museum
Monument
Museum dedicated to the tradition of saffron growing in Monreal del Campo (Teruel), located in the plaza Mayor, in a 17th-century building that belonged to the Beltranes family and later served as the municipal school. Its permanent exhibition shows the tasks linked to this crop, once vital to the local economy, and preserves tools and implements formerly used for its cultivation and marketing.
Ojos de Monreal (Springs)
Nature
The Ojos de Monreal, or Ojos del Jiloca, are the natural source of the river Jiloca in the municipal territory of Monreal del Campo (Teruel). They are formed by a series of springs linked together like a rosary, known locally as Ojos because of their shape, which contribute about 500 litres of water per second to the river. They constitute the largest groundwater discharge wetland at the confluence of the Iberian System with the valleys of the rivers of the Ebro basin, and one of the largest of its kind in Spain. Reeds, bulrushes, willows, black poplars and white poplars grow on their banks, and their waters are home to barbel, American crayfish, water vole and a rare otter.
Saffron of the Jiloca
Curiosity
Jiloca saffron, considered one of the finest spices in the world, has traditionally been grown throughout the Jiloca valley, of which Monreal del Campo was for many years the hub. The district's altitude, between 700 and 900 metres, together with its cold winters and short but hot summers, offers ideal conditions for growing this plant, of great historical importance in the area.
Church of Monreal del Campo
Monument
Church of la Natividad de Nuestra Señora, whose current building, in neoclassical style and from the 19th century, was constructed in gray and white stone with the bell tower resting on the remains of the 16th-century church that occupied the site of the castle. It preserves murals in the presbytery, neoclassical altarpieces, a Gothic-Renaissance parish cross and a gilt-silver processional cross of Daroca metalwork from the late 15th century.
Festivities of Monreal del Campo
Activity
The patronal festivities of Monreal del Campo, in the Teruel comarca of the Jiloca, are held in honour of the Natividad de Nuestra Señora, between 24 and 27 August.
Museum of el Azafrán de Monreal del Campo
Monument
Inaugurated on 25 March 1983, it is a museum devoted solely to saffron: it brings together implements, roasting tools and documentation on growing the crop and stripping the flower, hand work that shaped the economy of the Jiloca valley villages for decades.
Founding of Monreal by Alfonso I
Historical milestone
Between 1120 and 1124 Alfonso I the Battler raised here a stronghold that he called Monreal, dwelling of the celestial king according to the letter of Archbishop Guillermo de Aux. The settlement was organised around the castle, the tower and the church.
La Militia Christi de Monreal
Historical milestone
In the stronghold founded by Alfonso I was established between 1120 and 1124 the Militia Christi of Monreal, considered the first military order created in Spain. It was born as a religious-military brotherhood to hold the Jiloca frontier against the Almoravids.
Carlist destruction of Monreal del Campo
Historical milestone
According to Pascual Madoz, in September 1839 the Carlist commander Llangostera ordered the demolition of the church, the tower and the buildings of the main square. A new attack in May 1840 burned around a hundred houses.