Village
Cantavieja is the traditional capital of the Alto Maestrazgo and today the head town of the Teruel comarca of the Maestrazgo, beside the river that gives it its name. Perched at 1,290 metres in a rugged landscape of great ravines, it has 729 inhabitants, and its municipal area is divided into four partidas with more than a hundred inhabited masías. In its surroundings there are cave paintings and the Cueva de los Toros, with levels of Neolithic, Magdalenian and Mousterian occupation going back as far as 35,000 years. According to legend, it was founded by Hamilcar Barca under the name Cartago Vetus. It was a Muslim enclave until its conquest by Alfonso II of Aragon in 1169; in 1212 it passed to the Templars, who granted it a founding charter in 1225 and held it until the dissolution of the Order in 1308. It is considered one of the most beautiful villages in Spain.
Monument
Historic centre of Cantavieja, capital of the Maestrazgo, declared a historic-artistic site in 1981. It is arranged around the arcaded square dedicated to Cristo Rey, with the parish church of la Asunción, an ashlar Baroque temple with three naves and an octagonal tower topped by a pyramid, and the Town Hall, the former Casa de la Comunidad. It preserves stretches of medieval wall, damaged in the Carlist Wars, and a 19th-century circular tower on medieval foundations. The complex has its origin in the Templar commandery founded in 1197 by Miguel de Luna; once the order was dissolved, in 1317 it passed to that of San Juan de Jerusalén (Hospitallers), which came to control Mirambel, La Iglesuela del Cid and Tronchón as well. In 2014 Cantavieja was included among Los Pueblos Más Bonitos de España.
Curiosity
The Maestrazgo Geopark was created in 2005 as part of the Maestrazgo Cultural Park, organised around the Guadalope river and its tributaries, and it encompasses 43 municipalities in the province of Teruel. Recognised for its exceptional geological heritage, it includes formations such as the Órganos de Montoro, the source of the Pitarque river and the Grutas de Molinos.
Curiosity
A pork-based cuisine, with artisan ham and cured sausages as the comarca's traditional products.
Activity
Patron saint festivities of Cantavieja between 22 and 26 August, in honour of Santa Vicenta Mártir and the Virgen de Loreto. On the third Sunday of September a trade and livestock fair of medieval origin is also held.
Monument
Hermitage in the municipality of Cantavieja, the capital of the Maestrazgo, which Alfonso II conquered in 1169 and granted to the Order of the Holy Redeemer. In April 1836 Ramón Cabrera set up his headquarters there during the First Carlist War, a stronghold that government troops did not occupy until 11 May 1840.
Activity
Cantavieja's winter festival is held in the capital of the Maestrazgo, which between 1872 and 1875, during the Third Carlist War, Marco de Bello turned into the political centre of Aragonese Carlism, with military academies and munitions factories, until its surrender on 6 July 1875.
Monument
The Fuente de Cantavieja stands in the capital of the Maestrazgo, whose traditional pastries — torta de alma, carquiñol, almojábana, almendrado and mantecados — were regulated in 1995 under the C de Calidad Alimentaria mark of Aragón.
Monument
Medieval gateway into the walled enclosure of Cantavieja.
Historical milestone
Alfonso II conquered Cantavieja in 1169 and handed it to the Order of the Holy Redeemer. In 1197 the commandery was constituted with Miguel de Luna as first commander, the seed of the military dominion over the whole Teruel Maestrazgo.
Historical milestone
In April 1836 Ramón Cabrera fixed his headquarters here and from these streets governed the territory that earned him the nickname Tiger of the Maestrazgo. The government troops did not occupy the town until 11 May 1840.
Historical milestone
During the Third Carlist War, between 1872 and 1875, Marco de Bello turned the villa into the political centre of Aragonese Carlism, with military academies and munitions factories. The locality surrendered on 6 July 1875.
Food and drink
Under this name are grouped the torta de alma, the carquiñol, the almojábana, the almendrado and the mantecados, made in workshops of the comarca. The whole was regulated in 1995 under the C de Calidad Alimentaria de Aragón mark.