Logbook · 5 places

What to see and do in María de Huerva

What to see and do in María de Huerva (Comarca Central, Zaragoza): 5 places across monuments, nature, activities and curiosities, with a photo and a Google Maps location.

1 Villages · 3 Monuments · 1 Activities

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Spain › Aragon › Zaragoza › Comarca Central › María de Huerva

What to see and do in María de Huerva

María de Huerva
Village
María de Huerva is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, in the Comarca Central, 16 kilometres from the capital, with 6,558 inhabitants, which preserves on a hill next to the village the remains of the Muslim-era castle of Al-Marya, built by Abderramán III in the early 10th century. Its name comes from the Arabic mariyya, watchtower -the same root that gives its name to Almería-, and the castle withstood Alfonso the Battler in 1118. After passing through several lordships it ended up in the hands of the Fernández de Heredia family, later counts of Fuentes. In 1610 the expulsion of the moriscos left the area almost depopulated, and the settlement moved to the left bank of the Huerva. On 15 June 1809 a battle of the Peninsular War was fought here. Until 1916 the municipality was called simply María.
Castle of Al-Marya de María de Huerva
Monument
Fortress of Muslim origin situated on a promontory away from the centre of María de Huerva, on the other side of the Huerva river. In the 10th century, Abd al-Rahman III quartered part of his troops there before attacking Zaragoza, within the city's defensive perimeter alongside other fortresses such as those of Juslibol, Alfocea and Cadrete, until Alfonso I the Battler reconquered it in 1118. It passed through various royal tenants and lords, among them Blasco de Aragón, to whom James II granted it in 1232 in exchange for Morella. An oval-shaped walled enclosure survives, about 50 metres along its major axis, dominated by a half-ruined rammed-earth tower, along with the remains of buildings, staircases carved into the rock and zigzag entrances typical of Muslim fortresses.
Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de María de Huerva
Monument
The church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de María de Huerva, in the Comarca Central of Zaragoza, is a large Baroque-Mudéjar temple with a rectangular plan in the shape of a Latin cross, whose axis of symmetry corresponds to the village's urban layout, making it a landmark on the main street. It has three bays of nave, transept arms and a chancel covered with barrel vaults with lunettes, while the central space is covered by a blind dome on pendentives. The first two bays of the nave connect with side chapels with ribbed vaulting. The tower ends in a bell chamber with round-arched openings and a pyramidal spire, and the façade, with pilasters and a triangular pediment, combines a round-arched doorway and a niche with an oculus above.
Festivities of María de Huerva
Activity
María de Huerva celebrates its patron saint festivities from 9 to 17 August in honour of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, San Roque and Santa Bárbara, with more than seventy activities.
Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de la Sabina
Monument
A hermitage in the municipal district of María de Huerva, in the Comarca Central.