Village
Añón de Moncayo is a municipality in the comarca of Tarazona y el Moncayo, in the province of Zaragoza, situated at 836 metres above sea level in the valley of the Huecha river, 19 km from Tarazona; until 1991 it was called simply Añón. It stands at the foot of the Moncayo (2,315 m, the highest peak of the Iberian System, with three glacial cirques and one of the southernmost beech forests in Europe), whose natural park covers a good part of its municipal area. The first document attesting the existence of Añón is the donation of its church, in 1140, to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, part of the grants made to the military orders after the conquest of the comarca. Its castle, of medieval origin from the 12th century, preserves much of its stonework and five defensive towers. It has 207 inhabitants (INE 2025).
Nature
The Moncayo natural park, formerly called the Dehesa del Moncayo natural park, extends over the colder, wetter north-facing slope of Mount Moncayo, the highest peak of the Iberian System, on the boundary between the provinces of Zaragoza and Soria. It covers 11,144 hectares shared among several municipalities, including Añón de Moncayo, and its altitude ranges from 600 metres near the Huecha river to 2,315 metres at the summit of the Cerro de San Miguel. It was created in 1978 as the Dehesa del Moncayo natural park and took its current name in 1998; it also holds the protected-area designations LIC (Site of Community Importance) and ZEPA (Special Protection Area for Birds).
Monument
The church of Santa María la Mayor, the parish church of Añón de Moncayo, stands on the village's main square, at the foot of the Moncayo Natural Park. It is a Gothic temple built in the 13th century over an earlier Romanesque structure, linked to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem since the Bishop of Tarazona donated it in 1140. It suffered severe damage from a fire during the Peninsular War and from the later deterioration of its roof, which required an almost complete reconstruction between 1983 and 1985.
Nature
Glacial cirques of Quaternary origin in the Moncayo massif - las hoyas de San Miguel, San Gaudioso y Morca - with vegetation arranged in tiers: holm oak and Mediterranean scrub up to 900 metres, Pyrenean oak woodland between 900 and 1100, a residual beech wood struggling against stony soils between 1100 and 1650, and pine forests mixed with beech and oak up to 1800 metres, with black pine in the highest areas. The massif is a pilot site for the international GLORIA project for the study of alpine flora, with beech woods, oak woods and pine forests home to fauna unique in Europe.
Activity
Festivities of Añón de Moncayo on 25 July, for Santiago, with links to pre-Christian traditions; on the first Sunday of October the auroras of the Virgen del Rosario used to be sung.
Nature
A transitional landscape between the Sierra del Moncayo and the Queiles valley, around Añón de Moncayo, part of whose municipal area lies within the Moncayo Natural Park. The sierra is covered with oaks, holm oaks and birches, with scrubland and pastures rich in medicinal plants. The Huecha river rises within its territory, fed by springs flowing from the mountain, and next to the village lies the Las Cuevas site, with karstic cavities and an underground spring.
Activity
Añón de Moncayo celebrates its winter festival beside a five-towered castle that fell into Castilian hands in 1363, during the War of the Two Pedros. The first documentary mention of the place dates from 1140, when the bishop of Tarazona donated its church to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.
Nature
Route around the springs and streams rising in the Moncayo massif, in the area around Añón.
Historical milestone
The first documentary mention of Añón is from 1140, when the bishop of Tarazona donated its church to the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. The donation was confirmed in 1208 and the place became the head of a Hospitaller commandery.
Historical milestone
The castle of Añón, with five towers and masonry walls, formed part of the Aragonese defensive line facing Castile. In 1363, during the War of the Two Peters, the stronghold fell into Castilian hands along with others of the Moncayo foothills.
Food and drink
The lamb raised on the high pastures of the sierra comes under the Protected Geographical Indication Ternasco de Aragón. It is prepared roasted in the oven, as cutlets grilled over vine shoots or stewed in chilindrón with pepper and tomato.