Loarre Castle

Few fortresses can transport you back to the 11th century as vividly as Loarre. Considered the best-preserved Romanesque fortress in Europe, this castle in the province of Huesca is one of the finest examples of Romanesque military and civil architecture in Spain, and a stroll around its grounds is enough to understand why: its walls, towers and rooms have survived to the present day in remarkable condition, with the exception of the oldest section, associated with Sancho III of Navarre, which is considerably more deteriorated.

Its location goes a long way towards explaining its raison d'être. From the top, it commands the entire plain of the Hoya de Huesca and, above all, Bolea, at the time the main Muslim stronghold in the area and the key to some very rich farmland. The castle stands on a limestone outcrop that serves as its foundations, a decisive defensive advantage: it was impossible to dig tunnels through the bare rock to undermine the walls and breach them, a common siege technique of the period. On top of this, a curtain wall studded with towers encircles the whole complex.

The interior holds some of its best surprises. Just inside the entrance lies the crypt of Saint Quiteria, whose acoustics astonish anyone brave enough to try them out, alongside a small chapel. But the real star is the church, a majestic building crowned by a dome that stands out for how rare such features are in Romanesque architecture. Its Romanesque paintings, on the other hand, remain a mystery: nobody knows what became of them.

Declared a National Monument in 1906 and now listed as a Site of Cultural Interest (Bien de Interés Cultural), Loarre also hopes to be recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a bid backed by Aragonese and local district institutions. And it certainly has no shortage of reasons.