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| Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Huesca |
Aragon is a landlocked autonomous community in the north of Spain. It spans over an area of 47,720 km2, comprising the three provinces of Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel, all named after the provincial capitals. To the north is the province of Huesca, which has the highest mountains in the Pyrenees. Aragon also has many rivers flowing from the mountains. In particular, Spain's most voluminous river, the Ebro, which meanders through the Aragonese capital, Zaragoza. Aragon has approximately 1.6 million inhabitants, with half of them residing in the capital city.
The Province of Zaragoza is located in the center of Aragon. The province is the fourth largest in Spain with its area of 17,274km2.
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| Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar |
Apart from being the capital of Aragon, the city of Zaragoza is also an important commercial center in the north of Spain. It's position halfway between Madrid and Barcelona makes this city an interesting stopover. The city is known for its impressive cathedral Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, one of the most important religious destinations in Spain. Situated on the bank of the Ebro river, the cathedral is picture-postcard of Zaragoza. Other important buildings worth seeing are La Catedral Seo, and the Aljafería Palace, both of which comprise part of the combined UNESCO World Heritage Site Mudejár Architecture of Aragon. Zaragoza is also the home province of Francisco Goya. The artist was born in the small village Fuendetodos, some 45 kilometres southeast of Zaragoza. Both Fuendetodos and the city of Zaragoza have museums exhibiting Goya's paintings and engravings.
Zaragoza is a lively city with a vibrant student environment. It has many interesting tapas bars and the largest shopping mall in Spain Puerto Venecia, which won the award as the best shopping mall in the world at the 2013 MAPIC event.
The city is especially lively during the Fiestas del Pilar. This annual festival is thrown in honour of the patron saint of Zaragoza, Our Lady of the Pillar. It starts on the weekend around or before 12 October and lasts until the following Sunday. A wide range of different shows and events are organized and celebrated during the event. It also coincides with the Spanish national day, Dia de la Hispanidad, the date of the discovery of the Americas, also known as Columbus Day in the US.
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| Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, Huesca |
Further to the north is the Province of Huesca, which comprises an area of 15,626km2. Huesca has a population of 220,000 people, a quarter of whom live in the capital city. The province is home to the tallest mountains in the Pyrenees, including Spain's third highest mountain, Aneto. Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural park at elevations from 1,500 metres up to over 3,300 metres. Aneto's summit is at an altitude of 3,404 metres. Another important national park is the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, included as a World Heritage Site in 1997. This national park contains one of Spain's highest peaks, the Monte Perdido (3,355m) overlooking gorges and glacial valleys. In this park there are hiking trails of different levels. One of the least challenging takes visitors along the river trail to a series of waterfalls. A more challenging trail leads up to an altitude of 2,590 meters to the Monte Perdido glacier.
The city of Huesca itself has an interesting historical center with sloping streets, and its iconic Gothic-style cathedral. It serves as a convenient base camp for day trips to the beautiful Aragonese mountains to the north. Moreover, Huesca Province also boasts having three of the most beautiful villages in Spain Ansó, Alquézar, and Aínsa, as well as the Loarre Castle, one of Spain's oldest castles.
SD Huesca
SD Huesca joined the top flight of Spanish footbal, LaLiga in 2018, and after recently being relegated, Huesca is currently back in LaLiga.
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| Albarracin, Teruel |
The Province of Teruel spans over 14,809 km2, on which 135,000 people live. A quarter of those reside in the provincial capital making Teruel with its 35,000 the least populated provincial capital in Spain. Teruel is a province that has suffered from depopulation since the mid 20th century as a result of General Franco's 1959
Plan de Estabilización. This plan made thousands of people move away from the impoverished mountainous regions and to the big cities in search of work in industries. As a result, there are many ghost towns in the region. However, in this desolate landscape also lie some of the most well-preserved medieval villages in Spain, such as Albarracin, or Linares de Mora.
The city of Teruel is mainly known as the "town of mudejár" due to numerous buildings in the historical centre designed in this architectural style. They also form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Mudejár Architecture of Aragon. The city is also known for Dinópolis, which was constructed in 2001 due the the vast collection of fossils found in the province. With its three exhibition halls and research lab, Dinópolis is one of the largest museums of paleontology in the world.
