Jaca

The area is made up of Jaca, Abay, Asieso, Banaguás, Caniás and Guasillo.

Jaca

The town of Jaca offers a numbers of attractions to visitors related to both nature, given its situation in the heart of the Pryenean mountain range, and culture due to its extensive and important history.

Jaca is currently a top tourist destination given its location in the surroundings of some of the most beautiful valleys of the Pyrenees and has a historic and artistic patrimony of great importance, not only in Aragon but also in Spain.

The town of Jaca can be considered as an example of how to face the serious problems that progress and the abandonment of traditional economies has meant during the second half of the last century for all mountainous areas. In contrast, Jaca has entered the 21st century with some promising prospectives for the future, thanks mainly to tourism in that area.

The truth of it is that Jaca has a number of attractions to make us want to go there. In the first place, the city, located in a depression in the Pyrenees, enjoys privileged surroundings such as the different valleys that flank the course of the River Aragón. In addition to the unquestionable value of the surrounding scenery, it is the ideal place for a number of mountain sports mainly those related to snow, of which inevitably Jaca benefits, being the point of entry of many of these visitors for which the city has a number of hotels and restaurants on offer and an up-to- date communication system. The attractiveness of Jaca isn´t solely based on its natural environment, to this we have to add the importance of its artistic patrimony as corresponds to a city that was the first capital of the Kingdom of Aragón around the 11th century.

The Cathedral is dedicated to San Pedro and is a wide combination of temples and connected buildings constructed in the 11th century. It basically conserves its Romanesque structure and configuration: a basical floor consisting of three naves in five spans with their corresponding aligned apses and two doors of access. Of the three Romanesque apses, only the southern or the one of the epistle are intact, given that the its was destroyed and the central one was extended towards the end of the 18th century to avoid humidity and to be able to move the choir and the organ originally located at the foot of the central nave to the presbytery. In this apse, the architectural elements, characteristic of the Romanesque jaqués ( from the area of Jaca) are still preserved. On the inside the three naves are separated by semicircular arches that rest on cruciform and cylindrical pillars that alternate forming a curious “double stretch”. The capitals with a basic Corinthian shape, contain different types of decoration: geometric, with vegetables and figures. The western façade is at the back of a deep portico, covered by. The southern façade shows a very transformed tympanum and two capitals and together with the magnificent capitals from the cloister make up the best examples of Romanesque jaqués sculpture.

The museum of Sacro art was founded in the year 1963 in the out-buildings of the cloister of the Cathedral. The back parts correspond to the 11th and 16th centuries and come from the different areas of the diocese of Jaca. They are works of sculpture, wall and slab paintings and small objects of liturgical use that bring together an important historic and artistic interest.

The church of Carmen was built in the first half of the 17th century. The façade has a mannerist entrance that dates back to 1657 and the inside has a Latin cross plan with chapels along the sides of the altar and two on either side of the nave. In 1966, the retables from the parochial church of Ruesta dating to the end of 18th century were placed on the inside.

The bridge of San Miguel, in the shape of a slender ogive arch was declared a monument of historical and artistic interest in 1943, honouring its condition as a bridge of St James from the late medieval times.

The Monastery of the Benedictines was founded in 1555 over an ancient underground Romanesque church that was first dedicated to the Virgin Mary and later to San Salvador. This was the place where the jurors came at the beginning of their mandate.

The church of Santiago is a reconstructed temple of Romanesque style from the year 1088 over previous sacred ground. Placed under the advocation of the apostle, it is westward facing, not a very common thing in this area although it is clear that it looks upon the Galician tomb of Santiago. It contains important remains of the temple built towards the end of the 11th century: in addition to the basilica plan with three naves, the belfry tower is still standing with its two coupled windows and part of the Romanesque vaults. On the inside in addition to the images that can be found in the temple is the chapel of the Rosary.

The Town Hall has been in Mayor Street since 1486, when the court houses were built. A building that today preserves the historic part of the extremely important Municipal Archive of Jaca. In 1544 the old headquarters was made bigger by the construction of the current building with a big façade of plateresque style, a continuous base and an entablature with the emblem of the city at the top. Five architrave windows decorated with the colours of Aragón go to make up the second body and a gallery with typically aragonese arcades go to form the last contribution to the building. The façade was covered with pitch to guarantee its preservation and the two big bars with which the widows are closed on the ground floor are the work of Simón de Maisonabe, a native of Jaca. In the renaissance patio one can see the bells in the clock tower (1595) and on the inside there are preserved objects which have been such as the silver maces from the 16th century, the famous (book) Libro de la Cadena del Consejo dating to the end of the 13th century etc. On the piano nobile of the building we can find the (room) Sala de Ciento in memory of the council formed by a hundred good men who helped govern the city since 1212.

The Ciudadela is a beautiful pentagonal construction with a bulwark on every angle connected by paths. The construction began in 1595 and was finished in the 18th century. The entrance is through a mannerist door over which hangs the shield of the dynasty of the Austrians. From the defensive position we can get to the different parts that go to make up the fortress. We can see the big military courtyard made up of a double arch in which semicircular arches alternate with basket-handle arches that rest on stone pillars on the bottom half and brick on the top half. The small church is from the 17th century and is dedicated to San Pedro. It has an interesting baroque façade in addition to wall paintings by Topete. It was declared an artistic monument in 1951.

The Fuerte del “Rapitán” constructed in 1884 is an architectural gem of military origins. Nowadays this building is used for cultural and tourist purposes. It is located on the mountain of the same name at an altitude of 1142m from where one can enjoy splendid views.

The clock tower is a civil gothic building of a square plan, more popularly known as Torre de la Cárcel ( prison tower) for having served precisely this purpose since 1602. It was built around 1445 as a private residence on the same spot where the palace of the aragonese monarch once stood, burnt in a fire in 1395. Nowadays it is the headquarters the Comunidad de Trabajo de los Pirineos (the Work Committee of the Pyrenees).

The parochial church of Santiago and Santo Domingo only preserves the tower from the Romanesque age. However it preserves a beautiful and monumental Romanesque capital, most probably from the cathedral whose composition reminds us of the sacred roman tombs.

The most important piece of the church of San Salvador del monasterio de las Benedictinas or Benitas is the sacred tomb of Doña Sancha, carved out of stone and an identifying piece of a sculptural variation within the Romanesque sculpture of Jaca.

In the surroundings of Jaca, one can visit the churches of San Esteban de Ipas and San Juan Bautista de Osia, that of Santiago de Aruej or San Miguel de Abós, in ruins after having been used as a munitions dump.

Other interesting churches are: the church of San Fructuoso and the chapel of Santiago de Barós, the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asución in Navasa, the church of Santa María and San Miguel in Lerés, the chapel of San Miguel in Botaya, the chapel of the Virgen del Rosario in Osia, the church of San Esteban in Ipás and the tower of the parochial church in Binué.

There are a number of picturesque villages that can be visited in the surroundings of Jaca:

Abay

The church of San Andrés, built between the 11th and 12th centuries is of Romanesque style with a notable and beautiful apse. Inside one can find sculptural pieces such as the tympanum on the door with a beautiful chrismon carved on the inside or the remains of a rare Romanesque processional cross. If one thing stands out, it is the exceptional sculpture of a seated virgin. One can admire Romanesque wall paintings that represent the scene of the flagellation and there are valuable pieces of silver work such as a beautiful consecration box.

In Abay one can also visit the baroque chapel of the Virgen del Carmen and a cross with a terminal figure, where many pilgrims on the camino de Santiago pray to God for a good journey.

Asieso

The church of San Andrés built in the 12th century, of Romanesque Lombard style is characterised for its simplicity and sobriety. The inside preserves a medieval air about it and on top one can see a beautiful semicircular apse. The inside is covered by a simple melon dome typical of Romanesque work. On the outside , the wall of the apse contains decorations which are very typically Lombard based on blind windows and awls.

Banaguás

The picturesque village square is formed by a beautiful group of houses typical of the Pyrenees. The Casa de la Abadía stands out for its monuments and carefully worked details. It is part of the parochial church of San Juan de Bautista, joined to it by means of an arch. The parochial church of San Juan Bautista built in the 11th century is of Romanesque style. A good example of this is its apse of Lombard origin. On this apse , a frieze of large bead molding appears on the top part that belongs to a purely local tradition. In the 17th century the church was extended and the inside was transformed following the baroque style. In 1889 a bell tower was raised at the foot of the nave.

Caniás

The church of San Pedro is of Romanesque style. It has an interesting apse that stands out and the round arch door with a tympanum on which there is a decorative chrismon with the image of Jaca. Something curious that one can see is a popular hydraulic set that joins a fountain at its mouth, a drinking trough and a washing place. In addition there is a small bakery from which the ashes were used to do the washing.

Guasillo

The bell tower of the parochial church of San Andrés is quite notable given that it is the only Romanesque element that is in the church, the rest of the building being of a baroque style. It is of a rectangular plan and in the stretch of the Romanesque age there is an interesting large coupled window with false horseshoe arches. It is one of the few examples of Mozarabic tradition that has been preserved in this area.

The long walking route passes through the village; GR 65.3 The road to Santiago.

Festivities: On the 21st of March, the festival of San Benito is celebrated in Orante with a big bonfire. The first Friday of May, the festival in which the natives from Jaca remember their victory over the Saracen army, headed by Conde Aznar on the victory march, declared of tourist interest. On the 3rd of May the Festivities in honour of the Inveción of the Santa Cruz are celebrated. Towards the end of May , Jaca and the villages of Barós, Ara, Navassa and Ulle go on a religious march to the Virgen de la Cueva de Oroel. During Penetcost the vows ot San Indaleico in San Juan de la Peña take place. Around fifty villages evoke the vow taken in 1187 by 238 villages in the mountains of Jaca. The Sunday of the Santísima Trinidad (Holy Trinity), the towns of Campo de Jaca, Val Ancha, Val Estrecha, Campo de Abena and Guasillo, dressed up with their indispensable robe and stick go on the religious march to Santa Orosia in Yebra de Basa. On the day of Corpus Christi there is an interesting procession in Asieso. Other religious marches and Festivities are Santa Quitera de Abena, San Miguel de Atarés, La Virgen de la Peña in the Cuculo mountain etc. In the even years , towards the end of July and beginning of August the "Festival Folklórico de los Pirineos" (Folklore festival) is celebrated, alternating with Oloron where during the odd years they celebratd this event, where groups from all over the world gather. Tourist Office: Telephone 974 360098