Region of Bajo Cinca / Baix Cinca -Localities of Huesca-
The bajo Cinca occupies parts of the provinces of Huesca and Zaragoza and includes the following towns and villages: Ballobar, Belver de Cinca, Candasnos, Chalamera, Fraga, Ontiñena, Osso de Cinca, Torrente de Cinca, Velilla de Cinca, Zaidín, and in the province of Zaragoza, Mequinenza.
Bajo Cinca covers approximately 1,420 Km2 and has a population of some 22,254 inhabitants.
The area lies on the fertile plains of the Cinca and is surrounded by the calcareous monegrino flatlands, the Menorías flatlands and the Cardiel flatlands. It is south of Barbastro, on the edge of the province of Huesca, near Lérida.
The region has many buildings dating from the Middle Ages: in Fraga there is a loto f Romanesque architecture in the old part of the town, as there is too in such towns as Chalamera, Ballobar, Ontiñena and Candasnos, although here with a certain touch of Gothic. There are civilian buildings in the higher parts of some towns, such as the castles and towers of Mequinenza and Chalamera. The parish churches in Zaidín, Velilla de Cinca, Osso and Torrente de Cinca are of a Baroque style.
The region’s historical weight lies mainly in Fraga. It was reconquered in 1093 by Aragonese troops and then retaken by the Moorish king of Zaragoza. King Alfonso I el Batallador suffered a terrible defeat in the main square of the town although it was won back by King Ramón Berenguer IV in the year 1149. The town belonged to Catalonia for two centuries, until it became part of the Kingdom of Aragón in 1336 under king Pedro el Ceremonioso.
Agriculture has been relegated to second place behind the service industry in the region. This is followed by building and industry. Most of the service industries are concentrated in Fraga and Mequinenza. Mequinenza suffered a loss when it was flooded to make room for a reservoir of the same name. Some of the remaining area is covered by cultivated land irrigated by the rivers Alcanadre and Cinca, and the rest is mainly planted with cereal crops and grape vines.
The nature room in the Bajo Cinca ornithological station in Mequinenza, is worth a visit as are the beauty spots in the hills above Mequinenza, where a large number of deer are to be found.
Water and aridity are present here as in no other place in Aragón. Three large rivers; the Cinca, the Segre and the Ebro, join
together here to empty their waters into two large reservoirs. So there are artificial lakes, cereal crops, steppe land, feed crops and a multitude of fruit trees.
Most of the towns in the region date from the Middle Ages, between the 12th and 13th centuries. They were almost all walled towns although few traces remain of these defensive barriers.
There are scarcely visible remains of castles in Zaidín, Ballobar, Torrente and Fraga. The fort at Mequinenza is an impressive building after its restoration and today is half submerged under the waters of the reservoir.
There are also remains of ancestral homes in almost all villages and towns, for example in Belver, Candasnos and Fraga.
Fraga is an example of a Muslim city with its steep, narrow streets. The alleys in the old town are flanked by tall narrow houses. The Montcada palace is one of the most attractive old family houses and is built in the Aragonese style. The building was converted into a cultural centre in 1986. There, visitors can see ethnological, metal working, archaeological and medieval exhibitions.
Some 5 km from Fraga are the ruins of a Roman villa known as Villa Fortunatus. The remains of the villa, dating from the 4th century, can be visited. It belonged to a wealthy landowner and has lovely mosaics.
Traditional costumes and hair styles can be seen in Fraga every year on the 23rd April in a festival celebrating grandmothers. The women dress in the style of their ancestors.
The Santa María de Chalamera hermitage is an important Romanesque church overlooking the banks of the Cinca. It makes an excellent viewing point from which you can see the river disappearing into woods and fruit groves at the foot of small towns.
Two excellent viewpoints for looking at the streams flowing down from the hills to the river banks are the San Salvador hermitage, in Torrente de Cinca and the castle at Mequinenza.
The Cinca and Segre, the two rivers with the highest discharge in the Pyrenees, join together before entering the river Ebro. They make up one of the most attractive ecosystems in the region where many fishermen find a paradise for big game such as massive catfish. There is also a rich and varied bird life.
The Mequinenza castle is an exceptional building, restored and occupied by the owners. It is remote and isolated on a hilltop overlooking the river and the new Mequinenza which has taken the place of the old village which has been under the waters of the reservoir since1971.
© Prames
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