More Teruel
Relive Medieval Teruel
The city of Teruel has preserved its medieval structure practically intact, as far as its urban design is concerned.
Let us begin our tour in the Plaza de la Catedral (Cathedral Square), standing at the door of the Town Hall. The Mudejar silhouette of the old parish church of Santa María de Mediavilla is unmistakable. Its Mudejar tower blends Romanesque and Gothic Christian elements with brick and Islamic decoration with simple taste. Inside the cathedral, the most valued jewel is its wooden ceiling with paintings depicting the characters and trades of medieval Teruel.
Walking down Calle de San Miguel, we come into contact with the city walls. The Gateway of Betrayal, named after the popular story about the entry of Castilian troops in the 14th century war between Castile and Aragon. Important sections of the wall are preserved in the surrounding area, one of which has recently been restored. On the left, next to the bridge of La Reina, we can see the tower of La Unión on a steep slope. If we return to the Arcos and continue along the rondas we can see very significant parts of the wall.
This part was the most problematic to defend because of its flatter terrain. Polygonal in plan, the Lombardera tower is the tallest. Next is the tower of the Rincón, somewhat hidden behind the buildings, and a little further on is the entrance to the Tozal, where the gateway to Zaragoza used to be. Opposite this section is the Arrabal, which was once walled and where some Moorish houses can still be seen.
Following the route along the ring road, the Ambeles tower is the most relevant and beautifully designed fortification that remains from the old wall. With a star-shaped ground plan, its construction dates back to the end of the 15th century. A little further on you can see the tower of San Esteban. But let us retrace our steps and enter the interior of the city again through the Plaza de Domingo Gascón.
Calle del Tozal is the starting point of the main axis which, crossing the old market square, ran along Calle de El Salvador to the Guadalaviar gate. Liquid Text Much of the commercial activity took place along this route. The most representative monument of the period on this route is the Mudejar tower of El Salvador, which can be visited.
If we go down the Plaza del Torico, we turn left into the street
Hartzembusch we can climb to the highest part of the city. At the end
the stairs we will find the church of San Pedro. De bella
The building has an apse with a beautifully decorated exterior and a tower
Mudejar style, very representative of the first period of the city. Townhouse
is the Mausoleum of the Lovers and all of this is a complex that can be
visited. Further up are the old Jewish quarter and the
place where the old Alcázar used to stand.
Returning to the Town Hall, the point where we started the route, and following Calle Yagüe de Salas, we pass on our left a couple of cloistered convents and the Plaza de las Monjas, where the house in which the king lived when he visited the city is still preserved. The royal coat of arms is still preserved on its façade.
A little further on, in the Plaza del Seminario, another Mudejar jewel is the stylised tower of San Martín and a little further down, the portal of Daroca or Andaquilla. In its surroundings, the old Moorish quarter. Outside the walls, you can see the Gothic church of the Franciscans.
Neomudéjar
When, at the beginning of the 20th century, Modernism became important with the new constructions that were built in Teruel, the architects were largely inspired by Mudejar art, the most genuine art that had developed in the city during the Middle Ages. Este estilo arquitectónico se conoce como Neomudéjar y podemos encontrar un importante catálogo del mismo en las calles de Teruel.
In 1909, the Tarragona-born Pablo Monguió, the most representative architect of the time, designed a new door for the Cathedral on its south façade. This building marked the beginning of the neo-Mudejar constructions in Teruel. In addition to the use of brick as a decorative element and glazed ceramics, it will be joined by a flourish of wrought ironwork from the workshops of Matías Abad.
The Staircase was inaugurated in 1921. It was a functional work that served to bridge the steep slope between the railway station and the historic centre. It was conceived so that travellers arriving in Teruel by the new means of transport would have a worthy image of the city. The civil engineer José Torán de la Rad, the author of the project, was able to blend the beauty of Mudejar constructions with elements of modernist wrought ironwork with great inspiration in this work. Due to its great harmony and the appropriate use of the elements of which it is composed, it can be considered, together with the door of the Cathedral, as the most representative work of Teruel's neo-Mudejar style. Liquid Text At the upper part of the route there is an altarpiece of the Lovers, a high relief in stone, by the sculptor Aniceto Marinas. The Government of Aragon has declared it an Asset of Cultural Interest.
Rare are the buildings catalogued as modernist that do not contain neo-Mudejar traces among their decorative elements. Just look at a few examples. The San Nicolás de Bari building of 1909, in Dolores Romero street, is already partly ahead of the trend, as is the case of the old Arrabal schools of 1912, now the Historical Archive, in Ronda Dámaso Torán.
In the small house of the Pharmacy of the Provincial Hospital of 1915, on Avenida de Zaragoza, brick is introduced in an attempt to link it with the most representative style of the city. The balcony of the 1922 Casino tower in the Plaza de San Juan is a magnificent example that does not go unnoticed. The 1930's Sanitation building in the first urban expansion which, in addition to brick, uses ceramics. The 1935 bullring, like other bullrings of the period, is possibly a representative example of the introduction of neo-Mudejar elements into modernist architecture in later times.
