Historic District
A small territory with a great history
Maestrazgo is a territory marked by its history. This is reflected in its buildings, customs and various locations, where the mark of its various settlers has been left.
ROCK SHELTERS
Within the region there are several shelters with cave paintings, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco as they belong to the so-called Mediterranean Arc. In the municipality of Castellote you can find several samples of these paintings, highlighting the Abrigo de La Vacada with dozens of figures and bovids represented in hunting scenes, as well as the figure of the Torico in the shelter of Pudial, located at 11 meters high and with its 43 cm. in length, is preserved in very good condition.
MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE
Moving to the Middle Ages, the Maestrazgo was a border territory with the Muslim kingdom, which led to the presence of several military orders in the area that erected castles, towers, walls and churches, which even today, in varying degrees of preservation, survive and are visitable. During the Renaissance, a rich bourgeoisie settled in the territory, who, thanks to the wool trade among other things, built luxurious mansions and noble houses, which today are part of and embellish the historic centers of many villages.
MASOVEROS
The rugged terrain and the harsh climate of this territory, led to the proliferation of isolated settlements, farmhouses and farmhouses where entire families lived and worked, outside the urban centers. Nowadays, several of these buildings can be seen when touring the region, especially in the south, some of them fortified, most of them uninhabited, but some of them still preserve the activity, working the surrounding land and livestock, in the same way as it has been done for centuries.
LA PIEDRA SECA
Dry stone construction, also declared Intangible Heritage of Humanity, is representative of a part of Maestrazgo, especially visible in the municipality of La Iglesuela del Cid, with walls, terraces and shepherds' huts built with this type of technique, which is characterized by the stacking of stones without using mortar or fixing between them. A simple type of construction that has been used for centuries and has survived to the present day, being a remarkable element in the territory.
ETHNOGRAPHIC HERITAGE
Isolation and depopulation have allowed the preservation of old prisons, schools of past centuries, mills, esconjuraderos or old hospitals for the poor, which treasure furniture and even entire trousseaus, and which today can be visited thanks to the collaboration of the town councils and the good work of the guides who show what life was like in the Maestrazgo hundreds of years ago .Today they can be visited thanks to the collaboration of the town councils and the good work of the guides who show what life was like in Maestrazgo hundreds of years ago.