Teruel and its Mudéjar architecture

The third day of our little trip which started on January 2 this year took us to Teruel, located between Zaragoza and Valencia, Spain. We were already going back toward the Mediterranean when we stopped to look around this old city rich in Mudéjar Architecture and have lunch. Well, the lunch was optional as we were not so hungry but in the end, one sunny terrasse in the main square called us to take a seat and order something.

To get into the old part of the city, you have to pass the Acueducto Los Arcos. It is an aqueduct which dates back to the 16th century and the construction of it was due to the need to improve the water supply to the city of Teruel. We are not aware of how lucky we are nowadays to have a water supply, that easily.

No plan and no maps, that was our "method" of discovering Teruel. First, we passed by this building, the Provincial Historical Archive of Teruel. To our surprise, there was a street market in front of it when we arrived.

The old city centre was not too big, or at least we found it easy to discover. We passed by the museum, and I don't even know how many steps later we already found kind of a square of a beautiful church. The truth is that we didn't count the steps, but what I wanted to say is that everything was there, close.

That church where we arrived was actually the Teruel Cathedral or in its full name, Catedral de Santa María de Mediavilla. The tower was striking but we didn't have a guide at that moment to explain to us that we were standing in front of a building that is one the most important examples of Mudéjar architecture in this area. It also has a beautiful lantern tower.

Let's just go back for a moment to see the southern facade and we can continue later the exploration of Teruel. I wish we had someone with us who could say a few words about these details we were seeing on the facade and the tower.

From this place, we took a little narrow street to the square, El Torico. We didn't pay attention to the Information Office. The Lovers Mausoleum was maybe something interesting to visit, but at that moment we skipped it. The history of the lovers from Teruel can be seen here.

In the middle of the square, there was a cool Christmas tree and people and children around it, taking photos in front of that tree. Sometimes you have to wait a bit to get a photo without that multitude of people.

However, the facades of the houses on that street were nicer than the Christmas tree. Those windows look like eyes. Although the whole row of houses made this architectural composition lovely, there was one facade that stood out.

That was the Casa La Madrileña, the work of a distinguished architect Pablo Monguió. The building is very narrow, it seems that there is just one room on each floor. The details of this style, modernism, are mostly shown just on the upper part of the facade, as the space is so limited.

Many bars and restaurants were offering daily menus, though we have chosen just one dish for each of us. And a chocolate cake, for dessert - that my husband and I shared, just to clarify. I didn't eat it by myself. 😁 It was sunny but still, we were sitting in coats and jackets.

Our lunch. I had Migas Aragonesas (crumbs) with grapes and fried egg. Maybe it looks like a small dish in the photo, but I could not finish it. It was a fairly deep plate. For half of the chocolate cake, I found a place in my stomach.

My boys stayed in that restaurant, but I went to see the tall tower we spotted earlier. As I said, there was no fear of getting lost, the streets were straight and well-marked with signs. I would get to the local police station if I would take this one.

Instead, I went to another little square, Cristo Rey. In front of a little church, without all that rich decoration we saw on the facade of the cathedral, there was a monument to Padre Polanco. He was a bishop of Teruel during the Civil War and was shot shortly before the war ended.

So, I found that tower too. Somehow, it reminded me of the tower of the Cathedral. That is because this Torre del Salvador was also built in the Mudéjar style. I couldn't enter as it was closed at the moment I was there but there was a board showing its interior and the floors it contains.

Also, another board was giving me information that this tower was built in the first quarter of the 14th century and that it has a double tower; that it is a tower gate, which allows the passage of the road layout. It also says that it has the richest decoration of all the towers in Teruel.

My short excursion through the streets of Teruel finished, I went back to pick up my boys from the terrasse of the restaurant and we continued our trip toward Valencia. Teruel {although some people were saying that there was nothing to see in Teruel} was a stop that could not be missed.