Living history in Jaca

Jaca, a small town south of the Pyrenees, was the first capital of the former Kingdom of Aragon during the 11th century. For a brief period of twenty years, Jaca was the leading city of that incipient kingdom and blossomed beautifully. A cathedral and a citadel were built to accommodate the clergy and the royals. By the turn of the century, however, Jaca was no longer the capital, though it remained an important city in the kingdom. And it has been quite renowned throughout history, in spite of its outlying location and diminishing population. Today, it is no more than a small town which serves as a convenient base for fans of winter sports and outdoors activities; and it is also one of the entry points for pilgrims hiking French route of the Camino de Santiago.

I was in Jaca seven years ago and I was mesmerised by the beauty of the place. Surrounded by pristine nature, the town has been extremely well preserved and walking along its cobbled streets, one can feel part of a distant past that never really ended. Anyway, this feeling might have been induced by the medieval market that was taking place during those summer days.Meer informatie