Castles to visit this summer in Aragon. It is one of the most original and best preserved castles in Aragon, as well as one of the most interesting monuments of heritage and landscape of Teruel.
It is located in the province of Teruel and is an impressive fortress, whose origin dates back to nothing more and nothing less than the thirteenth century.
Peracense Castle
The castle of Peracense is one of the most beautiful and unknown Aragonese castles. Surrounded by a unique natural environment, its builders took advantage of the original topography of the land to build a defensive enclave of the first order. It sits on a rocky extension of steeply sloped odeno, which belongs to the southern end of Sierra Menera, next to the hill of San Ginés.
Although the origin of the site is not entirely clear, the first references of the castle take us to the Bronze Age, Celtiberian and Roman, although in the Middle Ages is when its defensive value increases due to its border location. The construction of the castle of Peracense, like many other castles in the vicinity was the result of medieval rivalry between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. Its mission was to control the incursions of the Castilians, and thus prevent their arrival to the entire Jiloca Valley and to such important places as Santa Eulalia, Villafranca, Monreal del Campo or the city of Teruel itself.
The fortress has an irregular curved floor plan, occupies about 4,000 square meters, is divided into three concentric enclosures and is located on a steep rock, being impregnable on several of its flanks. The inner enclosure is the parade ground, about 60 x 40 meters.
Its northern and eastern slopes are impregnable, and on the south and west a right-angled wall about 3 meters thick was built, reinforced by three rectangular towers.
In addition to visiting the castle, it is interesting to take a walk around Peracense.
What to see in Peracense?
Undoubtedly these are the three attractions of the town, the Chapel in honor of the Virgen de la Villeta, the Parish Church of San Pedro and the Lagunas de los Mojones.
Paths of the castle of Peracense
Route 1 – Ascent to the viewpoint of the Panderones: gentle ascent between dense thickets of rockrose that give off a pleasant aroma (round trip 480 meters).
Route 2 – Ronda del Asalto: circular route around the base of the castle under its spectacular rocky outcrops (590m).
Route 3 – Camino de la Villeta: perimeter path that combines magnificent views of the castle and outstanding sites such as the ruins of the hermitage of La Villeta, the Cueva de Maleno or the old path of Ródenas (1,750 m).
Route 4 – Old path of the castle of Peracense: as its name indicates, for centuries it was the route that connected Peracense and the castle. It crosses the medieval village and the quartzite mountain of «La Calzada» (2,900 m round trip).
Route 5 – Path of the Peña de la Montera: a short and comfortable walk through the old quarries of this rock where the stones were extracted to build the castle. Its reddish color is due to the iron oxide they contain (200 m round trip).
