Loarre Castle, Spain

The Loarre Castle is one of the best preserved Romanesque medieval castles in Spain located in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the province of Huesca in Spain. The magnificent complex consists from the castle itself, built around 1020 when Sancho el Mayor (circa 985 – 1035) reconquered the area from Muslims, and the Church of San Pedro within the Loarre Castle built by Sancho Ramírez (1064-1094) in 1071. King Ramírez established there also the St Augustinian order and built the monastery attached to the Castle. The outer walls with their eight towers were mostly constructed in the 13th and 14th century.

The Loarre Castle had during its construction in the 11th and 12th century a strategic importance because it laid on the frontier between Christian and Muslim lands. For about 100 years was the Castle used as a royal residence but after the progress of Reconquista (reconquering the Iberian peninsula from the Muslim and Moorish states by Christians) in the 13th century the Loarre Castle lost it's former defensive importance.

The Loarre Castle has changed very little since its construction in the 11th century. In 1906 was the Loarre Castle proclaimed a National Monument and was also inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2007.