The well-conserved city, which features sites dating from the 9th century, is a great travel destination, especially in winter.

In 1900, Huesca was a city of just 12,000 inhabitants. Over the last 100 years, that figure has multiplied by at least four.  

The city sits by the banks of the River Isuela, in the plains that spread out at the foot of the Montearagón hills, and it gets cold in Huesca: -10ºC in winter, although come summer the temperature can soar to 30ºC.

The cold winters mean snow, and Huesca is not far from the best Pyrenean ski resorts, such as Formigal.

Compared with the Spanish cities that have suffered genuine urban catastrophes, Huesca is a relatively well-conserved city.

The historian and architect Fernando Chueca Goitia saw the old city as "almond-shaped," with protection all around its perimeter from ninth-century Arabic walls.

The Gothic cathedral, built upon a former Mosque and consecrated in 1097, is located on the highest point of the old town. The west façade, which is in desperate need of restoration, boasts a wooden crest in the Mudéjar style. The jewel in the crown of the building is an alabaster altarpiece with scenes from the crucifixion sculpted by Damià Forment.

In front of the cathedral is the city hall building, a 16th-century construction that features a large courtyard and steps. There, visitors will find a macabre sight: a painting named, La Campana de Huesca (The Huesca Bell), which narrates the story of a massacre that took place in the university's Sala de Campana (Bell Room) - now the site of the Provincial Archaeological Museum. The Museum houses a considerable collection of Gothic frescoes and works by the primitive inhabitants of Aragón.

The baroque church, the Real Basílica de San Lorenzo, is named after the patron of Huesca, who died a grizzly death, having been executed on a bed of hot coals. The old town has two other splendid churches: the Roman construction of San Pedro el Viejo and the Gothic San Miguel, founded by King Alfonso I.

And finally, there is the Villahermosa palace, which once belonged to the Counts of Guara, but has now been restored and is a cultural centre run by the Ibercaja bank.

 
[El Pais / Ramon Irigoyen / Expatica]