Huesca · Aragón
Alquézar
- Province
- Huesca
- Status
- Conjunto Histórico
- Population
- 328
- Elevation
- 660 m
Alquézar is a heritage town in the province of Huesca, Aragón, Spain. It is designated a Conjunto Histórico (Spain's national heritage designation for historic ensembles). Population 328 (2025), elevation 660m.
A hilltop village in Huesca whose very name echoes its Arabic and fortress past, sitting above a river gorge with a collegiate church consecrated in 1099 and a castle that once guarded the frontier between Muslim and Christian Aragón.
Key facts
- Province
- Huesca
- Heritage status
- Conjunto Histórico
- Population
- 328 (2025)
- Elevation
- 660 m
History of Alquézar
The name Alquézar almost certainly has Arabic roots, pointing to the town's origins on the edge of Muslim-controlled territory. One interpretation links the word to the Arabic for controlling or cutting river water for irrigation, works substantial enough, in stone, earth, and timber, to resemble a fortress. Another traces it to *alcázar*, meaning palace or stronghold.
Both readings fit: during the period of Muslim rule, Jalaf ibn Rashid ordered a castle built here that became the principal defensive point protecting Barbastro and the Barbitania region against the Christian kingdoms of Sobrarbe. Aragon's King Sancho Ramírez took the town and, between 1067 and 1075, granted it charters and privileges, including formal recognition after the siege of the Saracens was lifted. The town passed between royal and noble hands over the following centuries, briefly given to the bishop of Tortosa in 1218, granted to Artal de Foces in 1233, and sold to Pedro Jordán de Urriés in 1357, before returning repeatedly to the Crown.
By 1610, Alquézar held authority over several surrounding settlements. The old town was declared a protected historic-artistic ensemble in 1982, and the collegiate church had received national monument status as early as 1966.
Where to eat in Alquézar
Ratings & restaurant data from Google.
Regional food & drink
Aragón is known for Ternasco, Migas and Jamón de Teruel, among 5 regional specialities.
Watch: Jamón de Teruel
Fiestas in Alquézar
Dates recur annually but can shift by a few days. Confirm with the ayuntamiento before planning a trip around one.
- romería a la ermita de San AntonioJanuary
- San FabiánJanuary
- Romería a la ermita de Dulcissecond Sunday of May
- san Hipólito11–14 August
- san Nicóstrato8 November
Gallery
Location
Quick answers
Is Alquézar worth visiting?▾
A hilltop village in Huesca whose very name echoes its Arabic and fortress past, sitting above a river gorge with a collegiate church consecrated in 1099 and a castle that once guarded the frontier between Muslim and Christian Aragón.
Why is Alquézar a heritage town?▾
Alquézar is officially designated a Conjunto Histórico, Spain's national heritage designation for historic ensembles.
What is the traditional food in Aragón?▾
Aragón is known for Ternasco, Migas, Jamón de Teruel and Melocotón de Calanda. You'll find these regional specialities in and around Alquézar.
What is the history of Alquézar?▾
The name Alquézar almost certainly has Arabic roots, pointing to the town's origins on the edge of Muslim-controlled territory. One interpretation links the word to the Arabic for controlling or cutting river water for irrigation, works substantial enough, in stone, earth, and timber, to resemble a fortress.
When are the fiestas in Alquézar?▾
Alquézar celebrates romería a la ermita de San Antonio (January), San Fabián (January) and Romería a la ermita de Dulcis (second Sunday of May). Dates recur annually but can shift by a few days.
Which heritage towns are near Alquézar?▾
Nearby heritage towns include Barbastro, Graus, Aínsa and Boltaña.
Nearby heritage towns
A cathedral city on the Camino de Santiago in Huesca, Aragón, where the founding betrothal of the Crown of Aragón was signed and George Orwell recovered from a war wound among its riverside streets.
A medieval town in Huesca with a pentagonal arcaded plaza, three surviving city gates, and a Gothic-Renaissance basilica built into the rock above the Ésera river, on the edge of the Aragonese Pyrenees.
A medieval fortress town in the Aragonese Pyrenees, where a castle and Romanesque collegiate church rise above the confluence of two rivers on the route to the high mountain passes of Huesca.
A castle of Arab and Lombard origins crowns a hillside above the Ara river valley in the Aragonese Pyrenees, with one of the largest churches in the range rising below it in the old town.
A Templar stronghold rising from sandstone above the Aragonese plains, where James I of Aragon grew up under castle custody and medieval kings convened their courts for centuries.
The former capital of the County of Ribagorza, Benabarre sits in the Aragonese Pyrenean foothills of Huesca, its medieval quarter and count's castle marking a town whose history runs from Roman settlement through Arab rule to the courts of Aragón.
The capital of the Los Monegros comarca in Huesca, Aragón, where a Carthusian monastery founded in 1507, a Romanesque hermitage above the Alcanadre river, and one of Spain's largest inland lakes sit within a few kilometres of each other.
A mountain town in the Aragonese Pyrenees, sitting at 891 metres where the Ara river runs through the broad Valle de Broto, with the high peaks of Sobrarbe rising to over 2,000 metres on every side.
Visiting from a nearby city?
Alquézar makes a great day trip from:
Last updated 23 July 2026.