Alcañiz

The name Alcañiz is Arabic in origin — probably from words meaning either "the reeds" (plentiful along the Guadalope river that bends around the town) or "the churches." The first confirmed date is 1157, when the Count of Barcelona, Ramón Berenguer IV, reconquered it and granted it a founding charter. It changed hands again before his son Alfonso II of Aragón secured it for good. In 1179 Alfonso handed the castle to the military-religious Order of Calatrava, setting off a rivalry between the Order and the town council that would run for centuries.

Through the medieval period the Order dominated, building the upper town walls and using the castle as their headquarters. Gradually the town council gained the upper hand, backed by Aragonese kings and a rising local nobility, and the town evolved from a Calatrava military settlement into a Renaissance city with new walls, a main square, and civic buildings. In 1411–12 Alcañiz played a pivotal role in Aragonese history, hosting the parliament that led to the Concordia of Alcañiz — the agreement that set up the process for choosing a new king of Aragón after the death of Martín I, a decision ultimately made at nearby Caspe.

The castle that the Order of Calatrava held for centuries is the town's most striking monument, and it now houses a Parador hotel. Inside are remarkable Gothic murals. The church of Santa María la Mayor, with its tall Gothic bell tower, served as the seat of the Aragonese parliament on several occasions, including the assembly that preceded the Compromise of Caspe in 1412; the building was later rebuilt in Baroque style.

On the main square, the Gothic Lonja and the Renaissance town hall (built 1565–70) stand side by side — both declared historic monuments in 1931. The town hall contains the Mural of Justice, a Gothic mural from the old town hall. The castle also holds an alabaster tomb of the commander Juan de Lanuza, carved by Damián Forment in 1537.

Other monuments include the church of Santo Domingo, which blends Gothic and Renaissance styles, and several Baroque churches — San Francisco, El Carmen, the Escolapios church, and the Commanders' Palace. A few kilometres outside town, the rock art site of Val del Charco del Agua Amarga is a UNESCO World Heritage site, part of the wider collection of Levantine rock art along Spain's Mediterranean arc. Iberian-period archaeological sites including El Palao are also nearby, with finds displayed in the Permanent Archaeological Exhibition in the Horno Nuevo de los Almudines.