Híjar

Human settlement here goes deep: cave paintings, Iberian sites, and Roman remains — including terra sigillata pottery and mosaic fragments from what may have been a Roman villa on the left bank of the Río Martín. Visigoth anthropomorphic tombs point to an early medieval presence. Híjar was reconquered from Muslim rule by Galín Jiménez, lord of Belchite, and in 1268 King Jaime I granted his illegitimate son Pedro half of Híjar's castle, founding the Barony of Híjar.

The town's noble house grew steadily: in 1483 the Catholic Monarchs elevated it to a dukedom. Through the medieval period, Christians, Jews, and Muslims each occupied their own quarter; a 1410 document records the Jewish aljama requesting permission to enlarge its synagogue. The early modern era was the dynasty's peak — the first duke installed a private printing press, one of only two in the Kingdom of Aragón.

A 1517 bequest brought Franciscans to organize Holy Week, introducing the black tunic still worn in processions today. In 1708 Felipe V granted Híjar the title of "Most Noble and Loyal Town." Decline followed when the dukes stopped residing here and sold all their local holdings in 1826.

The Church of Santa María la Mayor, a listed monument and one of Aragón's most important Mudéjar temples, has a Renaissance façade and a single nave divided into three bays with side chapels. Inside, the highlight is a retablo by Juan de Moreto. Closed in 2007 due to risk of collapse, it was restored between 2014 and 2015.

The Ermita de San Antonio Abad is a former synagogue, converted after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492 with almost no structural alteration — its original single nave and double-pitched roof survive, and recent archaeology has located the precise position of the hazán's reading platform. The ducal castle rises above the town on a hill; originally Islamic, it retains a tower with machicolations, a slender cylindrical tapial tower, a central courtyard, and ducal palace remains. The so-called Torre Mora, a detached Islamic-style tower on the castle's north side, was restored in the early twentieth century and somewhat awkwardly covered in grey cement and painted orange.

The Ermita del Calvario, rebuilt between 1719 and 1732, has a Greek-cross plan, a half-orange dome, and mid-eighteenth-century murals. The Calvary route leading to it is considered the most complete in the comarca. The old Jewish quarter, also a listed cultural asset, clusters around the triangular Plaza de San Antón and the adjoining streets of la Fuente, Jesús, and Azaguan.

Híjar sits on the N-232 road between Zaragoza and Tortosa, 74 km from Zaragoza and 31 km from Alcañiz, beside the Río Martín. Local bakeries sell the town's traditional tortas cerradas and roscon-style breads alongside other artisan varieties. The region is known for its Bajo Aragón olives, peaches, and two local stone-fruit varieties — presquillas and alberges — as well as other garden produce and lamb (ternasco).

Pork products are also a local staple. The town's pastry-making has a reputation that reaches well beyond the area; one pastelería offers sweet pastries year-round and turrones and guirlaches at Christmas.