Meeting point between the valley and the Altas Cinco Villas
Tauste is one of the historic Cinco Villas of Aragon, which also had an important population during the Islamic period. Proof of this is the Muslim necropolis found in the town centre, one of the largest and oldest Muslim cemeteries on the Iberian Peninsula.
The best known and most visible symbol of the town is the tower of the church of Santa María, an imposing octagonal building 46 metres high, built in brick with plaster paste, which serves as a directional landmark for the traditional communication routes.
This tower was defined by Professor Borrás as an Almohad minaret, in whose structure an outer tower surrounds an inner tower divided into rooms, in the form of a central buttress around which the staircase ascends, closed by means of false vaulting by approximation of courses.
The exterior walls of the bell-tower, which some researchers consider to be the reused minaret of the old mosque of the town, are decorated with bands of brickwork in a variety of patterns: intersecting semi-circular arches, lozenges of diamonds or loops of four octagonal arches, among other ornamentation.
Tauste is one of the historic Cinco Villas of Aragon, which also had an important population during the Islamic period. Proof of this is the Muslim necropolis found in the town centre, one of the largest and oldest Muslim cemeteries on the Iberian Peninsula.
The best known and most visible symbol of the town is the tower of the church of Santa María, an imposing octagonal building 46 metres high, built in brick with plaster paste, which serves as a directional landmark for the traditional communication routes.
This tower was defined by Professor Borrás as an Almohad minaret, in whose structure an outer tower surrounds an inner tower divided into rooms, in the form of a central buttress around which the staircase ascends, closed by means of false vaulting by approximation of courses.
The exterior walls of the bell-tower, which some researchers consider to be the reused minaret of the old mosque of the town, are decorated with bands of brickwork in a variety of patterns: intersecting semi-circular arches, lozenges of diamonds or loops of four octagonal arches, among other ornamentation.
Santa Maria church
The church of Santa María was built between the 13th and 14th centuries and, in general, it shows influences of the Levantine Gothic style that was widespread in our territory at the end of the 13th century and assimilated by the Mudejar masters through the influence of their commissioners. It has a single nave with chapels between the buttresses and a polygonal apse on the outside and a semi-circular apse on the inside. It is covered with simple ribbed vaults and the walls were once sgraffitoed and painted in bright colours. Its inner heritage is indispensable.
The Mudejar style is also present in the lower part of the town centre, where the church of San Antón is located. At the foot of the tower is a Mudejar tower of mixed character, i.e. a square lower body and an octagonal upper body, topped by a glazed tile spire. It dates from the 15th-16th centuries, although its plaster stone base seems to belong to an older tower, perhaps a remnant of the wall.
Walking around Tauste you can also discover magnificent examples of Aragonese brick civil architecture, such as the Casa de la Cámara, and contemplate the convent of the Poor Clares. A few kilometres away is the sanctuary of the Virgen de Sancho Abarca, where the Bardenas Reales nature reserve begins.
The church of Santa María was built between the 13th and 14th centuries and, in general, it shows influences of the Levantine Gothic style that was widespread in our territory at the end of the 13th century and assimilated by the Mudejar masters through the influence of their commissioners. It has a single nave with chapels between the buttresses and a polygonal apse on the outside and a semi-circular apse on the inside. It is covered with simple ribbed vaults and the walls were once sgraffitoed and painted in bright colours. Its inner heritage is indispensable.
The Mudejar style is also present in the lower part of the town centre, where the church of San Antón is located. At the foot of the tower is a Mudejar tower of mixed character, i.e. a square lower body and an octagonal upper body, topped by a glazed tile spire. It dates from the 15th-16th centuries, although its plaster stone base seems to belong to an older tower, perhaps a remnant of the wall.
Walking around Tauste you can also discover magnificent examples of Aragonese brick civil architecture, such as the Casa de la Cámara, and contemplate the convent of the Poor Clares. A few kilometres away is the sanctuary of the Virgen de Sancho Abarca, where the Bardenas Reales nature reserve begins.
Information
Town hall: 976 854 950
tauste.es
Association for the Development and Promotion of Cinco Villas
adefo.com
VISIT TAUSTE 976 633 296
DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Aragon Tourism
turismodearagon.com
Comarca de Cinco Villas
comarcacincovillas.es
Territorio Mudéjar Network
The city council has been a founding member of Territorio Mudéjar since 13 September 2018.
He is a member of the board of directors of the entity.
Projects Territorio Mudéjar in Tauste
Monuments | View the project
Pedagogy | View the project
Mudetrad Project | View the project
Mudejar plaster | View the project
Didactic Mudejar, the guide | View the project
‘Circular’ Family walks | View the project
Tauste in the social media
Facebook: @casadecultura.tauste
@oficinaturismotauste @CiviturTurismoCincoVillas
Instagram: @cultura_tauste @oficinaturismotauste
@civitur
