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The name of Peracense comes from Peracens or "Pietra Solez", although names such as Piedrasolez, Piedraselz, Perasenz and Perasens have been collected.
The place was already occupied during the Bronze Age, Iberians and Romans would pass through here but it will not be until the tenth and eleventh century with the arrival of the Muslims when the castle comes back to life. It will be during the Late Middle Ages when the castle acquires military importance, for being a border point between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon and the manors of Albarracín, Molina de Aragón and the Community of Daroca.
Its privileged watchtower allows optical links in nearby enclaves such as Monreal del Campo, Bueña, Aguatón, Singra and Cerro de San Ginés.
It is one of the most beautiful and unknown Aragonese castles. Built in the thirteenth century taking advantage of the natural conditions of the land, with rodeno stone in the area, it is by its original arrangement a magnificent example of the late medieval military architecture and constituted a fundamental bulwark in the defense of the kingdom of Aragon during the confrontation with Castile in the fourteenth century.
The fortress is formed by three concentric enclosures that are based on outcrops of red sandstones (rodeno), chopped and modified to improve the defense and the whole being integrated into the landscape. Precisely this sandstone, in the form of megaliths, masonry and ashlars set with lime or plaster mortars, is the material mainly used in the construction of the walls of this fortress. The wood was used to a lesser extent and always in beams and almojayas. It has a peculiar system of water collection that is stored in tanks and cisterns excavated in the rock.
A singular aspect of the castle is its rainwater catchment system, formed on the basis of channels made in natural rock, which lead the collected waters to cisterns and cisterns excavated in the rock (one of them more than five meters deep). , and that are located in the two interior enclosures.
Another of its singularities is the discovery of the remains of a quarry inside the outer enclosure, used for the extraction of "circular wafers" of rodeno stone, which were undoubtedly used as millstones.
The first documents that reference it date from the thirteenth century when the King of Aragon, Pedro III the Great, used it in 1284 for the conquest of the lordship of Albarracín held by Pedro de Azagra. In the fourteenth century, the fortress was repaired and garrisoned playing a prominent role in the war between Pedro I of Castile and Pedro IV the Ceremonious, the so-called "war of the two Pedros." In 1379 it became dependent on the community of Daroca until 1702. This fortress had been the most important one built by the Aragonese Crown.
In 1469 it served as a prison and with the union of Castile and Aragon by the Catholic Monarchs the castle lost importance being forgotten and abandoned. Its last warlike activity was during the first Carlist war sheltering Elizabethan troops among its walls. In 1987 the restoration was undertaken through the project of the architect Pedro Ponce de León.
As features of the castle we must highlight its unique construction taking advantage of a platform with its north, south and east sides cut to peak that make the fortress inaccessible. Its defensive system is organized into three precincts: the upper one, with an area of 550 m2, is the most powerful and inaccessible part of the castle and was accessed by a wooden drawbridge; the intermediate one, of about 3500 m2, houses the entrance door and is defended by separate towers; finally the exterior, of about 2800 m2, extends the castle to the north and west and closes with a powerful wall reinforced with massive towers.
In the upper enclosure is the noble part of the castle, the keep, where the Warden and the soldiers who defended it resided.
The Peracense Castle is a magnificent example of late medieval Aragonese military architecture and due to its military function, has undergone numerous reforms and additions, the last in the 19th century due to the Carlist wars. At present, medieval recreation meetings are held there.
In 1987 the Government of Aragon Region undertook the restoration works with the result that today we can contemplate.
The name of Peracense comes from Peracens or "Pietra Solez", although names such as Piedrasolez, Piedraselz, Perasenz and Perasens have been collected.
The place was already occupied during the Bronze Age, Iberians and Romans would pass through here but it will not be until the tenth and eleventh century with the arrival of the Muslims when the castle comes back to life. It will be during the Late Middle Ages when the castle acquires military importance, for being a border point between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon and the manors of Albarracín, Molina de Aragón and the Community of Daroca.
Its privileged watchtower allows optical links in nearby enclaves such as Monreal del Campo, Bueña, Aguatón, Singra and Cerro de San Ginés.
It is one of the most beautiful and unknown Aragonese castles. Built in the thirteenth century taking advantage of the natural conditions of the land, with rodeno stone in the area, it is by its original arrangement a magnificent example of the late medieval military architecture and constituted a fundamental bulwark in the defense of the kingdom of Aragon during the confrontation with Castile in the fourteenth century.
The fortress is formed by three concentric enclosures that are based on outcrops of red sandstones (rodeno), chopped and modified to improve the defense and the whole being integrated into the landscape. Precisely this sandstone, in the form of megaliths, masonry and ashlars set with lime or plaster mortars, is the material mainly used in the construction of the walls of this fortress. The wood was used to a lesser extent and always in beams and almojayas. It has a peculiar system of water collection that is stored in tanks and cisterns excavated in the rock.
A singular aspect of the castle is its rainwater catchment system, formed on the basis of channels made in natural rock, which lead the collected waters to cisterns and cisterns excavated in the rock (one of them more than five meters deep). , and that are located in the two interior enclosures.
Another of its singularities is the discovery of the remains of a quarry inside the outer enclosure, used for the extraction of "circular wafers" of rodeno stone, which were undoubtedly used as millstones.
The first documents that reference it date from the thirteenth century when the King of Aragon, Pedro III the Great, used it in 1284 for the conquest of the lordship of Albarracín held by Pedro de Azagra. In the fourteenth century, the fortress was repaired and garrisoned playing a prominent role in the war between Pedro I of Castile and Pedro IV the Ceremonious, the so-called "war of the two Pedros." In 1379 it became dependent on the community of Daroca until 1702. This fortress had been the most important one built by the Aragonese Crown.
In 1469 it served as a prison and with the union of Castile and Aragon by the Catholic Monarchs the castle lost importance being forgotten and abandoned. Its last warlike activity was during the first Carlist war sheltering Elizabethan troops among its walls. In 1987 the restoration was undertaken through the project of the architect Pedro Ponce de León.
As features of the castle we must highlight its unique construction taking advantage of a platform with its north, south and east sides cut to peak that make the fortress inaccessible. Its defensive system is organized into three precincts: the upper one, with an area of 550 m2, is the most powerful and inaccessible part of the castle and was accessed by a wooden drawbridge; the intermediate one, of about 3500 m2, houses the entrance door and is defended by separate towers; finally the exterior, of about 2800 m2, extends the castle to the north and west and closes with a powerful wall reinforced with massive towers.
In the upper enclosure is the noble part of the castle, the keep, where the Warden and the soldiers who defended it resided.
The Peracense Castle is a magnificent example of late medieval Aragonese military architecture and due to its military function, has undergone numerous reforms and additions, the last in the 19th century due to the Carlist wars. At present, medieval recreation meetings are held there.
In 1987 the Government of Aragon Region undertook the restoration works with the result that today we can contemplate.
