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 Rising from the hostel is a tower, dating from the age of the Knights Templar, which forms a significant part of the landscape of the region. The tower has windows with lintels, an arched doorway, and is topped off with crenellations. Its main purpose was defensive due to the great vantage point it commands over the surroundings.
These villas are the remains of a past closely connected to military orders, having their origin in the Middle Ages. Villarluengo, after being conquered by Alfonso II in around 1169, was donated to master Gastón of the "Order of the Holy Redeemer". Later, in 1196, control was transferred to the Knights Templar, who the following year granted a constitution. From 1312 control was passed on to the "Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem".
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| Very close to the hostel can be found the ruins of the old Franciscan "Convent of our Lady of Holy Mountain". It originates from 1506 when Juan de Herrero, unjustly sentenced to death, was moved to a nearby mountain. There he prophesised that an image of the Holy Virgin would be found in this place, and that a convent of nuns would be established. This came true when the holy image appeared in 1521. In 1540 the Franciscan religious order arrived from Valencia. The followers of Cabrera forced the nuns to leave the convent so they could use it as a fort, due to its great strategic value. At the end of the Carlist wars the liberals demolished the convent, and nowadays only the relics of the outer walls remain. |
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Hostal-Restaurante Rural
“Torre Montesanto”
Villarluengo (Teruel)
SPAIN
Phone: (0034) 978-773000
info@torremontesanto.com
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