Page 185 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Northern Spain

CENTR AL AND EASTERN P Y RENEES  183

The medieval town heads, blackened faces and
once played an teeth made of potatoes. They
important strategic role. are said to represent fertility.
Its name derives from a
Basque word meaning E Museo Etnológico de Bielsa
“place covered in Plaza Mayor; 974 50 10 00. Open Jul–
blackberry bushes”. Sep, Easter & Christmas: 5–7:30pm
Broto’s inhabitants earn Tue–Sun; other times by appt only. &
their living from cattle
farming and tourism, Abandoned stone house near Broto
and they maintain local e Aínsa
traditions. On occasion they w Bielsa Huesca. Road Map D5. * 2,200.
can be seen performing their Huesca. Road Map D5. * 510. n Avda. Ordesa 5; 974 50 07 67.
dances: the rapatan, a n Plaza Mayor (Ayuntamiento); ( Tue. _ San Sebastián (20 Jan),
shepherds’ dance, and os 974 50 11 27. ∑ bielsa.com Fiestas Mayores (14 Sep).
palateaos, a war dance.
Rising above the small town Just 12 km (7.5 miles) from the The history of Aínsa began
is the 16th-century Iglesia de border with France, the village in 742, when people fleeing
San Pedro el Apóstol, from of Bielsa is a popular base for the Moors took refuge in the
which there are breathtaking hikers and moun taineers. It is Pyrenees. Having established
views of the valley. the main gateway to the a small settlement, they decided
A short walk from Broto leads eastern side of the Parque to repel the Moorish invaders
to two other equally fine views: Nacional de Ordesa y Monte by force. During one such clash,
the 50-m (164-ft) Sorrosal water­ Perdido, and especially the Valle a shining cross reputedly
fall and the Ermita de Nuestra de Pineta, one of the park’s appeared on the battlefield, to
Señora de Murillo, some 1,470 m most beautiful parts. Information which the victory was attributed.
(4,823 ft) above sea level. about area trails is provided at The victory is commemorated
the local tourist office. every other September during
Bielsa was completely the Fiesta de la Morisma.
q Torla destroyed during the In the years 1035–
Spanish Civil War, 38, Aínsa was the short-
Huesca. Road Map D5. * 344.
n Calle Fatas 7; 974 48 63 78 so the architecture of lived capital of the
(Jul–Sep only). the mountain village kingdom of Sobrarbe.
is relatively new. The The 12th-century
This village, at the gateway to principal attraction Plaza Mayor, a broad
the Parque Nacional de Ordesa here is the Museo cobbled square,
y Monte Perdido (see pp186–7) Etnológico de Bielsa, is surrounded by
and huddled beneath the for- where one can learn arcaded houses of
bid ding slopes of Mondarruego, about the history of the brown stone. Also
is the main tourist centre in this region and the local on the plaza stands
part of the Pyrenees. Local carnival. The latter is the belfry of the
guides can be hired to take based on a ritual Façade detail, Museo Roman esque
experienced walkers up to the that was performed Etnológico de Bielsa Iglesia de Santa
surrounding 3,000-m (9,842-ft) in pagan times, in María, which was
peaks; the most popular of which the participants would consecrated in 1181. Behind
these peaks is Monte Perdido, say a symbolic farewell to the church, steep narrow
the “Lost Mountain” (3,355 winter and greet the arrival streets lead up to the restored
m/11,007 ft above sea level). of spring. The participants of castle with a preserved citadel,
Torla is a picturesque town this fiesta, known as Trangas, dating from the times of
with slate-roofed houses and have huge rams’ horns on their the Reconquest.
a church dating from the
beginning of the 16th century.
Each year in February a carni val
is held here, during which all
the evil of the past year –
personified by a man dressed
up as a black beast – is
destroyed by a brave hunter.
In order to humiliate and
overpower it, the beast is
dragged through the streets
of the town in a colourful
procession accompanied by
a lively singing crowd. Stone houses with arcades on the Plaza Mayor in Aínsa
The Escuain gorge as seen from the Revilla viewpoint

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