Aragon

Aragón (in Aragonese, Aragón; in Catalan, Aragó) is an autonomous community in northern Spain, resulting from the historical kingdom of the same name and which includes the central section of the Ebro valley, the central Pyrenees and part of the Iberian system. It is defined in its Statute of Autonomy as a historical nationality.

The kingdom of Aragon, together with the principality of Catalonia, the kingdom of Valencia, the kingdom of Majorca and other territories of France, Italy and Greece formed the historic Crown of Aragon for centuries. In 1982 the current autonomous community was established, made up of the provinces of Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza, and divided into thirty-three counties. Its capital is the city of Zaragoza, in which slightly more than half of the 1,328,753 inhabitants of Aragón are concentrated (INE 2020). It is ranked eleventh among the Spanish communities in terms of population, despite be the fourth by extension. This difference is due to the fact that it is also one of the four communities with the lowest population density. On April 23, the festival of San Jorge, the day of Aragon, is celebrated.

The gross domestic product generated in Aragon during 2016 was 34,686,536 thousand euros, with a variation rate in terms of volume compared to the previous year of 2.7%, five tenths below the rate of Spain (3.2%). The per capita GDP of Aragon in 2016 was 26,328 euros with a variation rate compared to 2015 of 3.3%. Aragon is 9.8 percentage points above the GDP per capita of Spain.

It limits to the north with France (Occitania and Nueva Aquitaine), to the west with Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, La Rioja, Navarra and to the east with Catalonia and the Valencian Community. The community has two mountain ranges. The Pyrenees concentrate the highest altitudes in the province of Huesca, with the Aneto peak as the roof of Aragon and the mountain range. El Aneto has an altitude of 3404 meters above sea level. The Iberian system borders the central plateau and its highest peak is Moncayo, which, at 2,313 meters above sea level, rises between the provinces of Zaragoza and Soria. The region is home to the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, located in the Pyrenean region of Sobrarbe. Created in 1918, it is the second oldest national park in Spain.

Different linguistic varieties are spoken in Aragon, classified into three languages: Spanish, Aragonese and Catalan. The majority language, and the only official one, is Spanish. Aragonese Spanish is included among the northern variants of Spanish, with its own characteristics, especially in terms of vocabulary and intonation. This type of Spanish is predominant in the autonomous community due to the imprint of Aragonese, a language previously spoken throughout the territory. Aragonese is currently spoken in some points in the center and north of the province of Huesca and in the extreme northwest of the province of Zaragoza, especially in the Pyrenean valleys. According to the Law of Languages of Aragon, Aragonese is considered as the own, original and historical language of Aragon, although it is not official. Catalan is spoken in the eastern fringe of Aragon, and it is also considered a language of the community.

Symbols

First testimony of Aragon's shield. Fabricio Vagad, printed in Zaragoza in 1499 by Pablo Hurus

Shield

The current coat of arms of Aragon is made up of the four quarters and is attested for the first time in 1499, consolidating since the Modern Age to firmly take root in the 16th century XIX and be approved, according to precept, by the Royal Academy of History in 1921.

The first quarter appears at the end of the XV century and commemorates, according to traditional interpretation, the legendary kingdom of Sobrarbe; In the second quarter is the so-called "Cross of Íñigo Arista", an innovation of Pedro IV the Ceremonious (based on an anachronistic interpretation of the cross that symbolized the religion of the Christian kings of Asturias, Navarra and Aragon), who took it up. of the ancient kings of Aragon, although historically there were no heraldic emblems (or "signal weapons", as they were called in the Middle Ages) on the peninsula before the dynastic union of the House of Aragon with that of Barcelona in 1137; In the third quarter appears the cantoned Cross of Saint George with four Moorish heads (the so-called "Cruz de Alcoraz"), which is attested for the first time in a seal of 1281 of Pedro III of Aragon and would remember, according to tradition that emerged from of the XIV century, the battle in which Pedro I and the future Alfonso I the Battler took Huesca and was considered in the Age Modern one of the exclusive emblems of the kingdom of Aragon; and in the fourth is the emblem of the so-called "bars of Aragon" or Royal Sign of Aragon, the oldest of the heraldic emblems that are part of the current shield, dating from the second half of the XII.

Allegory of the Political Government of Aragon of the Liberal Triennium (1820). The Political Constitution illuminates an Aragon shield with a real closed crown

This emblem of gules and gold sticks was used indistinctly on seals, banners, shields and banners, being nothing more than a family emblem that later denoted the authority as King of Aragon until, with the birth of the modern State, it began to be be a territorial symbol.

Bandera de Aragón floral en el día de San Jorge

Flag

The current flag was approved in 1984, with the provisions of Article 3 of the Statute of Autonomy of Aragon, the flag is the traditional one with four horizontal red bars on a yellow background together with the shield of Aragon moved towards the pole.

The bars of Aragon, a common historical element of the current four autonomous communities that were once part of the Crown of Aragon, are present in the third quarter of the coat of arms of Spain.

Anthem

The Aragon anthem was regulated in 1989 with the music by the Aragonese composer Antón García Abril who combines the ancient Aragonese musical tradition with popular musical elements within a modern conception. The lyrics were written by the Aragonese poets Ildefonso Manuel Gil, Ángel Guinda, Rosendo Tello and Manuel Vilas and, within their poetic framework, values such as freedom, justice, reason, truth, open land... which historically represent the expression of Aragon. as town.

In addition to the official anthem, José Antonio Labordeta's Canto a la libertad is generally considered the unofficial community anthem.

Official day

The Day of Aragon is celebrated on April 23 and commemorates Saint George, patron saint of the Kingdom of Aragon since the 15th century. It appears included in Article 3 of the Statute of autonomy of Aragon since 1984. Institutional events such as the delivery of the Aragon Awards by the Government of Aragon or the composition of a floral Aragon flag are carried out, with the collaboration of citizens, in the Plaza de Aragón in Zaragoza.

Geography

The surface of Aragon is 47,719.2 km² of which 15,636.2 km² belong to the province of Huesca, 17,274.3 km² to the province of Zaragoza and 14,808.7 km² to the province of Teruel. The total represents 9.43% of the surface of Spain, thus being the fourth largest autonomous community behind Castilla y León, Andalucía and Castilla-La Mancha. The Encyclopaedia Britannica, in its 1911 edition, defined Aragon as a central plain surrounded by mountain ranges.

It is located in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, at a latitude between 39º and 43º' N in the temperate zone of the Earth. Its limits and borders are in the north with France, the regions of (Occitania and Nueva Aquitaine), in the west with the autonomous communities of Castilla-La Mancha (provinces of Guadalajara and Cuenca), Castilla y León (province of Soria), La Rioja and Navarra and to the east with the autonomous communities of Catalonia (provinces of Lleida and Tarragona) and the Valencian Community (provinces of Castellón and Valencia).

Relief

relief map

The orography of the community has as its central axis the Ebro valley (with heights between 150 and 300 meters approx.) which transits between two foothills, the Pyrenean and the Iberian, preambles of two great mountainous formations, the Pyrenees to the north and the Iberian System to the south; the autonomous community has the highest peaks of both mountain ranges, the Aneto and the Moncayo respectively.

Pyrenees

The Aragonese Pyrenees is located in the north of the province of Huesca and is arranged longitudinally in three large units: the High Pyrenees, the Intrapyrenean Depression and the Exterior Sierras. The High Pyrenees is formed in turn by the Axial Pyrenees and the Interior Sierras.

The oldest materials are found in the axial Pyrenees: granite, quartzite, slate and limestone, and it contains the highest heights of the mountain range: Aneto (3,404 masl), La Maladeta (3,309 masl) and Perdiguero (3,221 masl). The interior Pre-Pyrenees, made up of more modern rocks (limestone) also has large mountains such as Monte Perdido (3,355 masl), Collarada (2,886 masl) and Tendeñera (2,853 masl).

Ibón de Plan, a small mountain lake of glacial origin

The main Pyrenean valleys are formed by the rivers that originate there, which are:

The intrapyrenean depression is a wide perpendicular corridor. Its best represented stretch is the Berdún Canal. The southern limit of the depression corresponds to the energetic reliefs of San Juan de la Peña (1,552 masl) and Peña Oroel (1,769 masl), modeled on conglomerates of the Campodarbe Formation.

The outer pre-Pyrenean mountain ranges are found in the foothills of Huesca and constitute the southernmost unit of the Pyrenees; Formed by predominantly calcareous materials, they reach heights between 1,500 and 2,000 meters. The Sierra de Guara stands out, one of the most important mountain ranges in the Spanish pre-Pyrenees, its peak, the Tozal de Guara reaches 2077 masl. The Mallos de Riglos, near the town of Ayerbe, stand out for their beauty.

Ebro Depression

A wide plain extends, after passing the foothills, corresponding to the Ebro depression. To the southwest is the Sierra de Alcubierre (811 masl) one of the typical molars of the depression. The Ebro depression is a tectonic trench filled with sedimentary materials, accumulated in the Tertiary era in horizontal series. Fine materials such as clay, gypsum and limestone were deposited in the center. To the south of the Ebro the millstones of Borja and Zaragoza have remained.

Iberian System

The Moncayo seen from Zaragoza

The Aragonese Iberian System is divided between the provinces of Zaragoza and Teruel. It is a set of mountains without a clear structural unit, which can be divided into two zones: the Jalón Iberian System and the Turolense Iberian System. In the first, Moncayo stands out with 2,314 meters above sea level, made up of Paleozoic quartzite and slate, partly covered by Mesozoic limestone; to the southeast of Moncayo the Iberian System descends in height. The second is made up of high ground (from 1,000 to 2,000 masl in general), but flattened and solid. To the southwest of the depression, the summits of the Sierra de Albarracín are reached above 1,800 masl, to the southeast, the Sierra de Javalambre exceeds 2,000 masl and finally, the Sierra de Gúdar (2,024 masl) transitions to the Mastery.

Climate

Nevada in the lagoon of Gallocanta

Although the climate of Aragon can be considered, in general, as a continental Mediterranean, its irregular orography leads to the creation of various climates or microclimates throughout the entire community. From the high mountain of the central Pyrenees to the north, with perpetual ice (glaciers), to the steppe or semi-desert areas, such as the Monegros, passing through the intense continental climate of the Teruel-Daroca area.

The main characteristics of the Aragonese climate are:

• The aridity, a product of a cubeta situation embedded between the Pyrenean mountain ranges of the north and the Iberian system to the south, which unloads the rains in these elevated foothills and creates a central situation of absence of precipitation and contrasts of temperatures, with very prolonged extreme seasons with very cold winters and hot summers, and of transition—spring variables and autumn of the entire peninsula.

Paraje de los Monegros, of arid climate and extreme temperatures

• The irregularity of rains due to the Mediterranean climate component, with alternation of dry and humid years.
• The air currents that fall into the middle valley of the Ebro from northwest to southeast (closing), which stands out for its intensity and frequency, and from southeast to northwest (bochorno).

Average temperatures are highly dependent on altitude. In the Ebro valley, winters are relatively mild, although frosts are very common and the wind chill can decrease a lot with the north wind, temperatures in summer can reach close to 40 °C. In the mountain areas, the winters are long and severe, the average temperatures can be up to 10 °C lower than in the valley.

Two are the most important winds in Aragon: the north wind and the easterly sultry. The first is a very cold and dry wind that runs through the Ebro valley from northwest to southeast and can be very strong and fast. The second is a warm, more irregular and soft wind coming from the south-east.

Vegetation

The vegetation follows the oscillations of the relief and the climate. There is a wide variety, whether it is wild vegetation or human crops. In the high areas you can find forests (pine, fir, beech, oak), scrub and meadows, while in the areas of the Ebro valley holm oak and juniper are the most numerous trees, apart from the land exploited for agricultural use.

Hydrography

Bridge over the Ebro in Sástago

Most of the Aragonese rivers are tributaries of the Ebro, which is the largest in Spain and divides the community in two. Of the tributaries on the left bank of the river, that is, the rivers originating in the Pyrenees, the most noteworthy are the Aragón river, which is born in Huesca but flows into Navarra, the Gállego and the Cinca, which joins the Segre just before flowing in the Ebro at the height of Mequinenza, in what is known as Aiguabarreig, forming one of the largest river confluences in all of Europe. On the right bank stand out the Jalón, the Huerva and the Guadalope.

Aerial view of the Ebro (left) and the Cinca and Segre (right) in its confluence in Mequinenza

In the course of the Ebro river, near the border with Catalonia, is the Mequinenza reservoir, with a capacity of 1,530 hm³ and a length of about 110 km; It is popularly known as the "Sea of Aragon". Special mention within hydrography deserves the small Pyrenean mountain lakes called ibones. These lakes, of great scenic beauty, have their origins in the last ice age and are usually found above 2,000 m above sea level.

It should be noted that the autonomous community belongs to three hydrographic confederations: the aforementioned Ebro, the Tagus (which rises in the Sierra de Albarracín) and the Júcar whose main river in this community is the Turia.

Protected spaces

Soaso glacier circle in the valley of Ordesa, province of Huesca

In Aragon, protected natural spaces are managed by the Red Natural de Aragón, an entity created in 2004 to protect all elements with ecological, landscape and cultural value and at the same time coordinate and establish common standards that contribute to their conservation and a Sustainable use. This entity includes national parks, natural parks, nature reserves, biosphere reserves and other protected natural spaces that have been declared by the autonomous community, the Ramsar Convention or the Natura 2000 Network.

Moncayo Forest in autumn

Within the protected spaces is the only national park in Aragon: the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, the second national park created in Spain, in 1918, it is located in the Pyrenees in the Sobrarbe region, it occupies a extension of 15,608 ha, apart from the 19,679 ha of the peripheral protection zone. Currently it also enjoys other protection figures such as the Ordesa-Viñamala Biosphere Reserve and is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Since 2019, there is a second biosphere reserve in the community, Valle del Cabriel, which includes the 220 kilometers of this river bed, belonging mainly to Castilla-La Mancha and the Valencian Community, but which include in its birth five municipalities of the province of Teruel.

There are also four natural parks: the Moncayo natural park with an area of 11,144 ha, the Sierra y Cañones de Guara natural park with 47,453 ha and 33,286 ha of peripheral protection area, the natural park of Posets-Maladeta with 33,440.60 ha and 5,290.20 ha of peripheral protection zone, and the Valles Occidentales natural park with 27,073 ha and 7,335 ha of peripheral protection zone.

There are also three nature reserves, five natural monuments and three protected landscapes.

The Natura 2000 Network is made up of the Special Conservation Areas (ZEC) and the Special Protection Areas for Birds (ZEPA). Today the Natura 2000 Network in Aragon is made up of 201 spaces, which represents 13,612 km² and 28% of its territory with spaces such as the Aiguabarreig Ebro-Segre-Cinca in Mequinenza, the Sariñena Lagoon or the Belchite steppes.

History

Aragon, occupying the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, has served as a bridge between the Mediterranean Sea, the center of the peninsula and the Cantabrian coast. The human presence in the lands that today form the autonomous community date back several millennia, but the current Aragon, like many of the current historical nationalities, were formed during the Middle Ages.

Prehistory

The Paleolithic in Aragon

The oldest testimonies of human life in the lands that today make up Aragon date back to the time of the ice ages, in the Pleistocene, about 600,000 years ago. This population left behind the Acheulean industry, which found its best weapons in flint bifaces or quartzite cleavers. Two new cultures appeared in the Upper Paleolithic: Solutrean and Magdalenian. The Epipaleolithic was centered in Lower Aragon, occupying the time between the seventh and fifth millennium.

In the first half of the fifth millennium BC, Neolithic remains were found in the Sierras Exteriores of Huesca and in Lower Aragon. The Eneolithic was characterized in the province of Huesca presenting two important megalithic nuclei: the Pre-Pyrenees of the Sierras Exteriores and the high Pyrenean valleys.

The Late Bronze Age begins in Aragon around 1100 B.C. C. with the arrival of the culture of the urn fields. They are Indo-European people, with a supposed origin in Central Europe, who cremate their dead by placing the ashes in a funerary urn. There are examples in the Cueva del Moro in Olvena, the Masada del Ratón in Fraga, Palermo and the Cabezo de Monleón in Caspe, although the Castellets site in Mequinenza stands out, the only one in all of Aragon in which burial necropolises have been found together. and cremation. Part of the excavations of this last site can be seen in the Museum of Zaragoza. From the metallurgical point of view, there seems to be a boom given the increase in foundry molds that are located in the towns.

The Iron Age is the most important, since throughout the centuries that it lasted the true substratum of the Aragonese historical population was constituted. The arrival of Central Europeans during the Bronze Age through the Pyrenees until they reached the Bajo Aragonese area, represented an important ethnic contribution that paved the way for the invasions of the Iron Age.

Old Age

Augusto de Prima Porta, remains of the Roman wall of Zaragoza

Mediterranean contributions led to a commercial activity that will constitute a powerful stimulus for iron metallurgy, promoting the modernization of indigenous tools and weapons, replacing the old bronze with iron. There is presence of Phoenician, Greek and Etruscan products.

Augustus bust found in Tarazona

In the VI century a. C. there are six groups with different social organization: Vascones, Suessetanos, Sedetanos, Iacetanos, Ilergetes and Citerior Celtiberians. They are Iberian groups with a tendency towards stability, fixing their habitat in durable towns, with houses that evolve towards more enduring and stable models. There are many examples in Aragon, among which Cabezo de Monleón in Caspe, Puntal de Fraga, Roquizal del Rullo or Loma de los Brunos stand out. The type of social organization was based on the family group, made up of four generations. Self-sufficient societies in which most of the population was dedicated to agricultural and livestock activities. In the Iberian sphere, power was monarchical, exercised by a king; there was a democratic assembly with the participation of the male population. There were visible social differences and established legal-political statutes.

The Romans arrived and made easy progress inland. In the territorial distribution that Rome made of Hispania, the current Aragon was included in Hispania Citerior. In the year 197 B.C. C., Sempronio Tuditano is the praetor of the Citerior and had to face a general uprising in his territories that ended with the Roman defeat and the death of Tuditano himself. Given these facts, the Senate sent the consul Marco Porcio Cato with an army of 60,000 men. The indigenous peoples of the area were in revolt, except for the Ilergetes who negotiated peace with Cato. There were different uprisings of the Iberian peoples against the Romans, in 194 a. C. sees a general uprising with the elimination of half the Roman army, in 188 BC. C. Manlio Acidino, praetor of the Citerior, must face the Celtiberians in Calagurris, in 184 BC. C. Terencio Varrón did it with the Suessetanos, from whom he took the capital, Corbio.

In the I century a. C. Aragon was the scene of the civil war to seize power from Rome where the governor Quinto Sertorio made Osca (Huesca) the capital of all the territories controlled by them.

Silver oscense Denial

Already in the I century, what is now Aragonese territory became part of the Tarraconensis province and the definitive Romanization of it, creating roads and refounding ancient Celtiberian and Iberian cities such as Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza), Turiaso (Tarazona), Osca, (Huesca) or Bilbilis (Calatayud).

In the middle of the III century, the decline of the Roman Empire began. Between the years 264 and 266 the Franks and the Alemanni, two Germanic peoples who passed through the Pyrenees and reached Tarazona, which they looted. In the agony of the Empire, groups of bandits arose that dedicated themselves to looting. The Ebro Valley was devastated in the V century by various bands of criminals called bagaudas.

Middle Ages

The Palace of the Aljafería, the centuryXIIt was the residence of the Hudi kings of the Saraqusta Taifa

After the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire, the current area of Aragon was occupied by the Visigoths, forming the Visigothic Kingdom.

In the year 714, the Arabs arrived in the central area of Aragon, converting ancient Roman cities such as Saraqusta (Zaragoza) or Wasqa (Huesca) to Islam. It was at this time that an important muladí family was formed, the Banu Qasi (بنو قاسي), their domains were located in the Ebro valley between the VIII and X. After the disappearance of the Caliphate of Córdoba at the beginning of the XI century, the Taifa of Zaragoza arose, one of the most important in Al-Andalus, leaving a great artistic, cultural and philosophical legacy.

The name of Aragón is documented for the first time during the High Middle Ages in the year 828, when a small county of Frankish origin arose between the rivers that bear its name, the Aragón river, and its brother the Aragón Subordán river. That County of Aragon would be united to the Kingdom of Pamplona until 1035, and under its wing it would grow to form the dowry of García Sánchez III on the death of King Sancho "el Mayor" of Pamplona, in a period characterized by Muslim hegemony in almost all of the Iberian peninsula. Under the reign of Ramiro I, the borders would be expanded with the annexation of the counties of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza (year 1044), after having incorporated populations of the historical region of Cinco Villas.

San Pedro de Siresa, monastic, political and cultural focus of the Aragonese county, where King Alfonso I of Aragon was educated

In 1076, on the death of Sancho IV el de Peñalén, Aragon incorporated part of the Navarrese kingdom into its territories, while Castile did the same with the western area of the former domains of Sancho el Mayor. Through the reigns of Sancho Ramírez de Aragón and Pedro I, the kingdom expanded its borders to the south, established threatening fortresses over the capital of Zaragoza in El Castellar and Juslibol and took Huesca, which became the new capital.

This leads to the reign of Alfonso I “el Batallador” who would conquer the flat lands of the middle Ebro valley for Aragon: Ejea, Valtierra, Calatayud, Tudela and Zaragoza, the capital of the Saraqusta Taifa. Upon his death, the nobles would elect his brother Ramiro II "the Monk", who left his religious life to assume the royal scepter and perpetuate the dynasty, which he achieved with the dynastic union of the House of Aragon with the owner of the County of Barcelona in 1137, the year in which the union of both patrimonies would give rise to the Crown of Aragon and would add the forces that in turn would make possible the conquests of the Kingdom of Majorca and the Kingdom of Valencia. The Crown of Aragon would become the hegemonic power of the Mediterranean, controlling territories as important as Sicily or Naples.

Later legend made the Aragonese monarchy eligible and created a coronation phrase for the king that would be perpetuated for centuries:

We, that we are worth as much as you will be made our King and Lord, so that you will keep our bonds and liberties, and if not, no.

The Justice of Aragon

Extension of the Crown of Aragon in the mid-centuryXV

This situation would be repeated in the Caspe Compromise (1412), where a war that would have dismembered the Crown of Aragon was avoided when a good handful of aspirants to the throne emerged, after the death of Martín I "el Humano" one year after the death of his eldest son, Martín "el Joven". Fernando de Antequera is the chosen one, from the Castilian branch of the Trastámara, but also directly linked to the Aragonese king Pedro IV "el Ceremonioso", through his mother Leonor de Aragón.

Aragon is already a large-scale political entity: the Crown, the Parliament, the Diputación del Reino and the Provincial Law constitute its nature and character. The marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon with Isabel I of Castile, celebrated in 1469 in Valladolid, later led to the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, creating the foundations of the Modern State.

Modern Age

Juan de Lanuza before being executed in 1591 by Felipe II

The Modern Age, however, also witnessed the tensions between the power of the Hispanic Monarchy and those established in the foral states originating from the evolution of medieval institutions, which ended up exploding in the conflict of the Alteraciones de Aragón of 1591.

Aragonia Regnum, map of the Blaeu based on that of Juan Bautista Labaña (c. 1640)

After the subsequent reduction of the powers of the Generalitat of Aragon in the Parliament of Tarazona in 1592, mainly in military matters to prevent an army from being armed in front of the King of Spain with the resources and prerogatives of the Diputación del General, the 17th century was a period of decline of the institutions of the Kingdom of Aragon, which was compensated with the historiographical work and of legal literature that kept the memory of the Aragonese peculiarities. In this sense, the creation in 1601 of the Archive of the Kingdom of Aragon stands out (largely destroyed during the War of Spanish Independence and the Sieges of Zaragoza together with the Palace of the Diputación del Reino), the continuity of the position of chronicler of Aragon —where authors such as Jerónimo Zurita had stood out— and its obvious results in the work of the Argensola brothers with their Información de los sucesos de Aragón de 1590 y 1591 (by Lupercio) and Alteraciones populares de Zaragoza from the year 1591 (from Bartolomé, or the Annals of Juan Costa and Jerónimo Martel, eyewitnesses and also chroniclers of the Kingdom, who were nevertheless destroyed by royal censorship; all of them works written to counter the Philippine version of events.

On the other hand, the Diputación del General also exercised censorship, and ordered the burning of the Historia de las cosas sucedidos en este Reyno in six volumes of the Castilian Antonio de Herrera because «in said Chronicles they said many things contrary to the truth» and Vicencio Blasco de Lanuza was entrusted with writing some Ecclesiastical and Secular Histories of Aragon, the second volume of which, which dealt with the serious events that had recently occurred, was published in 1619, three years before the first, which gives an idea of the intention to respond to Herrera's vision. Along the same lines, a Ceremonial and brief list of all the positions and ordinary things of the Diputación del Reino de Aragón was entrusted to its lieutenant mayor, Lorenzo Ibáñez de Aoiz. The cartography of the Kingdom of Aragon was also undertaken in this period, entrusted to the Portuguese Juan Bautista Lavaña. These last two works were completed in 1611.

During the War of Succession, Aragon (like the rest of the Crown territories: Catalonia, Valencia and Mallorca) supported Archduke Carlos (of the house of Austria) against Felipe V (of the Bourbons). After the battle of Almansa (1707), Felipe V abolished the Aragonese privileges, adopted several centralist measures and all the old political provisions of the kingdom (Nueva Planta Decrees) were annulled. Aragon became in practice a province and its Council was absorbed by the Council of Castile.

Contemporary Age

Ruins of the Monastery of Santa Engracia after the sites of Zaragoza

The War of Independence, after the intense destruction of the city of Zaragoza, halted economic progress and significantly delayed the capital's incorporation into the rhythm of modernity. With the first provincial organization of Spain in 1822, Aragon had four provinces, with Calatayud being the capital of the fourth province that included municipalities of the current provinces of Zaragoza, Teruel, Soria and Guadalajara. It disappeared with the new abolition of the Constitution by Ferdinand VII. The provincial division of 1833 organized the Aragonese territory into the three current provinces.

Children in Barbastro Main Square (c. 1911)

Throughout the XIX century, the Carlists, who sought followers for their cause in this land, offered the restoration of past regional liberties of the already ancient and disappeared kingdom of Aragon. This century was also the transition from a rural society to an industrial and urban one, leading to a massive exodus from the countryside to the larger cities of Aragón, Huesca, Zaragoza, Teruel or Calatayud, and a veritable emigration to other nearby regions, such as Catalonia and Madrid.

During the 20th century, the history of Aragon has gone hand in hand with that of the rest of the Spanish territory, to highlight the "temporary" economic impulse in the dictatorship of the military Miguel Primo de Rivera (1923-1931) and the progress in civil and individual liberties, during the Second Republic. Also in June 1936, the Draft Autonomy Statute for Aragon was presented in the Spanish Cortes, but the imminent civil war prevented the development of the autonomist project.

Aragon during the civil war

Aragon was divided by the two sides that fought in the Civil War. On the one hand, the eastern zone, closest to Catalonia and controlled by the Regional Defense Council of Aragon, loyal to the Republic, and on the other, the western zone, where the three provincial capitals were located and under the control of the national rebel faction., having a harsh, bloody and savage repression in them and during the contest. Some of the most important battles of the Civil War were fought in Aragon, such as Belchite, Teruel or the Ebro. Since 1939 Aragon was under the Franco dictatorship along with the rest of Spain.

During the 1960s, an exodus and depopulation from rural areas to industrial areas such as provincial capitals, other areas of Spain, as well as other European countries was unleashed. In 1964, one of the so-called Development Poles was created in Zaragoza. In the 1970s, as in the rest of the State, a period of transition was experienced, after the extinction of the previous regime, with the recovery of democratic normality and the creation of a new constitutional framework.

They began to claim their own political autonomy, for the Aragonese historical territory; This sentiment was reflected in the historic demonstration on April 23, 1978 that brought together more than 100,000 Aragonese through the streets of Zaragoza. By not having affirmatively put to plebiscite, in the past, a project of the Statute of autonomy (second transitory provision of the constitution) and not making use of the difficult access to autonomy by article 151 whose aggravated procedure required, apart from the fact that the initiative of the process that the autonomous community follow the steps of article 143, that it be ratified by three quarters of the municipalities of each of the affected provinces that represent at least the majority of the electoral census, and that said initiative be approved by means of a referendum by the affirmative vote of the majority of the voters of each province, Aragon acceded to self-government by the slow route of article 143, obtaining a lower ceiling of competence, and less self-management of resources, for more than twenty years.

Courts of Aragon at the Palace of the Aljafería of Zaragoza

On August 10, 1982, the statute of autonomy for Aragon was approved by the Cortes Generales, signed by the then Prime Minister, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, and sanctioned by King Juan Carlos I. On May 7, In 1992 a Special Commission of the Cortes of Aragon prepared a reformed text that was approved by the Cortes of Aragon and by the Spanish Cortes. Once again, a small statutory reform in 1996 broadened the jurisdictional framework, forcing a definitive comprehensive review for several years, and a new statutory text was approved in 2007, by majority but without achieving total unanimity. In the 1990s, the Aragonese society increases a significant qualitative step in the quality of life due to the economic progress of the State at all levels.

AVE Train at Zaragoza-Delicias Station

At the beginning of the XXI century, a significant increase in infrastructure was established, such as the arrival of the High Speed train (AVE), the construction of the new Somport-Sagunto highway and the promotion of the two airports of the autonomous community, Zaragoza and Huesca-Pirineos. At the same time, large technological projects were undertaken, such as the Walqa Technological Park and the implementation of a telematic network throughout the community.

Presentation in 2004 of the Expo 2008 project

In 2007, the Statute of Autonomy of Aragon was reformed again – which was approved by a broad consensus in the Cortes of Aragon with the support of the PSOE, the PP, the PAR and the IU, while CHA abstained – granting the autonomous community the recognition of historical nationality (since the organic law of 1996 of reform of the statute, it had the condition of nationality), a new title is included on the Administration of Justice and another on the rights and duties of the Aragonese and guiding principles of public policies, the possibility of creating its own tax agency in collaboration with the state agency, as well as the obligation for public authorities to ensure that watershed transfers are avoided, such as the transfer of the Ebro, among many other modifications of the Autonomy Statute.

The designation of Zaragoza as the venue for the 2008 International Exposition, whose theme revolved around water and sustainable development, meant a series of changes and accelerated growth for the autonomous community. In addition, that same year two anniversaries were celebrated: the bicentennial of the Sieges of Zaragoza of the War of Independence against the Napoleonic invasion, which occurred in 1808, and the centenary of the Spanish-French exhibition of 1908, which was a modern event, to demonstrate the cultural and economic thrust of Aragon and at the same time that it would serve to strengthen ties and heal wounds with the French neighbors after the events of the Napoleonic Wars of the previous century.

Economy

The Walqa Technological Park in Huesca has more than 60 technology-based companies

Its traditional economy belonging to the primary sector with a predominance of cereal and fodder crops, supported by an important sheep herd, has been greatly modified in recent years by the unstoppable rise of the industrial, service and trade sectors, followed by the tourism. For these purposes, the role of Zaragoza and its commercial and logistical capacity in the northeast sector of the peninsula is noteworthy.

The GDP of Aragon accounts for 3% of the total GDP of Spain, with per capita GDP standing at €26,107 in 2008, ranking 5th in Spain, exceeding the national and EU average. The Opel company (Groupe PSA) has a factory located near the city of Zaragoza, in the municipality of Figueruelas. There are other important companies in electricity generation such as Endesa with its Teruel Thermal Power Plant, in Andorra; the SAICA paper mill, in Zaragoza and Burgo de Ebro; ICT Ibérica, also in Burgo de Ebro, Pikolín, Sabeco, Inditex or BSH, in Zaragoza; Lacasa Chocolates in Utebo; or the Cella logging industry, the third in Europe.

The PLAZA Complex, close to the Zaragoza airport, is the largest freight logistics and transport center in southern Europe.

Aramon Logo

The regional Radio and Television is launched, after almost fifteen years of a continuous delay due to "extraordinary circumstances" of a political and economic nature, where the conflicting interests of the local media and the lack of general political consensus, had postponed this multimedia initiative.

Its traditional products are already known internationally, highlighting the lamb from Aragon, bread with tomato, Somontano wines, Teruel ham, olive oil from Bajo Aragón, Calanda peach and almonds. The existing denominations of origin have helped them open up new international markets such as Japan, China or the United States, as well as Europe.

The future is outlined towards the growth of the tertiary sector, the maintenance of the secondary sector, and the gradual reduction of the primary sector, like most Western economies. As important economic activities, the growth of sports tourism stands out, promoted through Aramón, that is, the set of ski resorts; although a recent phenomenon facilitated by the improvement of road communications (Autovía Mudéjar) is developing, such as cultural tourism, where the city of Teruel is becoming a center of attraction at the national level, thanks to its historical heritage (the Aragonese Mudejar, declared a World Heritage Site), the Dinópolis theme park and its proximity to Albarracín.

Demographics

Aragon has 1,329,391 inhabitants (IAEST), 01-01-2020), of which 50.77% live in the capital, Zaragoza, the only city in the community with more than 100,000 inhabitants (666,880 inhabitants, according to INE 2018); This concentration is recent, since in 1950 the autonomous capital concentrated only 24% of the total population. Consequence of rural depopulation, due to the scarcity of infrastructures and public investments in a large part of the territory, the rest of the territory presents a very weak occupation; Not surprisingly, Aragón, with 27.85 inhabitants/km², is the fourth autonomous community in Spain with the lowest population density, being only surpassed by Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Castilla y León.

According to the 1991 census, Aragon had 1,221,546 inhabitants, that is, 3.10% of the national population and a density of 25.6 inhabitants/km². Since then the population has grown almost only in the main cities, and at a much lower rate than the Spanish average, so that in 2006 the Aragonese population only represented 2.86% of the national population. In recent years this trend has been reversed and Aragon currently represents 2.8% of the total population of Spain.

The proportion of foreign residents in the 2018 register is 10.80%, a proportion close to, but higher than, the national average (9.78%).

• 

  Population by municipality (2018)

• 

  Population density by municipality (2018)

• 

  Population growth by municipality between 1998 and 2008

• 

  Population growth by municipality between 2008 and 2018

• Metropolitan Area of Zaragoza

Graphic of demographic evolution of Aragon between 1990 and 2018

Source: Spanish National Statistical Institute - Graphical development by Wikipedia.

Aragonese communities abroad

Its regulation is found in Law 5/2000, of November 28, on Relations with Aragonese Communities Abroad, making effective article 8 of the Statute of Autonomy of Aragon which establishes that «the powers Aragonese public authorities will ensure that the Aragonese communities settled outside of Aragon can, in the manner and to the extent determined by a Law of Aragonese Courts, participate in the social and cultural life of Aragon, without implying in any case the granting of rights politicians", which also provides in section 2.b) of article 6 that "it corresponds to the Aragonese public powers, without prejudice to state action and within the scope of their respective powers, to promote a policy aimed at improving and equalizing the living and working conditions of the Aragonese, especially advocating measures that prevent their exodus, while making possible the return of those who live and work outside of Aragon».

The relationship between the members of the Aragonese communities and the public institutions of the autonomous community of Aragon, is carried out through the Casas y Centros de Aragón, which are those foundations, groups and other entities with legal personality, without spirit for profit, legally constituted outside the territory of the Autonomous Community of Aragon, whose statutory purposes and its ordinary action are directed towards the maintenance of cultural, social and economic ties with Aragon, its people, its history, its languages and speeches, its traditions and his culture.

To be recognized as a House or Center of Aragon, it is necessary to formally request it so that it can be subsequently approved by Agreement of the Government of Aragon, following a report from the Permanent Commission of the Council of Aragonese Communities Abroad.

This acknowledgment will lead to its registration in the Registry of Houses and Centers of Aragon.

Likewise, the Houses and Centers of Aragon can become Federations and Confederations for the purpose of defending and integrating their interests and facilitating the joint and coordinated fulfillment of their purposes.

Government and politics

According to article 11 of the Statute of Autonomy of Aragon, in its first title, the four institutions with political power in Aragon: the Courts of Aragon, the President, the Government of Aragon and the Justice of Aragon.

The legislative power rests in the Cortes of Aragon, representing the Aragonese people with 67 deputies, they approve their budgets, promote and control the action of the General Deputation. The Cortes will elect, from among its members, a president, a Board and a Permanent Deputation. The seat of the Cortes resides in the Aljafería Palace, Zaragoza. The current president of the Cortes is Javier Sada Beltrán, of the PSOE.

Legislative branch

In the 2019 elections to the Cortes de Aragón, the party with the most votes was the PSOE, experiencing a significant rise and adding 24 seats, compared to 16 for the PP. In addition, Ciudadanos was placed in third position with 12 parliamentarians, followed by Podemos-Equo, with 5 seats and CHA, with 3. In turn, the PAR reduced its presence by half, obtaining 3 seats and IU-A kept the seat. For the first time, Vox entered the Cortes, storming with 3 seats.

Parliamentary groups in the Aragon Courts (X Legislature)

Name			Members	Spokesperson	Leader	Scalls
	G.P. Socialist		PSOE-Aragon	Vicente Guillén	Javier Lambán	24
	G.P. People		PP de Aragón	Sea Cowboy	Jorge Azcón	16
	G.P. Citizens		Citizens	Daniel Pérez Calvo		12
	G.P. We can Aragon		We can-	Marta de Santos	Maru Díaz	5
	G.P. Chunta Aragonesista		CHA	Joaquín Palacín	José Luis Soro	3
	G.P. Vox		Vox	David Arranz	Santiago Morón	3
	G.P. Aragonés		PAR	Arturo Aliaga		3
	G.P. Board		IU-A	Alvaro Sanz		1

Executive Branch

Royal House of Mercy, seat of the Government of Aragon

The president of the Government of Aragon is elected by the Parliament of Aragon, currently this position has been held by Javier Lambán since July 5, 2015, of the PSOE. Since the reform of the Statute of Autonomy of Aragon in 2007, the president, as the highest representation of the Government of Aragon, can dissolve the Cortes and call elections when he sees fit.

The Government of Aragon or Diputación General de Aragón forms the executive power of the autonomous community and is the governing body of Aragon. It is made up of the president and the directors. Its current headquarters is the Pignatelli Palace, also called the Royal House of Mercy, located in the city of Zaragoza. Currently the Government of Aragon is made up of a coalition government between the PSOE, Podemos-Equo, CHA and PAR, with external support from IU-A.

Judicial branch

The Justice of Aragon is a medieval institution that arose in the Kingdom of Aragon in the XIII century to act as mediator and moderator in the struggles and differences between the king and the nobility. It is currently in charge of defending the rights and freedoms of the Aragonese from the Public Administrations, defending the Statute of Autonomy of Aragon and protecting the Aragonese Legal System. Its current headquarters are in the Palacio de Armijo, in Zaragoza. It is the analogous institution to the Ombudsman of other autonomies.

The two advisory bodies of the Government of Aragon are the Economic and Social Council of Aragon and the Legal Advisory Commission.

Provincial councils

Aragon is made up of three provincial councils corresponding to the Provincial Council of Huesca, the Provincial Council of Teruel and the Provincial Council of Zaragoza, which are entities with their own legal personality, and with autonomy for the management of their interests.

• The Provincial Council of Huesca is responsible for tenders at the local level, tourist promotion of the province, development of the latest technologies, collaboration with different cultural entities, as well as the granting of different grants. All this with the marked goal of promoting and helping rural areas to give them the same development options. It is composed of the Plenum that has 25 deputies and the president of the Congress. Currently there is the president of the Congress is Miguel Gracia, of the PSOE.

• The Provincial Council of Teruel has 25 deputies, the political parties that have representation are the PP with 10 deputies, the PAR with five deputies, the PSOE with nine deputies and IU with a deputy. It is currently composed by a coalition government between the PAR and the PP and whose president is Ramon Millán, the PAR and mayor of Castellote.

Government of major municipalities
Municipality	Mayor	Party
Zaragoza	Jorge Azcón	P
Huesca	Luis Felipe Serrate	PSOE
Teruel	Emma Buj	P
Calatayud	José Manuel Aranda	P
Utebo	Gema Gutiérrez	PSOE
Barbastro	Fernando Torres	P
Monzón	Isaac Claver	P
Axis of the Knights	Teresa Ladrero	PSOE
Alcañiz	Ignacio Urquizu	PSOE

• The Provincial Council of Zaragoza is responsible, among other things, for the provincial highway network, for the management of cultural initiatives, the restoration of artistic goods, subsidies etc. Its activities include the creation of the Institution Fernando el Católico, an autonomous body responsible for local studies and for cultural dissemination in general. It is currently composed of 11 PSOE deputies, 8 PP deputies, 4 deputies Group in Common, Cs with 2 deputies, Chunta Aragonesista and PAR with 1. The president is Juan Antonio Sánchez Quero del PSOE and mayor of Tobed.

City Halls

In the 2015 municipal elections, 4,177 councilors and 731 mayors were elected in Aragon. The PSOE obtained 1,707 councilors despite having fewer votes than the PP, which obtained 1,232 councilors. The PAR was the third party with the most councilors, a total of 916. The Chunta Aragonesista also stands out with 163 councilors and Cs with 54 councilors.

Judicial parties

In Aragon there are 16 judicial districts of which seven belong to the province of Zaragoza, six to Huesca and three to Teruel. The current distribution of judicial districts in Aragon is due to Law 38/1988, of December 28, Demarcation and Judicial Plant.

Opinion barometer

According to the Aragon Opinion Barometer winter 2011, 3.1% of the Aragonese population wants Aragon to be an independent country or state. Another 47.6% think that Aragon should be an autonomous community with more powers.

Territorial organization

Aragon has been divided into three provinces since the territorial division of 1833, which are Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza with their three homonymous capitals. Each province has a series of counties, including Huesca with 10 counties, Teruel also with 10 counties and Zaragoza with 16 counties (3 of them shared with Huesca) and at the same time these are divided into municipalities.

Comarcal Map of Aragón

ARAGÓN
	Provinces		Regions	Municipalities
		Huesca Province Population 227 609.	Regions of Huesca Alto Gállego, Bajo Cinca, Cinca Medio, Hoya de Huesca, La Jacetania, La Litera, Los Monegros, La Ribagorza, Sobrarbe and Somontano de Barbastro.	Huesca 52 296. Municipalities of the province of Huesca
		Teruel Province Population 143 728 hab.	Regions of Teruel Bajo Martín, Jiloca, Cuencas Mineras, Andorra-Sierra de Arcos, Bajo Aragón, Comunidad de Teruel, Maestrazgo, Sierra de Albarracín, Gúdar-Javalambre y Matarraña.	Teruel 35 841. Municipalities of the province of Teruel
		Province of Zaragoza Population 978 130 hectares.	Regions of Zaragoza Aranda, Bajo Aragón-Caspe, Campo de Belchite, Campo de Borja, Campo de Cariñena, Campo de Daroca, Cinco Villas, Comarca Central, Comunidad de Calatayud, Ribera Alta del Ebro, Ribera Baja del Ebro, Tarazona y el Moncayo, y Valdejalón. *Some municipalities belong to the region: La Jacetania, Hoya de Huesca, Los Monegros and Bajo Cinca.	Zaragoza 679 624 hab. Municipalities of the province of Zaragoza

Infrastructures and services

Energy

Thermal central of Andorra

Power production

At the middle of 2009, Aragón had an installed electric power of 7094.03 MW distributed as follows:^{[citation required]}

• 1773.70 MW in combined cycle power plants
• 1713,29 MW in wind farms
• 1576.79 MW in hydroelectric power plants (in 2004 29 plants under 1 MW, 48 plants between 1 and 10 MW and 26 plants over 10 MW)
• 1102 MW in coal thermal plants
• 579.31 MW in cogeneration
• 135.6 MW in solar plants (In January 2010, distributed in 1507 photovoltaic solar parks)

In 2008, electricity production in the community amounted to 21,736 GWh and its origin was divided as follows: 14,315 GWh were contributed by coal, combined cycles and cogeneration, 4,010 GWh were contributed by wind power, 3,333 GWh from hydroelectric plants and 78 GWh came from solar.

Wind farm in La Muela. Aragon is one of the communities with the greatest generation of wind energy

In 2008, the production of renewable energies with respect to the total consumption of primary energy stood at 13.83% in Aragon, compared to 6.7% in the rest of Spain. While in electricity production the contribution of renewables with respect to final electricity consumption stood at 69.67%, compared to 18% of the Spanish average. In addition, 47% of the energy produced in Aragon was exported to other autonomous communities.^{[citation required]}

The main energy production facilities are:

• Thermal coal plants: Teruel (Andorra) 1102 MW. In 1982, the activities of the Aliaga thermal power plant ceased and on 31 December 2012 the activities of the Central of Listen (159 MW) ceased.
• Combined cycle centers: 1115 MW and Castelnou 798 MW
• Hydroelectric power plants: Mequinenza 324 MW, Moralets 221 MW, Tardienta 114 MW, Canelles 108 MW, La Fortunada 96 MW, Ip 90 MW, Eriste 89 MW, Jaca 71 MW, Biescas 62 MW, El Pueyo 53 MW.
• Wind farms: Jalon 270 MW, Gurrea 216 MW, Fuendetodos 179 MW, Listen 169 MW, Montetorrero 160 MW, Los Vientos 152 MW, El Ventero 136 MW, Bayo 126 MW, Moncayo 111 MW.
• Cogeneration plants: SAICA (El Burgo de Ebro) 7.5 MW (Spain's largest biogas cogeneration plant in 2008)
• Solar plants: OPEL 10 MW, Zuera 9,94 MW, Almonacid de la Sierra 5 MW, Santamaría (Sadaba) 4,5 MW.

Among the energy developments planned in the short and medium term (2010-2020), the following stand out: the 2,300 MW increase in wind power, the reversible hydroelectric plant that Endesa is projecting in the municipality of Mequinenza with water from the Ribarroja reservoir which will be around 750 MW, the expansion of the Moralets-Llauset reversible power plant that will gain a power of 400 MW in turbines, the 50 MW solar thermal power plant that Iberdrola plans to build in Bajo Aragón, another 50 MW thermosolar power plant in Villanueva de Sijena, the 49.9 MW coal waste energy recovery plant in Ariño, a 2 MW photovolcaic plant on the roofs of Sabeco (Villanueva de Gállego), the latest generation coal-fired power plant in Mequinenza with 37 MW (Rejected for environmental reasons), the Hybridized Biomass Thermoelectric Solar Power Plant in Belver de Cinca 17.6 MW, about 15 forest lignocellulosic biomass plants with about 35 MW, five slurry biogas plants with about 13.5 MW and a hydrogen plant in Robres.

Production of biofuels

Aragon has six biodiesel production plants with a combined production capacity of 272,000 tons/year:

Thermal production

The Aragon Energy Plan contemplated having 44,165 m² of solar panels available by 2012.

Education and research

University of Zaragoza

Education in Aragon is regulated by the Department of Education, University, Culture and Sports of the Government of Aragon since in 1999, the community assumed this responsibility. Aragón has more than 200,000 students, according to the PISA report (2010), Aragón exceeded the Spanish and OECD average, approaching the countries with the best educational level in Europe.

University of Zaragoza

The University of Zaragoza is a public higher education center, distributed geographically among the Zaragoza, Huesca, Jaca, Teruel and La Almunia de Doña Godina campuses, all within the community. In 2008 it had more than 32,000 students and 3,500 faculty members among its 22 centers and 74 degrees. In recent years, the creation of university institutes has increased in order to carry out research in different fields, such as science or the environment, among others. Its current rector is José Antonio Mayoral Murillo.

The origins of higher education in Aragon date back to the I century BC. C., to the legendary academy founded in Huesca by Quinto Sertorio. Pedro IV of Aragon founded the Sertoriana de Huesca University in 1354, the first in Aragon. The University of Zaragoza has its origins in a cathedral school created in the XII century, where grammar and philosophy were taught and grants were granted. bachelor's degrees, later it was founded in 1542. Until 1845 Aragon had two universities, the one in Huesca and the one in Zaragoza, the first being closed in that year, creating the current Provincial Archaeological Museum of Huesca on its location.

Saint George University

Universidad San Jorge

San Jorge University is a private university promoted by the San Valero Foundation and founded on Christian humanism. The university campus, located 8 km from Zaragoza, in Villanueva de Gállego, has the Faculty of Communication, the Faculty of Health Sciences and the School of Architecture and Technology.

Currently, San Jorge University has more than 2000 students, 16 degrees and 8 master's degrees. Regarding research, the USJ develops six chairs and more than ten research groups in different areas.

Canfranc Underground Laboratory

The Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC) is an underground scientific facility located next to the municipality of Canfranc. It is dedicated to underground science, especially to the investigation of dark matter and the detection of unlikely events, and for this reason it is installed under the Aragonese Pyrenees, at a depth of about 850 meters.

It is managed by a consortium formed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain, the Diputación General de Aragón (DGA) and the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR).

Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory

The Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory is an astronomical ICTS (Singular Scientific-Technical Installation) located in the Teruel municipality of Arcos de las Salinas. The facilities are located on Pico del Buitre (1958 meters above sea level), in the Sierra de Javalambre.

The observatory is designed and managed by the Cosmos Physics Studies Center of Aragon (CEFCA), dependent on the Department of Industry and Innovation of the Government of Aragon. Linked to the observatory, Galactica, a Center for the Diffusion and Practice of Astronomy, is currently under development.

Health

The community has 121 health centers, 868 local clinics and 5,445 beds installed in 29 hospitals.

Transportation

The strategic situation of Aragon, placing it between important communities and capitals, makes it possible to see benefits in State investments, although they are always insufficient and projected with little foresight, which makes them useless in a matter of years.

Airports

Aragon has several airports and aerodromes:

• Zaragoza Airport, located 10 km southwest of the center of the capital. In addition, the airport is experiencing an increase in passengers since the Ryanair rash, surpassing its own record year after year and placing itself in 2008 with 594 952 users according to AENA. The destinations offered by the airport are numerous such as London, Paris, Brussels, Bucharest, Malaga, Seville, Canary Islands, Palma de Mallorca, or Milan and with plans to expand routes. The companies operating at the airport are: Ryanair, Vueling, Air Nostrum, Air Europa and Wizzair.
  

  Zaragoza Airport

In addition to passenger growth, special mention has the goods transported by plane. In a few years it has become the reference of Spain to logistics, becoming the third Spanish airport, with approximately 30 000 tons transported per year. The airport of Zaragoza is one of the most important knots in the world, where they come together in the same area, by plane, by train and by road. It has the largest logistics platform in Europe (PLAZA), along with exclusive railway branches that reach the same airport.

• 

  Teruel Airport from east on March 4, 2016
  Huesca-Pirineos Airport, located 10 km from the capital of Alto Aragón. Previously he had destinations to Lisbon, La Coruña, Madrid and Valencia. At present, due to the shortage of users the airport has a single commercial flight in summer season to Menorca.
• Teruel Airport: located next to the town of Caudé, 11 km from Teruel. The airport is currently managed and operated by the Teruel Airport Consortium, known commercially as the Teruel Airport Platform, PLATA. Its main function is industrial aeronautics, hosting a center for the parking, maintenance and recycling and dismantling of aircraft, It has several permanent customers as a subsidiary of the multinational company Airbus, flight school, medicalized helicopter service 112, rocket engine bank, flight tests, research, training and flight of passengers in executive aviation and medium-sized aircraft. It has been operating since February 2013, being its first CEO Alejandro F. Ibrahim Perera

• Aerodromo de Santa Cilia de Jaca, located 14 km east of Jaca, in the heart of the Pyrenees bases its activity on private flights, tourism and ultralight.
• Villanueva de Gállego airfield, located 15 km north of Zaragoza, is dedicated to recreational uses.

Road network

Autovía Mudéjar en Teruel

Aragon has assumed exclusive jurisdiction over roads whose itinerary runs entirely in its territory, these roads being owned by the General Deputation of Aragon, the three provincial councils or the different Aragonese municipalities. In total there are about 10,700 km approx. with which Aragon has, being the owner of almost half the DGA itself. The State owns some 2,200 km, while some 3,000 km belong to the different councils.

The DGA is immersed in a process of renovation and conservation of its roads, without forgetting the current demands, thus having the first regional highway paid with the shadow toll system under construction and that will link the towns of El Burgo de Ebro and Villafranca de Ebro, thus joining the N-II, the AP-2, the N-232 and the A-222, this first section being the origin of the Fifth belt (Z-50) of the Aragonese capital. In addition, other regional highways such as Gallur-Cariñena and Gallur-Ejea are in different phases of study.

The State has a large number of highways, highways and national roads in Aragon, due to the crossroads situation in which Aragon is located.

Accessibility by municipalities

At the moment,^[when?] several groups are critical of the situation of the N-II and N-232 since in their sections without Unfolding Fatal accidents are constant, which is why the liberalization of the tolls of the AP-68 and AP-2 in their sections where the national highway is not unfolding is requested.

The roads dependent on the three councils are subject to conservation works in some sections, although it is requested that said ownership be transferred to the DGA so that it forms part of the Autonomous Highway Network.

Railway

Huesca railway station, which hosts AVE trains from the Zaragoza-Huesca line, branch of the main line between Madrid and Barcelona

The Aragon railway network is extensive, with sections of conventional track, while other sections are High Speed.

In 2003, and not without controversy, the Madrid-Zaragoza-Lérida High Speed Line (LAV) was inaugurated, with stops in Calatayud and Zaragoza. Subsequently, High Speed would arrive in Huesca, capital of the Hoya de Huesca (Plana de Uesca) region, although with a route that prevents high-speed trains from developing, due to the poor design of the high-speed line. In February 2008 the works were completed and the High Speed Line reached the city of Barcelona. In addition, the Zaragoza-Teruel line is being renovated so that it can become a high-capacity route and that it will be incorporated into the Cantabrian-Mediterranean High-Speed axis. The tracks are currently being renovated to make them UIC gauge, since the electrification of the line and its doubling are not expected in the short term.

As for the rest of the Aragonese network, the Canfranc international line stands out, whose route was suspended between that town and France in the 1970s after the destruction of a bridge on the French side. Since then, the line has barely survived, having requested its reopening as a step prior to the construction of a low-level tunnel through the Central Pyrenees.

Culture

Portrait of the painter Francisco de Goya (1826), by Vicente López

Art

Folklore

Traditional costume

Inhabitants of Ansó with typical costumes (1907)

Depending on the area, there are different traditional costumes such as the Ansotano and Cheso, Belsetán, Chistabín or Fragatí costumes. In general, the differences between the costumes of the Pyrenees and those of the rest of Aragon are more pronounced.

With a clear Mudejar influence, in some towns, the most popular costume in much of Aragon is composed (with certain variations) of a scarf tied on the head (sometimes called a cachirulo), open pants, a blanket as a belt at the waist and espadrilles for men. The women wear wide skirts, a bustier, breeches, openwork stockings, a shawl, an apron, and espadrilles.

Music and dance

One of the popular dances and songs is the jota, a dance that took place between the late XVIII century and the beginning from the XIX. It is a very spirited and cheerful dance that is danced with a lot of movement and big jumps. The cante usually has a melancholic rhythm with a frequently sly note. Traditional Aragonese music also survives, using instruments such as the psaltery (chicotén), the chiflo, the Aragonese bagpipe or boto bagpipe, the dulzaina and the accordion.

In some places different types of dance are typical, with flapping and swords, allusions to fights between Moors and Christians.

Languages

Linguistic distribution in Aragon

In most of Aragon, Spanish is spoken, which is also the official language in the entire community as in the rest of the State. In the northern part of the community the Aragonese language is spoken. On the other hand, in the east of the community, called the Aragon strip, various dialects of Catalan are spoken. After the approval of the Law of Languages of Aragon in 2009, already promised by the then president Marcelino Iglesias in his first legislature, the Aragonese language and Catalan began to appear as languages of Aragon, although not official.

Until the approval of the Language Law, the Aragonese and Catalan languages were not recognized as Aragon's own languages in the Autonomy Statute, but the Aragon Cultural Heritage Law already provided for their protection (and even for its officiality).

A language law of Aragon will provide the specific legal framework to regulate the co-officiality of Aragonese and Catalan, minority languages of Aragon, as well as the effectiveness of the rights of the respective linguistic communities, both in terms of teaching and in their own language, and in the full normalization of the use of these two languages in their respective territories.

Law 3/1999, of 10 March, of the Aragonese Cultural Heritage. Official Gazette of Aragon No. 36 of 29 March 1999

Legally, regulation until then was scarce, although Aragonese Law 1/1999, of February 24, on Inheritances due to death should be highlighted, which allows both succession agreements and wills to be drawn up at any time. language or linguistic modality of Aragon (articles 67 and 97), and Law 2/2003, of February 12, on the matrimonial economic regime and widowhood, whose article 14 says:

The marriage chapters may be drafted in any language or language of Aragon that the grantors choose. If the authorizing notary does not know the language or modality chosen, the chapters shall be given in the presence and with the intervention of an interpreter, not necessarily official, appointed by the grantors and accepted by the notary, who shall sign the document.

Act No. 2/2003 of 12 February on the economic system of marriage and widowhood. Part II, art. 14. [2]

• Spanish is currently the only official and majority language in the Aragonese territory. The Spanish dialect spoken in the community, called Aragonese Spanish, has its own features. Most of these features come from the Aragonian language. Aragonese Spanish can be included among the northern variants of Spanish, with its own characteristics mainly in the intonation and vocabulary. The Spanish spoken in the Eastern Strip is part of the Spanish variety in Catalan territories, characterized by the influence and loans of Catalan.
• The Aragonese is spoken in localities of the provinces of Huesca and Zaragoza, and from it there are traces in the discourse of the provinces of Zaragoza, Teruel, La Rioja, Navarra (see Glosas Emilianenses) and to a lesser extent in some Catalan, Valencian and murcian towns. This language is considered by the European Union as the minority language that is most at risk of disappearing, and therefore urges the General Assembly of Aragon to respect and promote its use. Since 2013, the Aragonese language law has received the official name of the Aragonian language of the Pyrenean and Pre-Pyrenean areas. In the 2010s, 25 556 Aragonese speakers in the autonomous community were recorded.
• Catalan is spoken, in various local varieties, in the regions of the East Aragon Strip (see Catalan language in Aragon); the talk of each place is usually called with local names such as for example Franco (of Fraga), Tamaritan (from Tamarite de Litera) and Maellano (from Maella). Formerly these varieties were often called chapurreo, derogatory name that is avoided today. This language was quite normalized even before the adoption of the Language Act, as in localities such as Fraga the possibility of obtaining in Aragonese public education the title of Catalan receiving classes of this language in extracurricular time for four years in Primary or during the four years of compulsory secondary education. However, there is a minority that denies that the varieties spoken in the Gaza Strip be Catalan dialects, alleging political and social reasons. Since 2013, the Catalan of this area has been officially called the Aragonian language of the eastern area by the Aragonese language legislation. In the 2010s, 55 513 Catalan speakers were accounted for in the autonomous community.

Gastronomy

slices of ham, cecina and lomo, Teruel products

Wines with Designation of Origin

The gastronomy of Aragon is influenced by the neighboring Cantabrian and Mediterranean regions. Different vegetables are known, such as tomatoes, onions (onions from Fuentes de Ebro are especially famous since they do not sting), borage (especially in the regions near Zaragoza), cardoons, garlic, etc. Abundant mushrooms (robellones, oyster mushrooms, etc.) can be found in autumn. Among the fruits we must mention the peach, with types that have designation of origin such as the Late Peach from Bajo Aragón, known as the Calanda peach or the early fruit varieties that come from Bajo / Baix Cinca. Plums and pears are also known.

From Aragon are famous migas de pastor, lamb from Aragon, Teruel ham, borage, cardoon, wines from their different Denominations of Origin (Somontano, Campo de Borja, Cariñena, Calatayud), chiretas, the tortetas, the sausage, the meat a la pastora, the borage crespillos, the chilindrón chicken, the almonds, the honey, the Calanda peach, etc. There are two Denominations of Origin for olive oil, Bajo Aragón and Sierra del Moncayo. In the area of Bajo / Baix Cinca you can find high quality olive oils since during the Muslim era it had been known as the land of olive trees (Al Zaytún). Since the Middle Ages, there is evidence of honey production in Mequinenza, with cherry, rosemary and thyme honey being especially appreciated.

Teruel cheese

In meats, Teruel ham and ternasco are famous, which has a specific denomination of Ternasco de Aragón, as well as lamb al chilindrón or chiretas. Among the birds, the chilindrón chicken and the chicken in pepitoria are famous. The sausages are also very well known, such as the black pudding, the Graus sausage and the butifarra. Among the fish is ajoarriero cod, baturra cod, rancid sardines, Aragonese-style trout, Turolense-style trout or frog legs.

There are also high-quality cheeses, such as the well-known Tronchón cheese. The cheeses from Alcañiz (Santa Bárbara), Samper de Calanda, Hecho and Ansó, Biescas, El Burgo de Ebro and Gistaín are also famous. Migas de pastor are also very famous, which are generally prepared with garlic, onion, bacon, chorizo or black pudding, and eaten with grapes. At Christmas it is very typical to cook cardoon with almond and pine nut sauce.

In Aragón there are delicious desserts and very elaborate sweets, such as the fruits of Aragón, the Almudévar braid, the Russian cake, the chestnuts of Huesca, the ties of Jaca, the guirlache, the cobblestones of Pilar, the soul cakes, the cocas, the sand eel of San Jorge, the peach with wine, etc.

Media

Aragon currently has its own recently created television and radio station. It also has numerous Aragonese newspapers.

Television

Aragón TV studio installed in the Plaza de las Catedrales during the Fiestas del Pilar of 2008

On April 21, 2006, Aragón TV, the regional television station of Aragón, officially began its broadcasts. The law for the creation of CARTV (Corporación Aragonesa de Radio y Televisión) dated from 1987, but various political disputes relegated the project during several legislatures.

During the years that Aragón did not have a public television, several communication groups tried to make up for its absence. On the one hand, TVE-Aragón, having its Territorial Center in the Aragonese capital, produced various programs and news aimed at the Aragonese people. As for the private groups, several were the projects. The one that had the most acceptance for many years was Antena Aragón, which came to be considered as the regional television. This chain came to light in 1998 and disappeared in 2005 shortly after having to abandon the Audiovisual Production Center (CPA), where it had its headquarters, since it was built by the DGA to house the future Aragonese public television. With the push of the creation of public television, Antena Aragón merged with RTVA (Radio Televisión Aragonesa), belonging to the Heraldo Group. The merger of Antena Aragón and RTVA gave rise to the channel ZTV (Zaragoza Televisión). On the other hand, Antena 3 Televisión broadcast for several years, and offline for Aragón, a completely Aragonese news program, having a broadcast center in the Pine Forests of Venice in the Aragonese capital, within the Zaragoza amusement park facilities.

Aragón TV came to light in 2006 after having spent a season broadcasting an adjustment letter and a loop with images of Aragonese towns, and having the sound of the regional radio as audio.

Producers

The audiovisual sector includes some production companies, such as:

• Lobomedia that has made several programs for autonomic television and for the disappeared Antena Aragón
• CHIP participated by the PRISA group as well as the Aragonese savings boxes CAI and Ibercaja and the Herald group that supplies programs to Aragón Televisión
• Media news, an information producer belonging to the Aragón Digital Group.
• DelRio Audiovisual Communication, which carries out the programs The Pera Limoneraand La Reperaof gastronomic content.

Radius

On August 18, 2005, the regional public radio station of Aragón, Aragón Radio, began its broadcasts at 5:00 p.m. with the sound of drums and bass drums from Calanda and with a song by the Zaragoza group Los Peces. The audience of said radio is between 20,000 listeners, according to the latest EMG, and 70,000, according to private measurements.^[when?] The regional radio is based on the news having news bulletins every hour from 7:00 in the morning to 0:00. It also has programs on sports, music, trends, etc. and broadcasts numerous sporting events.

Press

In addition to other national newspapers, some of which have a specific section for Aragon, the community has several Aragonese newspapers:

• Herald of Aragon: It is the dean and most widely distributed newspaper in the autonomous community. In this journal you can find news of all kinds, with special importance the information of Aragon, of its cities and districts. It publishes various supplements that treats with outstanding importance the Aragonian sport (Heraldo Deportes), culture (Artes y Letras), education (Heraldo Escolar) and the environment (Frontera Azul and Aragon mountain country).
• The Aragon Newspaper, belonging to the Zeta Group, is also an important community journal. The Zeta Group also had a sports newspaper, Daily equipment, disappeared in 2009 and the main protagonist of Aragonese sport.
• Diario del AltoAragón: the news that happened in the Oscensian districts, as well as those of Aragon and the rest of the present day, is particularly important.
• Diario de Teruel the present day of the province of Teruel, in addition to that of the rest of the Aragonese territory and all the present.
• Arredol is the first digital newspaper written in the Aragonian language. It is responsible for the majority of Aragon, although it also records state and international news.
• The Aragonese Crusade: weekly Alto Aragonés published in Barbastro with news from the region of Somontano.
• La Comarca: newspaper with two weekly editions with the current history of Bajo Aragón, made up of the districts of Bajo Aragón, Bajo Aragón Caspe, Andorra Sierra de Arcos and Matarraña.
• Jiloca Comarcal: a biweekly newspaper of the districts of Jiloca and Campo de Daroca.
• The present day of the region: Newspaper similar to the previous but monthly strip, in Calatayud and surrounding areas, free and from the region of Calatayud.
• The Jalon region: weekly strip, offers information of all kinds related to the region of Calatayud, Aranda, Daroca countryside and part of Valdejalón.
• The Chronicle of the Five Villas: monthly newspaper where the news related to the region of the Five Villas is collected.
• The Voice of Axis: similar to the previous one, but focusing on the news of the capital of the Five Villas, Axie of the Knights.
• The Voice of Lower Cinca: monthly newspaper information of all kinds related to the region of Bajo / Baix Cinca.
• Aragon University:biweekly newspaper of university and free distribution at the university campuses of Zaragoza, Huesca, Teruel, Villanueva de Gállego and La Almunia.
• La Comarca: newspaper that collects news of the geographical area of the historical Bajo Aragon.

Notable people