Spain's Sendero Historico: The GR1. John HayesЧитать онлайн книгу.
II tied the conflict in Spain to his preaching for the First Crusade. From 1212 to 1295 the Christian kingdoms from the north reduced Muslim Spain (which after the fall of the Almoravid dynasty had disintegrated again into mini-states) to a rump in Granada.
Spanish Unification – the marriage of Ferdinand II of Castile and Isabella I of Aragón was the basis of the unification of Spain (secured by their grandson Charles V); they captured Granada, completing the reconquest in 1492 and in 1500 enforced a policy of Muslim exile or conversion (a similar policy had been adopted towards the Jewish community in 1492).
Churches and castles
The oldest Christian churches remaining along the GR1 are in the Asturias, a region that was never fully conquered by the Moors. A distinct ‘pre-Romanesque’ style of architecture developed, albeit with Visigothic and Arab (Mozarabic) influences. The oldest Spanish Romanesque buildings, with their distinctive semi-circular arches, are in modern-day Catalonia where the wonderfully-named Wilfred the Hairy forced his way south and populated what had been a sort of no man’s land between the Moors and Christians with monks and nuns. The famous Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll, built in the Romanesque style, was founded in 888.
The Riglos (Section 4, Stage 5 and Section 5, Stage 1)
Perhaps the best preserved Romanesque castle in the world, Loarre Castle, was built by Sancho III of Navarre (‘Sancho the Great’) on the site of a former Roman fortress, to defend the lands he had recently acquired from the Moors (as the Umayyad Caliphate was collapsing).
Ujué, further west along the GR1 in Navarre, whose superb defensive position was also valued by the Romans, was subsequently developed as a hill fortress to defend Pamplona (now known as Navarre) against the advancing Moors. Its Romanesque church was built in the 11th century but then fell into decay as the Moors retreated and the site lost its value. It was later rebuilt on a lavish scale, in Gothic grandeur, as a church fortress by Charles II (‘Charles the Bad’) who recognised the value of the location in his power struggle with the kingdom of Castile.
Sos del Rey Católico, another stunning hilltop town, was the birthplace of Ferdinand II, King of Aragón. Built to defend land newly acquired from the Moors, it’s a beautifully preserved medieval town with both Romanesque and Gothic elements. Ironically it was the marriage of Ferdinand II to Isabella I that, by ending Christian infighting, led to fortified locations like Sos del Rey Católico, Ujué, Olite and others losing their strategic significance.
It would be a mistake to assume that the larger fortified towns are the only things to excite a GR1 walker with an interest in medieval history. What is amazing, once you learn to spot the signs, is how almost every settlement has the remains of stone-built fortifications of some kind. These could be the huge square Moorish stone watch towers built on hills above villages or at the end of a valley; massive stone gates at the entrance to a village; or, more subtly, the alignment of street patterns around what would have been the defensive perimeter wall.
The loveliest surprise is often the sudden appearance of an old castle, a defensive tower on the side of a hill with commanding views across a valley. If you stumble upon such a place don’t worry, you’re probably not lost, there are just too many of them to mention them all in this guide.
While the castles and other fortifications lost much of their significance with the unification of Spain, chapels and churches continued to be used and developed. Even the tiniest village had a church and every architectural style is represented along the route – from pre-Romanesque through to neo-classical. Unfortunately nearly all the churches are locked and their treasures can be viewed only if the key holder is contacted notice as needs often to be given.
Many walkers will be happy to view the churches from the outside. If they don’t know how to identify an architecture style at the beginning of the trip they should be able to by the time they have finished. The most important distinction is between the older Romanesque churches (known as ‘Norman’ in Britain) which have semi-circular arches and apses, and the later Gothic churches which have a pointed arch and, in bigger buildings, flying buttresses.
It is interesting to study the different styles of tympanum and sculptures that greeted the worshipper over the main door as they entered the church. The Last Judgement is a favourite subject and early Renaissance tympanums often provide graphic reminders (originally they would have been in full colour), using contemporary imagery, of the unpleasant things that would happen to the medieval sinner.
Huge cliffs converging on the Noguera-Ribagorçana in the Sierra de Montsec area (Section 6, Stage 3)
Although the principle theme of the walk is Spanish medieval history (from the beginnings of the reconquest to the foundations of modern Spain) there is more on the route to interest the amateur historian. The walk finishes on the Mediterranean coast at Sant Martí d’Empúries near the site of a port founded by Greek colonists in 575BC. The remains, which are still being excavated, include the foundations of buildings and the street pattern associated with both Greek and Roman cities, making it one of the most important archaeological locations in Spain.
Industrialisation and the Spanish Civil War
The GR1 will also remind the walker of more recent aspects of Spanish history (for instance the trenches near Corconte, remnants of the tragedy of the Spanish Civil War), but what might provide the biggest surprise will be the abandoned villages in Aragón and the legacy of the rapid rural depopulation in the 1960s and 70s.
Every European country, and indeed most countries in the world, has experienced rural depopulation but in Spain it was a recent and extreme process. Compared with most western countries the impact of the industrial revolution in Spain was limited, relatively late and came to an abrupt halt with the Spanish Civil War. For two decades, the 1940s and 50s, the economy was at a standstill. Then in the sixties things changed almost overnight with industry and tourism developing rapidly and the Spanish economy experiencing a growth rate second only to Japan. The contrast between poverty in the countryside, where many villages were still without electricity, and the opportunities in the cities suddenly became all too obvious and people, particularly young women, voted with their feet and left.
Although the effects of post 1960s rural depopulation are easy to spot all across Spain they are especially dramatic along a particular stretch of the GR1 in Aragón between Arguis and Paúles de Sarsa. The walking is beautiful with wonderful views of the Pyrenees to the north and the 2000m Guara mountain immediately to the south. The abandoned farmsteads, villages and small towns however are even more remarkable. Houses with paper still hanging from the walls and woodwork painted in colours as fresh as the day it was applied give an impression that things were abandoned overnight. It feels unnervingly like a post-apocalyptic world.
Spain continues to experience turmoil and, after the almost magical transition from dictatorship and fascism, has experienced the extremes of boom and bust. At the time of writing the recession – or the ‘crisis’ as the Spanish refer to it – has persisted for seven years and the impact on young people in particular is dreadful. Linked perhaps to the crisis is the other great theme of contemporary Spanish life – separatism. Confronted with an assertive presentation of different flags, graffiti and, of course, language, the GR1 traveller could easily conclude as they journey east through the Basque Country, and later Catalonia, that they are experiencing the emergence of new countries.
What the trails are like
The GR1 follows paths originally designed to link village with village that were, until recently, the main thoroughfares as the vast majority of goods were carried by people, mules and donkeys. Many of these trails are in their original state and make for perfect walking. They are gently graded and designed for getting heavy loads steadily up and over hills. Quite often the work in constructing these routes is apparent with walls (above or below), conduits to remove water and even some of the original paving still in place. The most interesting paths are to be found in the mountains close to ancient stone villages. Here