What a fantastic drive to reach Sos del Rey Católico – we just kept going up and up and the scenery just got better and better.

Those are the peaks of the Pyrenees in the background.

Top of the world Ma!

And this was the view from our hotel room – the incredible town of Sos del Rey Católico.

The history of the town

Sos del Rey Católico is a historic town and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, in Aragon. It is situated on rocky and elevated terrain and served as an important border town and stronghold from the year 907 when it was reclaimed by Sancho I of Pamplona. Ramiro I incorporated it into the Kingdom of Aragon in 1044.

In the year 1452, during the War of Navarre, Queen Juana Enríquez de Córdoba moved to the town, then called “Sos”. There she gave birth to the infante Ferdinand on March 10, 1452, who later became Ferdinand II of Aragon, one of the Catholic Monarchs. His birth added “d’o Rei Catolico” to the name of the town, which translates as either “You are of the Catholic Monarch” or “You belong to the Catholic Monarch”.

Castillo de Sos was built by Ramiro II of Aragon in the 12th century and all that remains of it today is the tall “tower of homage” which is topped with battlements that were a key vantage point from which to see the Pyrenean peaks, the Huescan and the Navarrese.

There was a primitive wooden castle built around the houses of the town, but nothing of that remains. As construction techniques evolved, the wood was replaced by stone.

Palacio de los Sada, this palace dates from the late 15th century, in Gothic style, and reformed in 16th and 17th centuries. It was built on the ruins of the castle and belonged to the Sada family from the French Provence. Here it was where Queen Juana Enriquez gave birth to the infante Ferdinand. Its façade has oval doors, coats of arms and shot of battlements. It preserves the courtyard and remains of the walls and a fortified tower.

Casa de la Villa, (town hall), a Renaissance building from the late 16th century, renovated in the 19th century, and restored to adapt to its current role as administrative headquarters of the municipal offices, in the 1980s. It has four floors, the main is believed to have been used for the horses and the local prison and the other three for administrative and justice functions. The courtyard has a special floor made up of a mosaic of pebbles, characteristic of the nobility constructions.

Iglesia de San Esteban, the building of this Romanesque church began in the 13th century. It is at the top of the town. There us a tunnel that connects the crypt with the church which was built in the 11th century and used as a burial site. The entrance to the church is through a great Romanesque portal which features a Pantocrator surrounded by the four evangelists represented as Tetramorph. Inside the church is an 8th century baptismal font, the Romanesque christ Cristo del Perdón which according to a church legend helped a woman to forgive the murderer of her son, and the recently restored Rococo organ.

Crypt of Santa María del Perdón, built in 1056 with donations of the Navarrese Queen Stephanie, Queen of Navarre. It has three small chapels decorated with frescoes depicting the life of Christ but are in very bad condition, in the crypt are two capitals made by Master Esteban, one of the architects of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Inside it is strictly forbidden to take pictures, and I didn’t take these but one of the other “Mutts” did 🤨.

Wandering through the streets of this wonderful town was magical and the views from the castle and the walls of the city were breathtaking…..

It was 33 degrees at 6pm and although some think my had is daft, I was very glad of it indeed 😜

We also had some very nice liquid refreshments in this quaint and quite cool bar.😎

We stopped quite close to this wind turbine on our way down the mountain into the town and couldn’t believe how noisy they are😳

The hotel we were staying in was super and the owners were so nice and friendly. They gave us the history of the town and all the local foods and told us all about the fiestas…. we think 🙈. We only got about a third of what they were saying between us 😝. This is our hotel sitting on the out there on it’s own opposite the town.

We had an electric storm last night and Sheila stood out on the balcony trying to get some photos of the lightning. This is one before

And this is one as the lightning struck and lit up the town.

That’s it from Sos del Rey Católico, next stop Burgos