The Wall

The entire complex is surrounded by a large wall that was built in 1287. The wall covers about , is made of ten sections of walls 1.30 meters thick and has a perimeter of . It is made with semicircular towers of two or three floors provided with loopholes without any type of symmetry and whose diameter is between 3.20 and 4.50 meters and there are between 10 and 30 meters of distance between them. The exception to the shape is the three-story quadrangular tower with a semicircular arch under which is the entrance known as "Puerta de los Reyes" located on the western side, the main door is on the eastern side, it is semicircular and is flanked by two semicircular towers.[7]​.

Albarrana Tower

It is located in the space between the wall and the castle and has received the name of the "Watchtower". Es una torre cuadrangular y que constaba de tres pisos, sus muros no están adornados y son lisos menos en el tercer piso, en donde hay tres ventanas, las de los muros este y oeste son ajimezadas y la ventana sur es de arco de medio punto. Está rematada por una bóveda semiesférica sobre cuatro trompas Se trata de una torre albarrana al estar exenta del castillo y situarse frente a la entrada, aunque se echa de menos los accesos externos de madera y el posible puente que la habría unido a la rampa de acceso del castillo[7]​.

The Castle

The entrance door of the castle is in Romanesque style with three superimposed semicircular arches, the central arch rests on two columns that have two capitals of vegetal decoration, while the exterior presents jaqués checkered decoration with the remains of a Pantocrator as decoration on the tympanum, having lost a large part of it due to a restoration in the 40s.[7]​.

Behind it opens an imposing staircase covered by a barrel vault and adorned with a jaquén checkered border. On the sides of the staircase there are two semicircular arches that open onto two rooms. The room on the left side is that of the guard room, it is a small rectangular room, about 2.7 meters by 4.9 meters, while the arch on the right, above which you can see a chrismon, faces the crypt of Santa Quintería, semicircular in shape where it corresponds to the apse, while the feet are shaped like a rectangle and which was a burial site.

St. Peter's Church

Above the crypt is the church of San Pedro, which is accessed by two narrow stairs.[7] It is a Romanesque construction with a single nave and a semicircular apse decorated with columns attached to the walls with capitals carved with fantastic, vegetal and biblical motifs. The nave is covered by a barrel vault and decorated by a long jaqués checkered border. Between the apse and the nave there is a 26-meter-high dome.

To the right of the construction are the quarters of the canons and the nobles who lived in the castle. There is also the dungeon (which was also used as a warehouse) and the weapons room. Several mullioned windows overlook where the town of Loarre was located until the 17th century.

To the south, in what was the original and most military part of the castle, is the parade ground and next to it the church of Santa María, the one that existed before the founding of the monastery. Highlights include the cistern with the capacity to store up to 8,000 liters of water, the military rooms, the north tower (which is destroyed) and the kitchens.

The queen's tower is located above the entrance to the military part and protects it. The keep, 22 meters high, has 5 floors and is connected to the castle by a drawbridge.[8]​.

One of the first films to be filmed in this setting was Valentina in 1982 and starring Jorge Sanz and Anthony Quinn and directed by Antonio José Betancor based on the novel Crónica del alba "Chronicle of the dawn (novel)") by Ramón José Sender Garcés.

Loarre Castle was the protagonist of the filming of the film Kingdom of Heaven (2005) by director Ridley Scott, starring among others, Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons. The town of Loarre participated in the filming of the film by acting as extras. The castle can be seen at the beginning and end of the film.

It was also the setting for the film Miguel y William (2006), with Elena Anaya, Juan Luis Galiardo, Geraldine Chaplin, Malena Alterio and Josep María Pou.

On the other hand, the same castle was used for the recording and broadcast of the missing program The Night of the Castles (TVE) (1994), in which a couple accompanied by a hostess from the program lived unforgettable adventures within it, with the mission of rescuing the princess. Many theatrical actors worked for this program, but it was canceled due to lack of budget and low screen quota.

In the TVE series El Ministerio del Tiempo (2015-2020), the Loarre castle is used as a prison.

In 2015, the historical novel El Castillo by Luis Zueco was published with the Loarre castle as the central point of the story.

In the middle of the covid-19 pandemic, into the summer of 2020, several scenes from the series The Order of the Knights of Santiago were filmed using the Quebrantahuesos rugby team as an extra, who were the soldiers assaulting the castle.

• - Annex: Castles of Spain.

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Loarre Castle.

• - Loarre Castle on CastillosNet.

• - Loarre Castle website.

• - Official website of the Association of Friends of Loarre Castle.

• - History and photographs of Loarre Castle.

• - Aragonese Romanesque: Loarre Castle.

• - 3D model of the Loarre castle.

The discovery of Roman coins on the site of the castle suggests that it was built on the Roman settlement of Calagurris Fibularia.[5]​.

The castle was built between the years 1033 and 1035 by order of King Sancho Garcés III of Pamplona to serve as a Navarrese border outpost due to its strategic location controlling the Arguis and Riglos passes, from which they organized attacks against the town of Bolea, located on the plain overlooking the construction. The royal building, the chapel, the Queen's tower, the parade ground, the military and service rooms and the keep (old albarrana tower) date from this period.

In March 1033 Lope Sánchez was already listed as lord "in Luar", while during the reign of Ramiro I Fortuño Aznárez was cited as lord of Loarre until 1062 with the exception of 1054, the year in which Lope Garcés appeared as lieutenant.[6][7]​.

Later, around 1071, during the reign of Sancho Ramírez, an extension was made to the complex and after which a monastery of canons of San Agustín was founded in connection with the monarch's policies with the pontificate. On October 17 of that year, Pope Alexander II "Alexander II (pope)"), who on the occasion of the introduction of the Roman rite in the monasteries of San Juan de la Peña, San Victorián and San Pedro de Loarre, placed the latter under his protection.[6]​.

Pedro I of Aragón, son of Sancho Ramírez, changed the head of the congregation to Montearagón, with which Loarre lost its monastery character. The eviction of the Muslims from the La Hoya region causes the castle to lose its military character, losing relevance and influence.[7]​.

During the reign of Pedro II, he pledged the towns of Bolea and Loarre to defray his military expenses to the noble Pedro de Ahonés, who already controlled the area of Sobrarbe and to which he later added the town of Tauste by transfer from Jaime I, although after his rebellion and subsequent death his towns returned to the crown once the rebellion in favor of his uncle the infant Fernando "Fernando de Aragón (abbot of Montearagón)") was quelled, after which he gave their tenure to the commander of the Hospital de San Juan de Jerualén order at least since 1263 and which they still held during the reign of Pedro III, who gave tenure to Abbot Fernando de Montearagón in the context of the war against the Union.[7] In mid-1287 the castle was sacked by Pedro de Ayerbe, who was one of the leaders of the side and after his death his son and wife must have paid a large amounts to the inhabitants of the town for the damage caused during the period that his men were in the castle.[7]​.

During the reign of Jaime II, ownership of the castle was held by Blasco Pérez de Azlor until his death, after which it was granted to Pedro Fernández de Bergua.[7]​.

Within the framework of the revolt of the Count of Urgell, this fortress served the Urgelist side, and saw action in the siege of 1413, when the Abbess Violante de Luna fiercely defended the castle but was also defeated by the royal side.[7]​.

In the 19th century, the population that lived at the foot of the castle moved to the current town of Loarre, reusing materials from the fortress.

The Wall

The entire complex is surrounded by a large wall that was built in 1287. The wall covers about , is made of ten sections of walls 1.30 meters thick and has a perimeter of . It is made with semicircular towers of two or three floors provided with loopholes without any type of symmetry and whose diameter is between 3.20 and 4.50 meters and there are between 10 and 30 meters of distance between them. The exception to the shape is the three-story quadrangular tower with a semicircular arch under which is the entrance known as "Puerta de los Reyes" located on the western side, the main door is on the eastern side, it is semicircular and is flanked by two semicircular towers.[7]​.

Albarrana Tower

It is located in the space between the wall and the castle and has received the name of the "Watchtower". Es una torre cuadrangular y que constaba de tres pisos, sus muros no están adornados y son lisos menos en el tercer piso, en donde hay tres ventanas, las de los muros este y oeste son ajimezadas y la ventana sur es de arco de medio punto. Está rematada por una bóveda semiesférica sobre cuatro trompas Se trata de una torre albarrana al estar exenta del castillo y situarse frente a la entrada, aunque se echa de menos los accesos externos de madera y el posible puente que la habría unido a la rampa de acceso del castillo[7]​.

The Castle

The entrance door of the castle is in Romanesque style with three superimposed semicircular arches, the central arch rests on two columns that have two capitals of vegetal decoration, while the exterior presents jaqués checkered decoration with the remains of a Pantocrator as decoration on the tympanum, having lost a large part of it due to a restoration in the 40s.[7]​.

Behind it opens an imposing staircase covered by a barrel vault and adorned with a jaquén checkered border. On the sides of the staircase there are two semicircular arches that open onto two rooms. The room on the left side is that of the guard room, it is a small rectangular room, about 2.7 meters by 4.9 meters, while the arch on the right, above which you can see a chrismon, faces the crypt of Santa Quintería, semicircular in shape where it corresponds to the apse, while the feet are shaped like a rectangle and which was a burial site.

St. Peter's Church

Above the crypt is the church of San Pedro, which is accessed by two narrow stairs.[7] It is a Romanesque construction with a single nave and a semicircular apse decorated with columns attached to the walls with capitals carved with fantastic, vegetal and biblical motifs. The nave is covered by a barrel vault and decorated by a long jaqués checkered border. Between the apse and the nave there is a 26-meter-high dome.

To the right of the construction are the quarters of the canons and the nobles who lived in the castle. There is also the dungeon (which was also used as a warehouse) and the weapons room. Several mullioned windows overlook where the town of Loarre was located until the 17th century.

To the south, in what was the original and most military part of the castle, is the parade ground and next to it the church of Santa María, the one that existed before the founding of the monastery. Highlights include the cistern with the capacity to store up to 8,000 liters of water, the military rooms, the north tower (which is destroyed) and the kitchens.

The queen's tower is located above the entrance to the military part and protects it. The keep, 22 meters high, has 5 floors and is connected to the castle by a drawbridge.[8]​.

One of the first films to be filmed in this setting was Valentina in 1982 and starring Jorge Sanz and Anthony Quinn and directed by Antonio José Betancor based on the novel Crónica del alba "Chronicle of the dawn (novel)") by Ramón José Sender Garcés.

Loarre Castle was the protagonist of the filming of the film Kingdom of Heaven (2005) by director Ridley Scott, starring among others, Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons. The town of Loarre participated in the filming of the film by acting as extras. The castle can be seen at the beginning and end of the film.

It was also the setting for the film Miguel y William (2006), with Elena Anaya, Juan Luis Galiardo, Geraldine Chaplin, Malena Alterio and Josep María Pou.

On the other hand, the same castle was used for the recording and broadcast of the missing program The Night of the Castles (TVE) (1994), in which a couple accompanied by a hostess from the program lived unforgettable adventures within it, with the mission of rescuing the princess. Many theatrical actors worked for this program, but it was canceled due to lack of budget and low screen quota.

In the TVE series El Ministerio del Tiempo (2015-2020), the Loarre castle is used as a prison.

In 2015, the historical novel El Castillo by Luis Zueco was published with the Loarre castle as the central point of the story.

In the middle of the covid-19 pandemic, into the summer of 2020, several scenes from the series The Order of the Knights of Santiago were filmed using the Quebrantahuesos rugby team as an extra, who were the soldiers assaulting the castle.

• - Annex: Castles of Spain.

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Loarre Castle.

• - Loarre Castle on CastillosNet.

• - Loarre Castle website.

• - Official website of the Association of Friends of Loarre Castle.

• - History and photographs of Loarre Castle.

• - Aragonese Romanesque: Loarre Castle.

• - 3D model of the Loarre castle.