Maestrazgo
The Maestrazgo is a comarca ( administrative unit ) in the autonomous region of Aragon in Spain . It is located in the east of the province of Teruel and has about 3700 inhabitants on an area of 1204.3 km². The capital is Cantavieja , the largest of the 15 associated municipalities. The name comes from the Maestrazgo ridge, which also extends to the province of Castellón , where there are the comarcas Alt Maestrat (Spanish Alto Maestrazgo ) and Baix Maestrat (Spanish Bajo Maestrazgo ).
The comarca Maestrazgo borders in the west on the comarcas Andorra-Sierra de Arcos , Cuencas Mineras and Comunidad de Teruel , in the north on the comarca Bajo Aragón , in the west on the province of Castellón (including Alt Maestrat and Alcalatén ) and in the south on Gúdar- Javalambre .
In addition to Cantavieja, the communities Allepuz , Bordón , Cañada de Benatanduz , Castellote , La Cuba , Fortanete , La Iglesuela del Cid , Mirambel , Miravete de la Sierra , Molinos , Pitarque , Tronchón , Villarluengo and Villarroya de los Pinares belong to the comarca.
Historically, most of the places in the Maestrazgo belonged to the Knights Templar and, after its dissolution, to the Order of St. John . Cantavieja, Mirambel, Villarluengo and other places still preserve walled medieval town centers and / or castles, which reflect the defensive character that the knightly orders bestowed on the places.
The river Pitarque , the limestone formation of the Órganos de Montoro ( organs of Montoro ), the adjacent gorge of the Guadalope river ( Cañones del Guadalope ) and the Molinos grotto are important natural sites .
The general Ramón Cabrera y Griño withdrew with his troops at the end of the First Carlist War (1833-1840) in the Maestrazgo and made resistance there against the otherwise victorious troops of the Isabelline party . Various Spanish writers of the 19th century, including Benito Pérez Galdós , wrote about it in their works and made the maestrazgo well known in literature.
