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34-524: The district was under control of military orders following the 12th-century Christian reconquest of the area from the Moors . It also had a significant role in the 19th century Carlist Wars and the 20th century Spanish Civil War . After many years of decline the area is undergoing some re-vitalization, helped by funding from the European Union and tourism. The earliest signs of human habitation date back to

68-531: A halt to economic decline in the region and the injection of European Union funding has led to the development of heritage centres and cooperatives providing training in practical crafts. Agriculture, including pigs, poultry, sheep, goats and smallholdings predominate in the valleys. In 1995, Ken Loach 's award winning film about the Spanish Civil War, Land and Freedom , was filmed in the Maestrazgo. Life in

102-579: A military order; the Military Order of Loyalty ( Spanish : Orden Militar de la Constancia ) was founded in 1946 by the Spanish protectorate in Morocco . Awarded to both Spanish and Moroccan military officers and soldiers , the single-class order was abolished in 1956. Teruel Province Teruel ( Catalan : Terol [təˈɾɔl] ) is a province of Aragon , in the northeast of Spain. The capital

136-474: A site near Morella. The animal was believed to have lived in the early Cretaceous period, approximately 120 million years ago. Funding from wind energy companies and the regional government has aided the excavations and will support a dinosaur museum to be opened at Morella. 40°10′34″N 1°6′34″W  /  40.17611°N 1.10944°W  / 40.17611; -1.10944 Military order (society) A military order ( Latin : militaris ordo )

170-576: A united Polish–Lithuanian army routing the Knights at Tannenberg in 1410. The Knights' state survived, from 1466 under Polish suzerainty. Prussia was transformed into a secular duchy in 1525, and Livonia in 1562 . These are military orders listed chronologically according to their dates of foundation and extinction, sometimes approximate due to scarce sources, and/or repeated suppressions by Papal or royal authorities. Presently active institutions are listed in consideration with their legitimacy according to

204-431: Is Teruel . It is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona , Castellón , Valencia (including its exclave Rincón de Ademuz ), Cuenca , Guadalajara , and Zaragoza . The area of the province is 14,809 km² . Its population is 134,572 (2018), of whom about a quarter live in the capital, and its population density is 9.36/km². It contains 236 municipalities, of which more than half are villages of under 200 people. Teruel

238-946: Is a Christian religious society of knights . The original military orders were the Knights Templar , the Knights Hospitaller , the Order of the Holy Sepulchre , the Order of Saint James , the Order of Calatrava , and the Teutonic Knights . They arose in the Middle Ages in association with the Crusades , in the Holy Land , the Baltics , and the Iberian peninsula ; their members being dedicated to

272-573: Is derived from the word maestre (English meaning - master) as these territories were historically under the jurisdiction of the Grand Masters of the military orders of the Knights Templar , St John of Malta and Montesa . In 1838, during the Carlist Wars , the military district of la Comandancia General del Maestrazgo was created by Ramón Cabrera . During the Spanish Civil War the area

306-635: Is the second-least populated province of Spain , and also the second-lowest in population density, in both counts after the province of Soria . The main language throughout the province is Spanish (with official status), although Catalan is spoken in a northeastern area bordering Catalonia . This province is located in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico area. The main ranges in the province of Teruel are Sierra de la Virgen , Sierra de Santa Cruz , Sierra de Cucalón , Sierra de San Just , Sierra Carrascosa , Sierra Menera , Sierra Palomera , Sierra de Javalambre , Sierra de Gúdar , Sierra de Albarracín and

340-722: The Cervera Mountains , Serra del Turmell , Serra de l'Espadella , Moles de Xert and the Benifassà Mountains , form the Mediterranean end of the Sistema Ibérico . The highest point is the 1,831 metres (6,007 ft) high Penyagolosa , located at the southern end of the region. At the base of the mountain is the important pilgrimage destination of Sant Joan de Penyagolosa. In the Castellón province administrative divisions,

374-678: The Hungarian nobility swear loyalty to him. Shortly thereafter, the Order of the " Knights of the Band " was founded in 1332 by King Alfonso XI of Castile . Both orders existed only for about a century. The original features of the military orders were the combination of religious and military ways of life. Some of them, like the Knights Hospitaller , the Knights of Saint Thomas , and the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus also had charitable purposes and cared for

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408-556: The International Commission on Orders of Chivalry . They are divided into international and national according to their adherence, mission, and enrollment, disregarding the extent of eventual gradual geographical distribution outside of their region of concern. Thus when being recognized, the Pope allowing only the " Order Of Christ " a Portuguese order and its Papal branch Supreme Order of Christ can claim to have any descent from

442-710: The Knights Templar in 1118 provided the first in a series of tightly organized military forces for the purpose of opposing Islamic conquests in the Holy Land and in the Iberian Peninsula — see the Reconquista — as well as Islamic invaders and pagan tribes in Eastern Europe which were perceived as threats to the Church's supremacy. The first secularized military order was the Order of Saint George , founded in 1326 by King Charles I of Hungary , through which he made all

476-788: The Montes Universales , among others. Most of the Teruel Province has undergone massive depopulation since the middle of the 20th century. This situation is shared with other areas in Spain, particularly with those near the Iberian mountain range (much of the provinces of Soria , Guadalajara and Cuenca ) and with other areas in Aragón . The exodus from the rural mountain areas in Teruel rose after General Franco 's Plan de Estabilización in 1959. The population declined steeply as people migrated towards

510-494: The Muslim sect of Assassins . In 1820, José Antonio Conde suggested they were modeled on the ribat , a fortified religious institution which brought together a religious or hospital way of life with fighting the enemies of Islam. However popular such views may have become, others have criticized this view, suggesting there were no such ribats around Outremer until after the military orders had been founded. The role and function of

544-705: The Normans . In response to the Islamic conquests of the former Byzantine Empire , numerous Catholic military orders were set up following the First Crusade . The founding of such orders suited the Catholic church's plan of channeling the devotion of the European nobility toward achieving the Church's temporal goals, and it also complemented the Peace and Truce of God . The foundation of

578-714: The Pleistocene era, 25,000 years ago. Cave paintings have been discovered in many locations and they have been designated by UNESCO as part of the Rock Art of the Mediterranean Basin on the Iberian Peninsula World Heritage Site . Occupation by the Ilercavones , a tribe of Iberians , Romans and the Moors followed, but the identity of the region was first established following the Reconquista when

612-485: The grand master at the top. The Knights Templar, the largest and most influential of the military orders, was suppressed in the early fourteenth century; only a handful of orders were established and recognized afterwards. However, some persisted longer in their original functions, such as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Order of Saint John , the respective Catholic and Protestant successors of

646-572: The Germans' and Danes' conflict with the pagan Wends was a holy war analogous to the Reconquista; he urged a crusade until all heathens were baptised or killed. The new crusaders' motivation was primarily economic: the acquisition of new arable lands and serfs; the control of Baltic trade routes; and the abolishment of the Novgorodian merchants' monopoly of the fur trade. From the early 13th   century

680-889: The Holy Land to the Baltic. Between 1229 and 1290, the Teutonic Knights absorbed both the Brothers of the Sword and the Order of Dobrzyń, subjugated most of the Baltic tribes and established a ruthless and exploitative monastic state . The Knights invited foreign nobility to join their regular Reisen , or raids, against the last unconquered Baltic people, the Lithuanians . These were fashionable events of chivalric entertainment among young aristocrats. Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania , converted to Catholicism and married Queen Jadwiga of Poland resulting in

714-516: The Knights Hospitaller, alongside the Order of the Holy Sepulchre , which remains active under the Pope's sovereignty. Those military orders that survive today have evolved into purely honorific or ceremonial orders or else into charitable foundations. In 1053, for the Battle of Civitate , the Knights of Saint Peter ( Milites Sancti Petri ) was founded as a militia by Pope Leo IX to counter

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748-620: The Maestrazgo is divided into Alt Maestrat and Baix Maestrat . The historical territory does not exactly match these boundaries including also parts of Alcalatén and Plana Alta . In Aragon , Teruel Province there is a comarca officially called Maestrazgo since 1999, but historically locations in other districts were also part of the Maestrazgo. The region has formed a Mancomunidad, a free association for cooperative purposes, between fifty five municipalities. Major settlements include Vilafranca , Cantavieja , Morella and Alcañiz . The Maestrazgo Cultural Park has been established to protect

782-790: The Templars, which is now used for Honorary State merits in Portugal and preserved as such. In 1609, King Henry IV of France linked it in France administratively to the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to form the Royal Military and Hospitaller Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem united , which remained listed as of royal protection in the French Royal Almanac until 1830. England Chivalric and/or military orders that could qualify depending on definition. A few of

816-482: The area and much of its history is described vividly in Jason Webster 's 2009 book Sacred Sierra - A Year on a Spanish Mountain . Efforts have been made to halt de-population by attracting immigrants from South America and Romania . This has had some success, helping keeping village facilities alive. In 2008 palaeontologists discovered an intact specimen of a previously unknown species of sauropod dinosaur at

850-474: The area was dominated by military orders . Local stories persist that a group of Cathars , led by the perfectus Guillaume Bélibaste escaped from Carcassonne and took refuge in the Maestrazgo, living with a small community near Morella for about ten years, before being betrayed by a spy in the service of the Inquisition . Bélibaste was taken to Carcassonne and burnt at the stake there. The name Maestrazgo

884-452: The industrial areas and the large cities in Spain, leaving behind their small villages where living conditions were often harsh, with cold winters and very basic facilities. As a consequence there are many ghost towns in different parts of the province. A great number of surviving towns in Teruel province have only a residual population, reviving somewhat during the summer when a few city-dwellers spend their holidays there. Other causes of

918-454: The institutions survived into honorific and/or charitable organizations, including the papal orders of knighthood . While other contemporary Catholic societies may share some military organizational features and ideology, such as the Society of Jesus , they differ from the medieval military orders in the absence of military purposes or potential. Modern orders may still be founded explicitly as

952-572: The military orders extended beyond their military exploits in the Holy Land , Prussia , and the Baltics. In fact, they had extensive holdings and staff throughout Western Europe. The majority were laymen. They provided a conduit for cultural and technical innovation, such as the introduction of fulling into England by the Knights Hospitaller, and the banking facilities of the Knights Templar. In 1147 Bernard of Clairvaux persuaded Pope Eugenius III that

986-560: The military orders provided garrisons in Old Livonia and defended the German commercial centre, Riga . The Livonian Brothers of the Sword and the Order of Dobrzyń were established by local bishops. The Sword Brothers were notorious for cruelty to " pagans " and converts alike. The Teutonic Knights were founded during the 1190s in Palestine, but their strong links to Germany diverted efforts from

1020-464: The protection of pilgrims and Christians , as well as the defence of the Crusader states . They are the predecessors of chivalric orders . Most members of military orders were laymen who took religious vows , such as of poverty, chastity, and obedience , according to monastic ideals. The orders owned houses called commanderies all across Europe and had a hierarchical structure of leadership with

1054-780: The regional culture and landscape. The area lies between altitudes of 480 metres (1,570 ft) to 1,997 metres (6,552 ft) and is drained by the Guadalope and Turia rivers. The Maestrazgo supports a diverse section of plants and trees including thyme , rosemary , lavender , mint , pennyroyal , mountain tea , chamomile , black truffles , poplars , elms , ash , beech , holm oaks and black pine . Fauna includes ibex , muflón , wildcats , otters , pine martens , foxes , genets , goshawks , Bonelli's eagles , sparrowhawks , owls , vultures , and game and fish such as partridges , quails , hares , rabbits , wild boar , trout , and catfish . Tourism has in recent years brought

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1088-456: The sick and poor. However, they were not purely male institutions, as nuns could attach themselves as convents of the orders. One significant feature of the military orders was that clerical brothers could be subordinate to non-ordained brethren. In 1818, orientalist Joseph von Hammer compared the Catholic military orders, in particular the Knights Templar , to certain Islamic models such as

1122-409: The strong emigration have been the low productivity of traditional agricultural practices, like sheep and goat farming, the closing of mines, like the large Sierra Menera mine near Ojos Negros , as well as the lifestyle changes that swept over rural Spain during the second half of the 20th century. The " Teruel Exists " (Spanish: Teruel existe ) movement began at the turn of the 21st century. It

1156-609: Was intensively fought over, especially after the fall of Teruel . Republican guerillas of the Agrupación guerrillera de Levante y Aragón held out in the mountains of the Maestrazgo until the 1950s.(see Spanish Maquis ). The mountains in the Maestrazgo, like the Serra de la Creu , Serra d'En Segures , Talaies d'Alcalà , Serra de la Vall d'Àngel , Serra d'en Galceran , Serra d'Esparreguera , Serra de Sant Pere , Serra de Vallivana , Serra d'En Celler , Tossal de la Barbuda , Montegordo ,

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