FIREFIGHTERS are racing against time to save two landmark monasteries from a massive wildfire tearing through northern Spain.
Flames threatened on Thursday to engulf the Old and New Monasteries of San Juan de la Peña, in the Aragon region, with firefighters braving the blaze to rescue invaluable relics from inside the historic buildings.
The monasteries, which form part of a protected heritage site, have so far suffered no damage, authorities said.
The operation came as more than 850 people were evacuated from 16 towns in Huesca province after the fast-moving blaze broke out in the Riglos area on Monday.
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More than 500 firefighters and 35 aircraft, including personnel from Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME), have been battling the flames around the clock since then.
The San Juan de la Peña monasteries are collectively known as the ‘cradle of the Kingdom of Aragon’ – a medieval power that eventually expanded across much of what is now Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia, as well as territories across the Mediterranean.
The Old Monastery, built in the 10th century, today houses several urns containing the remains of the Kings of Aragon.
Firefighters on Thursday rescued the urns from inside the monastery and transported them to the Huesca Museum for safekeeping as the flames continued to rage in the surrounding area.
They also rescued the ceremonial outfit of the Count of Aranda, a prominent 18th-century Spanish statesman and military commander who was born in Aragon. The outfit had been kept in a display case inside the monastery.
Responders also saved replicas of a chalice and several pieces of jewellery, including rings, as well as several carvings and a small sculpture that could be removed from the building.
The blaze around the monasteries is still raging, authorities said, with responders keeping a close watch on the site as the fire’s western front threatens to spiral out of control.
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A direct hit from the wildfire could cause an ‘enormous cultural and historical loss’, local officials said.
The Old Monastery became closely linked to the emerging Kingdom of Aragon in the 11th century, when the building was expanded and became a favourite of the early Aragonese kings.
Three of the kingdom’s earliest rulers – Ramiro I, Sancho Ramirez and Pedro I – were buried there, making the monastery one of the most important royal burial sites in medieval Aragon.
The New Monastery was built several centuries later after a devastating fire badly damaged the old complex in 1675.
Construction began the following year, with the new Baroque monastery eventually becoming the home of the Benedictine monks who had occupied the old site.
The two monasteries today form one of the most important religious and historical sites in the region and across Spain.
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