The Jalón River plains
Site of the Luna family lordship, Terrer overlooks the Jalón River plains from atop a promontory on which the Muslims built a castle in the 9th century. Its rectangular floor plan was surrounded by two defensive enclosures – almost entirely lost today – and it was conquered by El Cid in 1081, as narrated in El Cantar del Mío Cid (The Song of My Cid).
However, the parish church of La Asunción de la Virgen is the monument that truly takes the spotlight here. The overall austerity that has characterized the temple since its thorough renovation in the Baroque era makes the Mudejar-style tower preserved from the original building stand out even more. Certain 14th century elements in the interior remain intact, such as the arches in the Islamic tradition and decorative painted brickwork features that bear close ties to those of the churches of Tobed, Cervera de la Cañada and Torralba de Ribota.
The open Muslim quarter, home of trades linked to the landscape
The construction of the church dates to the 14th and 15th centuries, and the Mudejar tower was erected adjacent to the south side of the chancel in around 1400. This square-plan tower is composed of two overlapping brick volumes: the lower section has stairs and the structure of a Hispano-Muslim minaret, and the upper section was designed to house the belfry and is finished with a spire. The decorative protruding brickwork and ceramic features are primarily in the lower part.
Historically, Terrer was home to clay tile makers and had a strong industry linked to brickmaking and the manufacturing of other molded pieces for portal moldings, vault ribs, etc., a craft typical of the Mudejars. A document dating from 1496 refers to the fact that in the kilns of Terrer “Zaragoza-style molded rejolas” (a kind of baked brick) were manufactured.
Terrer is also remarkable for its storerooms carved into the clay stone hills and sandstone terraces, and it also boasts several peirones, or wayside crosses, scattered throughout the municipality – those of San Antonio de Padua, San Juan and San Jorge – and an old sugar factory in the station district.