Graus

Graus is a village in the Spanish province of Huesca, located in the Pyrenees at the confluence of rivers Esera and Isabena. It is the administrative capital of the region. It is one of the areas of Aragon in which is still preserved the Aragonese language.The Battle of Graus took place here, and Spanish philosopher Baltasar Gracián y Morales was exiled here. During the Spanish Civil War, the village of Graus served as a fairly important local commercial center with 2,600 inhabitants around 1936. It was a libertarian stronghold and a centre of collectivization at that time.GeographyThe municipality of Graus today includes the towns of: Abenozas, Aguilar, Aguinalíu, Bellestar, Benavente Aragon, Castarlenas, Centenera, Eixep, Güel, Chuseu, Panillo, La Puebla de Fantova, La Puebla del Mon, Pueyo de Marguillén, El Soler, Torres de Esera, Torre de Obato, Torrelabad, Torres del Obispo and Las Ventas de Santa Lucía.There are also uninhabited villages: Bafaluy, Cancer, Erdao, Fantova, Grustán, Pano and Torruella de Aragón.HistoryThe first population in Graus is dated from the Paleolithic as is evidenced by the remains found at the site of "Las Forcas" close to the Morral Rock.Being one the northernmost points of the Islam in Spain, Graus was reconquered by the Christians in 1083 by Sancho Ramirez in the Battle of Graus, after the death of Ramiro I in 1064 in the siege of Graus. After this battle, Graus was ceded to the monastery of St. Victorian of Asan, being responsible for rebuilding and repopulate the town, giving important privileges to those who populate Graus.