Flames force Spanish troops to evacuate 1,000-year-old kings’ bones from burning monastery

The remains had lain undisturbed in their stone pantheon for almost a thousand years, but a wildfire closing in on the mountain gave Spain’s emergency services no choice. Soldiers were forced to abandon the ancient monastery once as flames grew too dangerous, then returned a second time to finish the rescue. 

Troops had to retreat as the flames closed in mid-rescue

Spain’s Military Emergency Unit (UME) entered the Royal Monastery of San Juan de la Peña, in Huesca province, on Thursday as a wildfire that had been burning near Las Peñas de Riglos since Monday moved dangerously close to the site. The team, working alongside police officers and heritage officials, first managed to remove the ceremonial outfit of the Count of Aranda, an 18th-century Spanish statesman and military commander buried at the monastery, that was being kept in a display case inside the building. The proximity of the flames then forced the soldiers to retreat before they could remove anything else. 

The kings who built Aragón’s ‘cradle’ a thousand years ago

The Old Monastery, built into a cliff face in the 10th century, became one of the most important religious sites in medieval Spain after it was expanded in the 11th century and adopted as a favourite retreat by the early kings of Aragón. Three of the kingdom’s earliest rulers, Ramiro I, Sancho Ramírez and Pedro I, who reigned between 1035 and 1104, were buried inside in a stone pantheon. The site is still known locally as the cradle of the Kingdom of Aragón, the medieval power that later expanded across what is now Aragón, Cataluña and Valencia.

A second rescue saved the royal remains and centuries-old artwork

The team returned to the monastery a second time on Thursday, once conditions allowed, and removed the urns containing the remains of the three kings from the pantheon. They also recovered several historical paintings, replicas of a chalice, jewellery including rings, a number of carvings and a small sculpture that could be safely removed from the building. Everything rescued was driven to the Museo de Huesca, about 80 kilometres south of the monastery, where it will stay until the wildfire is brought under control.

More than 9,000 hectares burned as 16 towns are evacuated

The wildfire, which broke out on Monday August 10, has burned more than 9,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of 16 towns in Huesca province. More than 500 firefighters and 35 aircraft have been battling the blaze around the clock, and a 28-year-old man has since been arrested on suspicion of involvement, though investigators have not confirmed how the fire started.

The fire intensified on Thursday as temperatures rose and strong winds picked up, but the monastery itself remained undamaged on Friday morning. Local officials have warned that a direct hit would cause an enormous cultural and historical loss.

It is one of several major wildfires burning across Spain this summer. A separate blaze near Huelva has already burned more than 31,000 hectares and forced around 700 people from their homes. 

The fire’s western flank near the monastery is still active, and responders are keeping a close watch on the site as flames continue to threaten the surrounding protected woodland.