Fighting Fantasy Frias

 Let’s be honest, Spain is what a fighting fantasy Mediaeval landscape should be.  Today, we will confirm that by wandering around Frias - but first, the Ebro.




The Ebro is 930km long and is the second longest river in Iberia.  It rises nearby and will run down to the Med.  Of its famous 1938 Battle, much later.  We are going to cross the 12th century bridge. The defences were added in the 14th.









Frias is everything you would want of a Mediaeval settlement.  Take a large lump of geology.  Add a castle and a church [so, no hamlet, in fact a city since 1435] and then allow it to grow some post Middle Aged spread as the populace built houses on the plain below.  We are going the wrong side of the town for the hanging houses and the like look at this https://www.ciudaddefrias.es/lugares-de-interes 








The town had numerous episodes of fisty cuffs, including with Napoleonic troops.  Diverse monasteries and chapels were built.  The chief of which is of Saint Vincent the Martyr.  One of its towers fell down in 1904 and its door was whisked off to the Cloisters Museum.  Wiki seems more keen to show how the council’s debt of 212000 euros in 2008 was paid off by 2013.  https://www.ciudaddefrias.es/historia










The 1202 Charter has a few points of note.

(2) Those who are going to live on top of the Muela, pay half of the tax that they must pay according to the charter of Logroño, but the rest pay their taxes in full.

(7) I also order that the market called Azog be held at the top of the Muela and the other market take place every Saturday on the hill.

(8) And the lord who rules in Frías, whoever he may be, should not place anyone in Frías who is not a resident of said town.

(9) And if anyone should wish to infringe or reduce this charter, he shall incur the wrath of Almighty God and the royal party shall pay a fine of one thousand aurei and, in addition, any damage committed shall be restored doubled.





Frias has dwindled a bit.  It peaked at 1372 souls in 1877.  270 people live there now.




Before we slip south we will nip into the city and visit the Ortiz Bar Restaurante.  It gets 4.2 stars.  Andrews wrote a week ago ‘A service of 10! Reservations are required. Excellent food, very good menu portions. Jose the waiter, very friendly to the group that we were in. Attentive to food allergies. Very delicious cheesecake’   A week before that Federico added ‘Highly recommended and almost mandatory to book. Very complete 25 euro menu. Adequate quantities and quality product. Good service.’












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