Mirambel

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Mirambel

A very active political enclave

Mirambel did not play a military role for Carlism. Its position in the valley, among other points much more susceptible to fortification and under the protection of Cantavieja, determined that it was a bustling political enclave full of activity. The Junta Superior Gubernativa de Aragón, Valencia and Murcia, which supported the work of Cabrera in his governmental actions, had its headquarters here.

With the establishment of a court of appeal, the beginning of a judicial structure was outlined. Closely linked to these political tasks, a printing press operated within its walls to disseminate the orders issued by its organs throughout the territory.

The Superior Governing Board

The Print Shop

El Serrador and the church fire

Baroja fascinated by Mirambel

In its early days, the Carlist insurrection had a military logic and Ramón Cabrera held all the power in the territory of Maestrazgo.

Since the establishment of the Junta Superior Gubernativa, Mirambel had a printing press to stamp the documents of this institution.

In February 1837 the remains of a liberal detachment that had been attacked by the ringleader Serrador arrived at Mirambel.

Pío Baroja dedicated one of his novels of the cycle “Memoirs of a man of action” to the war in Maestrazgo and entitled it La venta de Mirambel .

With the intention of supporting his activity, but also with the will to limit this absolute power, coinciding with the arrival of the Infante Don Carlos in 1837, a step was taken towards the institutionalization of Carlism in this area by creating the Junta Superior Gubernativa with headquarters in Mirambel. This separated the military functions, which would remain in the hands of General Cabrera, from the political-administrative ones, which would pass into the hands of a board composed of civilians, military and ecclesiastics and presided over by the Count of Cirat.

But it was in 1839 when the Printing House of the Royal Army, until then in Morella, moved here to print a new newspaper El libertador de Aragón, Valencia y Murcia, whose first issue appeared on April 20. It was published three times a week -Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays-, cost 36 reales a quarter and was edited in Calle Mayor. Starting with issue number four, it changed its title to Boletín de Aragón, Valencia y Murcia, whose subtitle was “Periódico de la Excma. Junta Superior Gubernativa de dichos reinos”.

To defend themselves from the imminent attack, the soldiers and the authorities of the town sought refuge in the church, but the Carlists did not hesitate to set fire to the temple until the ambushers surrendered when some of them had already lost their lives in the smoke and flames. The governor of Cantavieja, who commanded the troops, preferred to die among the ruins of the tower rather than surrender. The papers from the municipal and ecclesiastical archives served as fuel to set fire to the church, which still shows the signs of the fire today.

The Basque writer was fascinated by this town where he found Carlist resonances and stories full of mystery. Mirambel,” he wrote, “being the seat of the Junta, served as a receptacle for many Carlist notabilities. The small town suddenly became a small court. The pretenders to different positions in the Carlist army came to it. […] The bishops of Orihuela and Mondoñedo had their headquarters and official offices there, the offices of the kidnapping court, the police, the ecclesiastical curia, the court of tithes and hospitals, the quartermaster’s office, the court of appeal, the general treasury, the royal printing press and the stamped paper. There were endless intrigues and enmities among the employees”.

The Superior Governing Board

In its early days, the Carlist insurrection had a military logic and Ramón Cabrera held all the power in the territory of Maestrazgo.

The Print Shop

Since the establishment of the Junta Superior Gubernativa, Mirambel had a printing press to stamp the documents of this institution.

El Serrador and the church fire

In February 1837 the remains of a liberal detachment that had been attacked by the ringleader Serrador arrived at Mirambel.

Baroja fascinated by Mirambel

Pío Baroja dedicated one of his novels of the cycle “Memoirs of a man of action” to the war in Maestrazgo and entitled it La venta de Mirambel .

Comarca del Maestrazgo • C/ Las Tres Baylias • 44140 Cantavieja (Teruel)
Phone: 964 185 242 • [email protected]

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