Torre Mudéjar de El Salvador
The Torre Mudéjar de El Salvador is a church tower located next to the San Pedro church in Teruel. It is one of the most beautiful and representative examples of Mudéjar art in Spain, and also one of the four Mudéjar monuments in Teruel and Zaragoza, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. This tower was built in the first half of the 14th century and is over 40 meters high. It is a tower-gate, that is, a tower that also served as an entrance gate to the city, as it was located next to the old Puerta de Guadalaviar, one of the main entrances to medieval Teruel.
This tower stands out for its rich decoration of brick and ceramics, which creates a variety of geometric, plant, and epigraphic patterns. The tower consists of three floors, the lower two are built in the Mudéjar style, and the upper one in the neoclassical style. The first floor is square in shape and is decorated with a band of teeth and pointed arch windows with interesting motifs on the sides.
The second floor is octagonal in shape and is richly decorated with arcades, teeth, and columns of ladrillo aplantillado, or template-formed brick. On the corners of the tower, there are also crosses with many arms, forming diamonds and circles. The third floor is open on all sides with semicircular windows and topped with a pyramidal helmet.
Inside the tower is the Interpretation Center of Mudéjar Architecture of Turolense, which tells about the history and significance of this art, which arose as a result of the coexistence of Christians, Muslims, and Jews on the Iberian Peninsula and is characterized by the use of brick, ceramics, and wood as building and decorative materials. In the center, you can see a film that briefly presents the plot of the legend of the lovers of Teruel, who are associated with the San Pedro church, as well as an exhibition dedicated to the Mudéjar culture in Teruel, which is a UNESCO World Heritage. From the tower, you can also admire a beautiful view of the city and its surroundings.
