Cuenca - Casas Colgadas

When the Muslims conquered the area in 714, they recognized the value of this strategic location and built a fortress between two ravines.

In 1076, Cuenca was unsuccessfully besieged by Sancho Ramírez of Aragon. In 1080 there was a treaty between King Yahya al-Qadir and Alfonso VI. of León and Castile, through which some fortresses were ceded in exchange for military aid.

Cuenca was then conquered by Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad in 1086. However, when his country was attacked by the Almoravids, he again offered Cuenca to Alfonso in return for military support. The first Christian troops entered the city in 1093. However, the Almoravids conquered it in 1108. As part of the Reconquista, King Alfonso VIII conquered the city from the Moors in 1177 after a nine-month siege. The Diocese of Cuenca was founded in 1183. Alfonso X gave Cuenca the title “ciudad” in 1257.

Cuenca is divided into two different areas, the Old Town and the New Town. The first is located on a rocky hill bordered on the north by the gorges of the Júcar River and on the south by its tributary, the Huécar River. Cuenca is a vibrant city with a population of about 55.000.

The Casas Colgadas (Hung Houses) is a complex of houses located near the ravine of the river Huécar. Similar houses were frequent along the eastern border of the city, however, there are only a few of them remaining. Today they house the "Museo de Arte Abstracto Español".