7 kilometres from Villarluengo in the direction of Ejulve is the “Las Fábricas”zone. In1789, a paper factory was installed in this place that utilized water of the Guadalope River. It was the property of the Temprado family, and it was the first continuous paper factory that existed in Aragon and in Spain, being a model of its type and the latest in technology of the era. In it, continuous paper, envelopes, lined books and paper currency; thus, almost all the production went to Madrid, on the backs of 16 donkeys, who were on the payroll along with the 4 muleteers, to supply several Ministries. It took them one month to go there and return, and on their return, they collected rags for the manufacture of rag paper.
The factory passed to the famiy Bonet de Villarluengo, who converted it into a textile factory, adapting it to the production of girdles. They were succeeded by the family Artola, who installed 24 looms and installed electrical lighting, the second of the province (the first was the one in Teruel). Later on, the number of looms increased to 46, they built more factories (“De Arriba”(Upper), “de En medio”(In Middle) and “De Abajo”(Lower), houses for the owners, management and workers, that came to be 200 from the surrounding villages, as well as shops, school, bakery and a chapel.
The production adapted to the needs of the moment; thus, during the first World War, the main production was chilabas for the legionnaires of Africa and red caps that were sold in Rabat.
After the Civil War, insecurity and low profitability led to the end of the factories, closing in 1958.
The Past, Present and Future.
In 1972, Don Miguel Gargallo Lázaro, founder of Grupo Hotelero Gargallo, acquired the more than three hundred hectares that the old Textile Factory had; He carried out important works and thus opened the first Hotel of the Gargallo Hotel Group in Aragón, with twelve rooms, leisure and recreation areas as well as a fish farm.
Since 1990, several expansions were made until it had sixty-eight rooms and several investments to improve and condition its outdoor areas.
In 2021, a large investment was made that led to a major renovation in which it became a four-star Hotel de La Trucha, with a multitude of services that make its guests have a wonderful stay in a unique location.
More information:
Salillas, José Manuel, El Hostal de la Trucha. The textile and paper factories of Villarluengo. Ed. Radio Terrasa. nineteen ninety five.
“The factories of Villarluengo”, in Peirón nº 11, Magazine of the Center for Studies of Maestrazgo Turolense (CEMAT), Teruel, 2007.
