Huesca

Huesca (Aragonese Uesca, Catalan Osca) is a city in Aragon, Spain. It was conquered in 1096 by Peter I of Aragon.

Huesca is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name, by the Pyrenees, limits with Navarre, France, Catalonia, and the Aragonese province of Zaragoza.

It has the last remaining Aragonese speaking areas in some valleys of the Pyrenees (Aragon river valley, Sobrarbe, western Ribagorza). There are also several Catalan speaking areas on its eastern part (eastern Ribagorza, Litera, eastern Bajo Cinca).

In February 1938, George Orwell was stationed near the fascist-held Huesca as a member of the POUM militia, fighting in the Spanish Civil War. In Homage to Catalonia, Orwell writes about a running joke phrase that the militiamen were fond of: "Tomorrow we'll have a coffee in Huesca." This was an optimistic comment made by one of the Spanish Government's generals, as Orwell tells us:

Months earlier, when Siétamo was taken, the general commanding the Government troops had said gaily: 'Tomorrow we'll have a coffee in Huesca.' It turned out that he was mistaken. There had been bloody attacks, but the town did not fall, and [the phrase] had become a standing joke throughout the army. If I ever go back to Spain I shall make a point of having a cup of coffee in Huesca.