List of castles in Spain

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The castles in Spain were built mainly for the country's defense, particularly with respect to fortification. During the Middle Ages, northern Christian kingdoms had to secure their borders with their Muslim southern neighbours, thus forcing both Christian and Muslim kings to grant border fiefs to their liege noblemen so as to keep and maintain defensive fortresses. When the Reconquista advanced, those border castles lost their initial purpose, and, as in the rest of medieval Europe, they were used as noble residences and fief-keeps. Sporadic threats of war maintained their initial military purposes as enemy invasions were common. In some locations, such as the Basque country, fiefdoms did not exist as such, and noble families could not afford nor did they need huge fortresses, giving rise to many tower houses. In Muslim Spain many castle-palaces were built: the petty taifa kingdoms that arose after the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba were militarily weak thus castles began taking on a more aesthetic purpose. During the late Middle Ages, Christian kingdoms had secured and enriched themselves well enough to support a more courtly lifestyle, so more residential castles were built, such as the Alcázar of Segovia, which was used as the main residence of the kings of Castile, whereas the Castle of Olite, built in a luxurious gothic style, was the seat of the Kingdom of Navarre's royal court.

Dating back to the early 12th century, the Alcázar of Segovia is one of the most distinctive medieval castles in Europe. Disney was inspired by this site in building Cinderella's castle.

After the Conquest of Granada in 1492, the Catholic monarchs ordered all the castles in their realms to be handed over to the Crown. Although the order was not completely carried out, the War of the Germanias, a rebellion against king Charles V in the early 16th century, forced the new Spanish Habsburg dynasty to continue the process, and many castles were demolished as well. Most of the castles in Spain were successively abandoned and dismantled, Spanish kings fearing noble and peasant revolts, especially in the newly conquered lands. Accordingly, some of them are nowadays in a state of decay, and although some restoration work has been done, the number of former castles is so large that the Spanish government lacks both the resources and the will to restore them all.

 
Alcazaba of Almería
 
Battery of Guardias Viejas
 
Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera
 
Castle of Aznalmara
 
Castle of Santa Catalina (Cádiz)
 
Castle of Sancti Petri
 
Castle of San Marcos
 
Castle of Santiago
 
Castle of Doña Blanca
 
Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos
 
The Alhambra of Granada.
 
Castle of La Calahorra
 
Castle of la Yedra
 
Castle of Santa Catalina
 
Castle of Mata Bejid
 
Alcazaba of Málaga.
 
Gibralfaro Castle, Málaga.
 
Alcazaba of Antequera
 
Alcázar of Seville
 
Torre del Oro
 
Castle of Loarre
 
Citadel of Jaca
 
Castle of Peracense
 
Castle of Aljafería
 
Castle of Las Caldas
 
Castle of Tudela
 
Torreón of Llanes
 
Castle of Butrón
 
Castle of Empress Eugénie de Montijo
 
Castle of Bellver
 
Castle of Cabrera
 
Castle of Argüeso
 
Castle of Don Álvaro de Luna
 
Castle of Burgos
 
Castle of Olmillos de Sasamón
 
Castle of Valencia de Don Juan
 
Templar Castle of Ponferrada
 
Castle of Ampudia
 
Real Fuerte de la Concepción
 
Alcázar of Segovia
 
Castle of Coca
 
Castle of Cuéllar
 
Castle of Almenar
 
Castle of Montuenga
 
Castle of Ucero
 
Castle of the Counts of Benavente
 
Castle of Castrotorafe
 
Castle of Zamora
 
Castle of Gormaz, Soria
 
Castle of La Mota
 
Castle of Peñafiel, view from Plaza del Coso
 
Portillo Castle
 
Castle of Torrelobatón
 
Simancas Castle
 
Walls of Urueña, a medieval town
 
Castle of Chinchilla de Montearagón
 
Castle of Almansa.
 
Castle of Calatrava la Vieja
 
Castle-Convent of Calatrava la Nueva
 
Castle of Peñarroya
 
Castle of Alarcón
 
Castle of Belmonte
 
Castle of Garcimuñoz
 
Castle of Anguix
 
Castle of Atienza
 
Alcázar Real of Guadalajara
 
Castle of the Cid
 
Castle of Molina de Aragón
 
Castle of Pioz
 
Castle of Sigüenza
 
Castle of Torija
 
Alcázar of Toledo
 
Castle of Guadamur
 
Castle of Oropesa
 
Castle of Malpica de Tajo
 
Castle of la Vela
 
Castle of Cardona
 
Castle charterhouse of Vallparadís
 
Castle of Granera
 
Tower Vermella
 
Castle of Castellet
 
Vila Vella enceinte
 
Castle of Peralada
 
Castle of Gardeny
 
Castle of Sant Marçal
 
Castle of les Sitges
 
Castle of Ratera
 
Castle of Coria.
 
Castle of Trujillo
 
Castle Palace of the Counts of Oropesa
 
Tower of Bujaco
 
Castle of Olivença
 
Castle of Zafra (Badajoz)
 
Castle of Alburquerque (Badajoz)
 
Alcazaba of Badajoz (Badajoz)
 
Castle da Rocha Forte
 
Castle of Vimianzo
 
Towers of Altamira
 
Castle do Castrodouro, keep.
 
Castle of Pambre
 
Tower of the Castle dos Andrade
 
Castle of Vilamarín
 
Tower of Vilanova dos Infantes
 
Castle of Monterreal
 
Castle of Soutomaior
 
Castle of Monterreal in Baiona
 
Castle of Buitrago del Lozoya
 
Castle of Manzanares el Real
 
Atalaya de Torrelodones
 
Lorca Castle
 
Castle of Xabier
 
Castle of Davalillo
 
Atalaya Castle, Villena
 
Castle of Biar
 
Castle of Petrer
 
Castle of Santa Bàrbara
 
Palace of Altamira
 
Castle of Morella
 
Castle of Castellnovo
 
Castle of Onda
 
Castle of Peñíscola
 
Castle of Peñíscola
 
Castle of Marinyén
 
Xativa Castle
 
Towers of Quart
 
Castle of Ayora
 
Towers of Serrano in 1870
 
Castle of Montesa

Number of fortifications by provinces

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In the following table, are related the various Spanish provinces, ordered according to the number of existing fortifications, both castles themselves as towers, watchtowers, bunkers, walls and castros[4]

It attached the references to some of the relevant statements of Cultural Assets of the different Councils of Culture of the Autonomous Communities:

  • Andalusia: Councils of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía[5]
Province Total of fortifications Castles and similars Towers, watchtowers and bunkers Walls and castros Others
Jaén 237[6] 97[7] 126[8] 14[9] 1
Almería 126[10] 81 54 54 14
Guadalajara 198 124 27 44 3
Cuenca 175 100 30 32 13
Cádiz 161 37 71 31 1
Soria 121 49 41 24 7
Zaragoza 105 82 9 10 4
Barcelona 104 97 0 0 7
Navarra 95 61 8 15 11
Teruel 95 56 12 16 11
Burgos 91 44 28 16 3
Cáceres 84 67 3 11 3
Biscay 78 4 65 6 3
Alicante 73 45 20 7 1
Huesca 70 59 4 6 1
Toledo 70 46 7 12 5
Lleida 68 52 10 6 0
Madrid 67 30 18 15 4
Valencia 63 37 11 13 2
Badajoz 62 48 2 11 1
Murcia 58 43 7 7 1
Castellón 58 30 11 14 3
Albacete 52 34 6 11 1
Valladolid 50 35 2 12 1
Tarragona 48 46 1 1 0
La Rioja 48 27 11 8 2
León 47 30 7 10 0
Álava 45 6 31 8 0
Salamanca 41 24 7 10 0
Ciudad Real 36 27 4 4 1
Girona 35 22 2 10 1
Segovia 32 15 5 10 2
Ávila 29 21 1 6 1
Balearic Islands 28 12 15 1 0
Cantabria 28 8 14 6 0
Lugo 26 25 0 1 0
Palencia 25 18 4 3 0
Zamora 25 13 1 9 2
Asturias 24 7 10 7 0
Santa Cruz de Tenerife 24 10 8 1 0
Ourense 18 15 0 2 1
A Coruña 14 14 0 0 0
Las Palmas 12 8 3 1 0
Ceuta 11 2 6 2 1
Pontevedra 10 9 1 0 0
Melilla 9 5 0 4 0
Gipuzkoa 5 3 1 1 0

References

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  1. ^ Historia (October 22, 2015). "Apéndice I. Los lugares del Temple". In Martínez, Gemma; Mínguez, Nines (eds.). Templarios. Del origen de las cruzadas al final de la Orden del Temple (1st ed.). Madrid: Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, S. A. U. p. 417. ISBN 9788401015731.
  2. ^ "Castillo de Corbera" (in Spanish). Castell de Cullera. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  3. ^ "El Castillo" (in Spanish). Castillos de Espana. Archived from the original on 2012-08-25. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
  4. ^ According to Ibercastillos: Fortifications of Spain and Castillosnet: Castles of Spain Archived 2014-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Guia Digital IAPH".
  6. ^ for Jaén — Council of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía for Cultural Heritage#Total Fortifications
  7. ^ Jaén — Council of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía for Cultural Heritage#Castles
  8. ^ Jaén — Council of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía for Cultural Heritage#Towers, watchtowers and bunkers[dead link]
  9. ^ Jaén — Council of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía for Cultural Heritage#Walls and Castros[dead link]
  10. ^ Almería — Council of Culture of the Junta de Andalucía for Cultural Heritage#Total Fortifications
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