Berrueco Castle

Torredelcampo, Spain

The castle of Berrueco is located in the small town that belongs to Torredelcampo. It is the most important castle in all Jaén district. On top of San Antón hill, the ruins and remains of Iberian, Roman and Visigoth settlements have been found. This is an area that has been conquered and occupied by different peoples over the years. The main settlement was Roman and took up the lower part of the San Antón hillside.

The castle was built by the Muslims during the 12th century. During the 13th century it was largely transformed by the Christians. The interior was restructured and battlements and machicolations were added for defensive purposes.

In 1243, after its conquest by Ferdinand III, Christians again remodeled the castle to its current appearance.

The most important battles in Castle of Berrueco took place during the second half of the 15th century. At that time the castle was conquered by don Pedro Girón, leader of the rebels against Henry IV. Pedro Girón wanted to make a pact to marry Queen Isabella the Catholic. Don Pedro de Girón died before he could reach such an agreement and the castle was conquered again by the soldiers of constable Iranzo. The castle belonged again to Jaén district.

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Founded: 12th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Spain

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Tomás Rincón García (2 months ago)
A beautiful rural castle that still maintains several towers, battlements and a natural stone parade ground. Truly magical.
Juan Salas (7 months ago)
Typical rock castle. Its origin is Muslim, around the 12th century, although it was greatly reformed after its conquest by the Christians. This castle controlled the main roads between Jaén, Martos and Arjona. When I was there I could not access its interior because it was closed and in the process of restoration.
Juanfra Rodriguez (2 years ago)
Very nice castle. Access is via secondary roads but you reach the very foot of it. A castle in progressive ruin with a history that does not deserve this neglect on the part of the authorities.
Oscar Vaquerizo Boiso (3 years ago)
Curious to see. One of many castles as there are in the province. It's in pretty bad shape.
Richard Hidrovo (3 years ago)
Castillo de Berrueco, Municipality of Torredelcampo, there are uninhabited farmhouses, it is very interesting, you can at any time.
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Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.

The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.

These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.