Espeluy Castle is located in Jaén, the Municipality that gives it its name, on the Guadalquivir and Guadalimar rivers. Its origin dates back to the Caliphate era, with a Muslim castle existing on this site. Since then it was owned in the year 1224 by Fernando III, leaving the area under the jurisdiction of the Crown, in 1321 a new castle was built and in 1469 it would be taken by the troops of Don Miguel Lucas de Iranzo and at the end of the 18th century, beginning of from the 19th century, it was built as a Christian castle.
The total area of the plot is 4,800m2 of which 3,720m2 are for stables, corrals and common areas and 1,120m2 correspond to the building. The part of the house is made up of two floors: in the upper part composed of seven rooms and seven bathrooms and in the lower part we find a cellar, a large stable, warehouses and a house for the castle guard.
Its most genuine element is its magnificent Tower of Homage, with a square floor plan, inside which two superimposed rooms covered by barrel vaults are preserved. The access door and the wall that surrounds the castle is an addition to the current onesowners. It was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1985.
References: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.