Sabiote Castle, Sabiote, Spain

Sabiote Castle is located on high ground at one end of the wall that bounds the village of the same name. It is considered the most important 16th-century military building in the province of Jaén, and is also the oldest existing example of the Renaissance castle/bastion model. From its gates, the Guadalimar Valley can be seen, as well as the Sierra Morena and Sierra Mágina Mountains on the horizon. This confirms the military importance of this spot, dating back to the Bronze Age. The castle has a beautiful Plateresque frontispiece with the coats of arms of Cobos Molina and Doña María Mendoza, who were instrumental in having it built.

Part of Sabiote's walled area still exists, with some of the old gates (there were originally six) that provided access to the village. These include the Chirigote, Pelotero and San Bartolomé gates, and the Moorish Granada gate.

References:

andalucia.org

Castles and fortifications in Spain

User Reviews

Tom (Bozz) (2 years ago)
2023, Weds 18th Oct 12:00 it is shut, when it said it was open

linda krelle (3 years ago)
Nicely presented tour, not too long. Spanish obviously. A leaflet in other languages would be helpful of main points or on a webpage. Lovely setting and friendly bar / cafes in centre. Found a free carpark near centre but not big if its busy . There is a free castle car park too.

Mark Parker (4 years ago)
The entrance and guided tour was €5 each. A very interesting castle to see. Plenty of free car parking available. Check for opening times as it may be different during covid restrictions.

Nikki Parker (4 years ago)
We had an excellent tour on Sunday with a really enthusiastic young man as our guide. Although we didn't ask if there was any information in English, and nor do we expect it, it would be great if places just offered a paper version of key elements of the tour. It would also have been nice to spend a little more time in the main room with all the signboards to have the option to read them. Highly recommended visit though. We were disappointed to arrive on Thursday (06/05/2021) to find that the castle was only open on Saturdays and Sundays. Having seen how quiet Sabiote was, it was understandable. It was just before the State of Alarm had ended so it may have changed since then. Update: it looks like from June they do visits on Friday as well. You can book in advance using a QR code. It costs €5.

L&R D (6 years ago)
Interesting place. Not just a castle but a Palace. Beautiful restored. We had a great guide who told us a lot (in Spanish) about the place in a very enthusiastic way.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright discopalace

Historic Site of the week

Sigmaringen Castle

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.

Sabiote Castle

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