Castle of Los Zúñiga

Cartaya, Spain

Castle of Los Zúñiga was built in the 15th century by D. Pedro de Zuñiga. Its objective was to defend the passage of Barca del Río Piedras.

Its structure is rectangular in shape and consists of a wall circuit with seven square towers at the corners and on the front and side canvases. The most important towers are the bell tower and the homage tower. In addition to these towers, there was a second outer low wall, already disappeared.

In the 16th century the  castle was refortified. Barbican was added, which was specially conditioned. It was an ideal refuge for citizens before the attacks of the Portuguese occurred in the 17th century and ended up consolidating the current town.

In the 18th century, it was planned to convert it into a barracks for the guard corps but discarded the project ended abandoned in 1812.

In 1815, the Duke of Béjar transferred the property to the Villa. In 1817, it was disarmed and adapted for cemeteries, dismantling the barbican and building barracks of vaults attached to the walls inside. He kept this use up to 1,872. Then it was destined to deposit coals and wood, after its desacralization.

In 1880 the file for the demolition is instructed, for its state of ruin, which is understood to threaten to collapse, and the corpses that are still preserved in the vaults, not those on the ground, are exhumed. As on other subsequent occasions, the demolition was not carried out due to the difficulties involved, acting simply to consolidate the most dangerous.

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Address

Calle Arenal 2, Cartaya, Spain
See all sites in Cartaya

Details

Founded: 15th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Spain

More Information

ayto-cartaya.com

Rating

3.8/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Philip Smith (2 years ago)
Closed so just the outside to walk around and one or two information boards to read. How sad not to be open?
Lizelle Seabra (2 years ago)
We walked around the castle, it was closed, couldn't see much.
Liam Cartaya (3 years ago)
Awesome
Jorge Martinez Quiroga (4 years ago)
The Castillo de Los Zúñiga, located in the town of Cartaya, is a defensive fortress, whose construction began around the year 1417 by the members of the "Casa Zúñiga" that served as a refuge for the inhabitants of the area from the incursions of Berber and Norman pirates, which occurred through the Piedras River, thanks to its walls of more than eight meters high, which at the time, were complemented by another outer wall that had seven crenellated towers, which at present both constructions they no longer exist.
Acisclo Pedraza Nevado (4 years ago)
since we have arrived and to know more ... It is in good condition and was restored by the Ministry of Culture in the early 90s of the 20th century. It has a rectangular ground plan, with seven square towers, four in the corners, two in the center of the larger sides and one on the smaller ones, protecting access. Its walls are 8 meters high and a total length of 130 meters. The bell tower, the Homage tower and a beautiful Mudejar door stand out. In the existing plans from the middle of the 17th century, this structure was surrounded by another walled enclosure or false braga with triangular bastions, which already in 1740 was somewhat stark, when used as a quarry for new constructions. That same year, an attempt was made to restore its military utility by projecting the construction of a cavalry barracks inside it, a proposal that did not materialize. This tower-fortress was built with royal licenses between 1417 and 1420, when the town was created as a fortress by Don Pedro de Zúñiga, Count of Plasencia. At the beginning of the 15th century, the Marquis and Lord of Gibraleón established a boat trip on the Piedras River, facing the interests of the Ayamonte manor. Seven years later the works of the castle of the Zúñiga began. Two centuries later, to the danger of the incursions of the pirates from the nearby coast, certain border conflicts with neighboring Portugal were added, fortifying the enclosure with the covering of the walls and artillerying the towers. The fortress, residence of the Marqués de Gibraleón, served as a refuge for citizens from the attacks of the Portuguese. In 1815 the Marquis of Gibraleón donated the property to the town.
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