List of castles in Spain

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Castles in Spain were built mainly for defensive purposes. 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. However, due to sporadic threats of war, they kept their military purposes, for 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. On the other hand, 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 but culturally rich, and every emir or king liked magnificent palaces, of which the Alhambra of Granada is an example. 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.

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 castles in Spain were successively abandoned and dismantled, Spanish kings fearing noble and peasant revolts, especially in the newly conquered lands. Accordingly, most 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.

This is a list of castles in Spain.

Contents

[edit] Flag of Aragon.svg Aragon

[edit] Huesca

Castle of Loarre
Citadel of Jaca

[edit] Teruel

Castle of Peracens

[edit] Zaragoza

Castle of Aljafería

[edit] Flag of Andalucía.svg Andalusia

[edit] Almería

Alcazaba of Almería
Battery of Guardias Viejas

[edit] Cádiz

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

[edit] Córdoba

Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos

[edit] Granada

The Alhambra of Granada.
Castle of La Calahorra

[edit] Huelva

[edit] Jaén

Castle of la Yedra
Castle of Santa Catalina

[edit] Málaga

Alcazaba of Málaga.
Gibralfaro Castle, Málaga.
Alcazaba of Antequera

[edit] Seville

Alcázar of Seville
Torre del Oro

[edit] Flag of Asturias.svg Principality of Asturias

Castle of Las Caldas
Castle of Tudela
Torreón of Llanes

[edit] Flag of the Basque Country.svg Basque Country

[edit] Araba

[edit] Gipuzkoa

Castle of Butrón
Castle of Empress Eugénie de Montijo

[edit] Biscay

[edit] Flag of the Balearic Islands.svg Balearic Islands

Castle of Bellver

[edit] Flag of the Canary Islands.svg Canary Islands

[edit] Flag of Cantabria.svg Cantabria

Castle of Argüeso
Tower of the Infantado

[edit] Bandera de Castilla y León.svg Castile and León

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 Fuensaldaña
Castle of Íscar
Castle of La Mota
Castle of Peñafiel
Castle of Portillo
Castle of Simancas
Castle of Villafuerte de Esgueva
Castle of the Counts of Benavente
Castle of Castrotorafe
Castle of Zamora

[edit] Ávila

[edit] Burgos

[edit] Leon

[edit] Walled towns

[edit] Palencia

[edit] Salamanca

[edit] Segovia

[edit] Soria

[edit] Valladolid

[edit] Zamora

[edit] Bandera usual de Castilla-La Mancha.svg Castile-La Mancha

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

[edit] Albacete

[edit] Ciudad Real

[edit] Cuenca

[edit] Guadalajara

[edit] Toledo

[edit] Flag of Catalonia.svg Catalonia

[edit] Barcelona

Castle of Cardona
Castle charterhouse of Vallparadís
Castle of Granera
Tower Vermella

[edit] Tarragona

Castle of Castellet

[edit] Girona

Vila Vella enceinte
Castle of Peralada

[edit] Lleida

Castle of Gardeny
Castle of Sant Marçal
Castle of les Sitges
Castle of Ratera

[edit] Flag of Extremadura.svg Extremadura

[edit] Cáceres

Castle of Coria.
Castle of Trujillo
Castle Palace of the Counts of Oropesa
Tower of Bujaco

[edit] Badajoz

Castle of Olivença
Castle of Zafra (Badajoz)

[edit] Flag of Galicia.svg Galicia

Castle of Naraío
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

[edit] A Coruña

[edit] Lugo

[edit] Ourense

[edit] Pontevedra

[edit] Flag of the Community of Madrid.svg Community of Madrid

Castle of Buitrago del Lozoya
Castle of Manzanares el Real
Atalaya de Torrelodones

[edit] Flag of the Region of Murcia.svg Region of Murcia

[edit] Bandera de Navarra.svg Navarre

Castle of Xabier
Castle of Olite

[edit] Flag of La Rioja (with coat of arms).svg La Rioja

Castle of Davalillo

[edit] Flag of the Land of Valencia (2x3 ratio).svg Valencian Community

[edit] Alicante

Castle of Biar
Castle of Petrer
Castle of Santa Bàrbara
Castle of la Talaia
Palace of Altamira

[edit] Castellón

Castle of Castellnovo
Castle of Onda
Castle of Peñíscola

[edit] Valencia

Castle of Marinyén
Castle of Xàtiva
Towers of Quart

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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