Famous Castles in Spain

Villena

Villena Castle is located in the kingdom of Valencia in the province of Alicante. Moreover it is placed 52 km from the city Alicante. It rises above the Vinolpo River. Larger part of the castle is in ruins. It was built on the ruins of the Roman military fortress in the first century.

The castle was conquered by Jaime I in the second half of the thirteenth century. Later it became the seat of the Marquess Villene in the fifteenth century. From that period dates a massive quadrangle tower, which is the main tower of the castle. It was built in Gothic style on the remains of the Arab buildings.

Villene walls consist of double walls with twelve towers and the main tower of the castle (dungeon). Exterior walls were built in the fifteenth century and the internal walls were built by the Arabs.

Javier

Javier is located in the province of Navarre about 30 km southeast of Pamplona. Javier is an example of Spanish military architecture. It was built in the 10th century as an Arab fortress. The elements of Arabic architecture were changed during the centuries.
The modern name was attributed to it in 1506, when San Francis of Xavier was born there.

Loarre

Loarre is located about 40 km north-west of the town of Huesca. The castle is located in Suerra de Gratal, an isolated region deeply situated on the slopes of the Pyrenees.
It is believed that the name derives from the old Loarre language and it means stone castle or fortress.

Today, the earliest discovered architectural remains of the castle are from the Roman period. In the Roman period this region was known as Caesaraugusta. Roman Fortress Loarre fell under the rule of the Visigoths at the time of the dark period in Spain.

The fortress was neglected for nearly three centuries until the Arabs conquered it in 711. Arabs called it Zuda. They also invaded and restored the remains of the Roman structures.

Today, however, there is no visible evidence of the Arab occupation of Loarre. The earliest reliable data on the reconstruction of the castle is from 1070. King of Aragon reconstructed it and declared it as the capital. In 1071, King Ramirez began the construction of the monastery of the Holy Order. The construction of the church continued in the twelfth century.

Olit

Olit is located about 30 km south of Pamplona.

In the Roman period it was an important military fortress. It has strengthened Roman towers and fragmentary Roman walls surrounding the old city. Information about the great medieval fortress is from the 10th century.

Olit, with high, thin and elegant towers and domes is an excellent example of Gothic military architecture. This castle is also an example of the first moving artillery in Europe.