Help locating/identifying a castle near Cordoba

[Maniacal]

In October on the train from Cordoba to Seville in Spain I saw a castle on a hill that was nearish (km or less) from the train tracks. It looked fairly alrge and had several towers, but I was not able to take a picture in time and have been unable to identify it.

The closest I can find is Almodóvar Castle but I do not think that is it (I also have no idea if there are train tracks near Almodóvar or not).

 

[Arwon]

You could try Google Maps? How far out of Córdoba was it?

 

[Maniacal]

I'm not sure, it wasn't too far, maybe 10-20 minutes?

It was on the north side of the tracks.

EDIT: Hmm actually I think it is Almodóvar Castle, it's in the right spot although the pictures on wikipedia and the web seem diff from what I remember, but meh. I'd forgotton about google earth, thanks!

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Buff... A diffciult one. There is a castle almost on every hill in Andalucia. In any case you can try this page: http://www.castillosnet.org/programs/castillosnet.php I think most castles and fortifications are there (151 castles registered for the province of Cordoba).

 

[jessiecat]

If it looked like this, it is the Castillo de Almodovar, about 20k. west of Cordoba. Built in 760 by the Arabs and occupied by the Christians in the 1200s, its one of the best preserved castles in S. Spain. I visited it some years ago and I agree. Its one of the best I've seen.

 

[Maniacal]

If it looked like this, it is the Castillo de Almodovar, about 20k. west of Cordoba. Built in 760 by the Arabs and occupied by the Christians in the 1200s, its one of the best preserved castles in S. Spain. I visited it some years ago and I agree. Its one of the best I've seen.

Yeah except I was on the other side of the castle in a train. I saw some pictures before I posted this thread, but wasn't sure if it was near the tracks, or even if it was what I thought I remembered the castle looked like, but now I am positive it is Almodovar.

Definately have to go to that Castle sometime.

 

[Mirc]

Buff... A diffciult one. There is a castle almost on every hill in Andalucia. In any case you can try this page: http://www.castillosnet.org/programs/castillosnet.php I think most castles and fortifications are there (151 castles registered for the province of Cordoba).

One.... Hundred... Fifty....-One..... for Cordoba alone?

That's right. I surrender every right to ever say that a country is amazing unless said country is Spain. :jawdrop:




Is this the same in other provinces? (I'm too shocked to check on the site)

 

[Thorgalaeg]

Not, in most spanish provinces there are less castles (lets say 50-60 average as you can check in the website). But in Andalucia there are castles everywhere, specially in the provinces surrounding Granada. Cadiz and Almeria have around 200 castles each one. It is because along 3 centuries (13th-14th-15th) the frontier beetwen christian and moorish Spain (kingdom of Granada) was stablished there. In fact today, many towns in Cadiz, Cordoba or Almeria have behind his name the tag "of the frontier", for instance "Jerez de la frontera".

Sadly most castles are in not very well shape. It seems that taking care of this huge historical patrimony is something Spain has not learnt properly from other European countries.

EDIT: BTW checking the site i am seeing now that there are a lot of castles in Zaragoza and Barcelona too (well above 200!). I dont know the historical reasons exactly... Maybe the remains of the "Hispanic Marches" from the carolingians times.

 

[Arwon]

Spain is geographically very predisposed to strong fortifications (it's full of mountains and valleys), which means there's a lot of places where there's layers and layers of fortifications, going right back to Celtiberian times and Roman times. I visited a place called Albarracín in Teruel province, where the first castle was built by Celts then there were at least 4 waves of additional fortifications added by subsequent occupiers.

Additionally, both Islamic and Christian Spain spent a long time as small, fractured entities, so a lot of those fortifications probably also come from the instability of the Taifa period. In Zaragoza's case, I can tell you that it's probably pretty much all periods that would have contributed. It was a Roman settlement and not that far from non-Roman areas in the Pyrenees, it was important during the Marches period and I think Charlemagne lost an important battle there, it was near the frontier of the Córdoban caliphate then became a major Taifa, then became the capital of the Kingdom of Aragón. Always on a crossroads and frequently a frontier town.

I bet Barcelona, having been so important for so long, has a similar history.