Route of the Castles
Huelva, land of magnificent castles
This province, like the rest of Andalusia, witnessed the splendour of castles, towers and palaces in the Middle Ages. In the case of the province of Huelva, this panorama is especially rich due to its border location with Portugal. The Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche are located at the western end of Sierra Morena, to the north of the province of Huelva, and in the Middle Ages were the scene of border struggles with nearby Portugal. The historical legacy of those conflicts is the numerous fortresses that form the so-called “Banda Gallega”. During the 13th century, in times of border dispute with the neighbouring kingdom of Portugal, King Sancho IV the Brave decided to undertake the organisation of a solid line of defensive constructions, located mostly in the Sierra de Aracena, given its important geostrategic location. This military plan, known as “La Banda Gallega” (The Galician Band), because it encouraged the repopulation of these lands by Galicians and Leonese after the expulsion of the Muslims, was organized in three fortress arches located in numerous municipalities, whose ultimate goal was to protect the city of Seville.
The route begins in Cala and Santa Olalla de Cala. Although in Cala we will find a very deteriorated fortification, it is more than worth the visit since the path up and the viewing point offer a magnificent view of the mountains.
In Santa Olalla de Cala the castle has an imposing appearance, crowning a hill that dominates the town, built on a wide floor flanked by ten towers. This is, along with the one in Cumbres Mayores, the only castle expressly erected in the defensive line that does not take advantage of previous Muslim fortifications.
Only fifteen kilometres to the south-east, Zufre, a town with Arabic echoes both in its name and its layout, was once a fortified town centre by the Almohads, whose wall fragments such as the Torre de la Harina are still preserved today.
Its construction, therefore, is not a consequence of the border dispute with Portugal, although it later served to protect the population from the advances of the former enemy.
Located on top of a hill in the town of the same name stands the Aracena Castle, a construction built in the 13th century on previous remains, perhaps even Roman, thanks to the fact that in 1250 the area was conquered by the Hospitaller troops of Alfonso III, King of Portugal. The wall that surrounds the complex traces an irregular route, thus accentuating its defensive nature which, thanks to its great width, could house medieval dwellings within its stones. Along its route we can find up to seven towers, among which the keep stands out, which, in addition to being the largest of them, divides the enclosure in two, with the main house or rooms located on one side. A later construction within the complex, the Mudejar church, is believed to have been built by order of the Order of the Temple, to whom the castle of Aracena had been ceded in gratitude for its actions in defence of Christianity.
A few kilometres to the south, in Almonaster la Real, is one of the few Arab fortresses preserved from the Caliphate period, part of a complex that includes a mosque from the same period and the more recent bullring, built on the parade ground.
The N-435 Huelva-Badajoz will easily take us northwards through the intermediate arch of the Banda Gallega to “Las tres Cumbres”: Cumbres de San Bartolomé, Cumbres de Enmedio and Cumbres Mayores; These towns have their origin in the abandonment of a previous Roman citadel called Concordia Julia Nertóbriga, whose inhabitants moved to three nearby elevations. Cumbres Mayores is the largest and preserves at the top of its fortified perimeter a monumental castle, called Sancho El Bravo, which encloses an area of one hectare behind its crenellated walls ten meters high and three meters thick. It was declared a National Monument in 1985.
The Castle of Sancho IV el Bravo was ordered to be built by said king in the Huelva town of Cumbres Mayores in 1293 in order to defend these lands from Portuguese attacks. Historians have been able to determine that the construction of the castle lasted many years. The walls, topped with battlements, follow an irregular path, of which we can count nine sides, the same number as the towers, ten metres high, built of masonry reinforced with ashlars and rubble at their corners.
In the town of Aroche we find the Castillo de las Armas, of Almoravid origin and therefore built between the 11th and 13th centuries. In 1263 the castle passed into Christian hands thanks to the intervention of Sancho II of Portugal until, a few years later, in 1293, it was annexed to the possessions of the Kingdom of Castile.
It was at this time that Sancho IV ordered a reform, giving rise to the appearance that we know today except for the bullring that it houses inside, built in 1802.
The enclosure is made up of an outer wall flanked by ten towers, all of them square, among which three stand out for their greater height and their marked defensive character, seen for example in the presence of loopholes.
In addition, these three towers are located at the three corners of the enclosure, allowing its plan to be delimited in the form of a right triangle. The height reaches ten meters, built in adobe based on masonry and brick strips.
Cortegana Castle is situated on a hill in the town of the same name, thought to be on the remains of a Muslim construction. The origin of the fortification could have been its delivery, around 1253, by Alfonso X to the council of Seville, although this has not yet been precisely elucidated due to the lack of sources. What we can be sure of is that Cortegana Castle was the base of the city’s defence against the Portuguese given its proximity to the border.
The castle has a rectangular floor plan and six towers: one of them cylindrical and five square. In addition, a clear division of the complex can be made between the south area, with the parade ground, the entrances and a cistern; and the north where the residential area is located, the rooms dedicated to the accommodation of its inhabitants, which is in turn divided into three floors. The upper floor, which is a terrace, was full of defensive weapons and connected the habitable area with the keep, which was built later.
Other castles in Huelva
Other castles in Huelva are the Reina castle in La Palma del Condado, the Paymogo castle, the Cartaya castle and the Niebla castle.
Type of Routes
– Agreed visits with or without a guide
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