Calatrava la Vieja

Calatrava la Vieja (formerly just Calatrava) is a medieval site and original nucleus of the Order of Calatrava. It is now part of the Archaeological Parks (Parques Arqueológicos) of the Community of Castile-La Mancha. Situated at Carrión de Calatrava, Calatrava during the High Middle Ages was the only important city in the Guadiana River valley. It thus guarded the roads to Cordova and Toledo.

Its name is derived from the (Arabic: قلعة رباح, romanized: Qalʿat Rabāḥ, lit. 'Fortress of Rabah'), a reference to the Arab nobleman who held this area in the 8th century, although as a fortress it may date even earlier – to Iberian times.

References to the site date from as early as 785, and in 853 owing to conflicts between the Muslims of Toledo and the emirate of Cordova, it was partially destroyed, but rebuilt later. The site was rebuilt under al-Hakam (son of Abd ar-Rahman II), brother of Muhammad I. It became the capital of the region. At the fall of the Caliphate of Cordova, the Taifa kingdoms or republics of Seville, Cordova, and Toledo competed to acquire Calatrava.

Toledo was conquered by Alfonso VI of Castile in 1085, and the Almoravids arrived in the Iberian Peninsula a year later. In 1147, Calatrava was conquered by Alfonso VII, becoming one of the farthest Christian outposts during this stage of the invasions.

The castle was placed under the protection of the Knights Templar, but this proved unsatisfactory, and Sancho III of Castile made an offer: he would grant the town and fortress of Calatrava to anyone who promised to defend it from the Moors. Encouraged by a friar named Diego Velásquez, who had been a warrior before becoming a friar, Saint Raymond of Fitero took up the challenge.

Text adapted from “Calatrava la Vieja” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Calatrava la Vieja ranks #1,473 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #53 of the 600 mapped in Spain. Founded 785, it is older than 95% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 39 atlas entries founded in the 8th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,122 times in the last 60 days, more than 76% of the atlas. The nearest day-trip guide is Toledo, 90 km away. See how Spain compares in the castle statistics.

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