Spain · 12th century
Castell de Guardamar del Segura ranks #7,431 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #386 of the 606 mapped in Spain. Founded c. 1125, it is older than 84% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 763 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Elche, 20 km away. See how Spain compares in the castle statistics.
The Castell de Guardamar del Segura stands on a rocky hill beside the town of the same name, in the comarca of the Vega Baja del Segura (Alicante, Spain).
Although the present remains are of Arab origin, there are vestiges pointing to an oppidum or hillfort within it, dated to the Levantine Iron Age, around the 4th century BC.
It is an elongated enclosure divided into two sections. The upper part constitutes the castle proper, of polygonal plan, dated to the first half of the 12th century, of which very few remains survive, since it was destroyed, like the castle of Orihuela, during the strong earthquake of March 1829.
The lower part is larger and is surrounded by a Gothic wall that underwent significant modifications in the 16th century. The most important elements are some stretches of its solid walls, as well as the bases of some towers and auxiliary buildings. The area of greatest archaeological value is the so-called Baluarte de la Pólvora.
The town remained within these walls until the earthquake of 1829, when it was relocated.
It is currently in a state of consolidated ruin, has been partially restored, and archaeological excavations continue.
Machine-translated from “Castillo de Guardamar” on the Spanish Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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