The Castle of Cardona ( ca, Castell de Cardona, ) is arguably the most important

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

fortress in Catalonia and one of the most important in Spain. It is situated on a hill overlooking the river valley of the

Cardener The Cardener is a river in Catalonia, Spain. Its source is at ''Les Fonts del Cardener'' in the municipality of La Coma i la Pedra (Solsonès) at an elevation of . It drains a basin of . It passes through the reservoir of Sant Ponç (25 hm3) ...

and the town of Cardona. The fortress was initially constructed by

Wilfred the Hairy {{Infobox noble, type , name = Wilfred , title = Count of Barcelona , image = Wilfredo el Velloso 01.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = Statue in Madrid, L. S. Carmona, 1750–53 , al ...

in 886. It is in both the Romanesque and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

styles, and includes the so-called ''Sala Dorada'' and ''Sala dels Entresols''. During the 14th century, the dukes of Cardona came from the most important family of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of B ...

, which was second only to the royal house. Because of this, they were called “kings without crowns,” as they had extensive territories in Catalonia,

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

, and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, and dynastic ties with Castile,

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Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. This presumably increased the importance of the castle. In 1714, even after a

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

siege destroyed a good part of the castle's walls, the garrison was one of the last to surrender to the Bourbon troops which supported

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...

. Today, the castle's main jewel is the ''torre de la minyona'' (from the 11th century) a tower which measures 15 metres in height and 10 metres in diameter. Additionally, there is the romanesque Church of Sant Vicenç de Cardona adjacent to the fort. The fort is currently still owned by living members of the Aragón family.

Notes

The movie, ''

Chimes at Midnight ''Falstaff (Chimes at Midnight)'' ( Spanish: ''Campanadas a medianoche'') is a 1966 period comedy-drama film directed by and starring Orson Welles. The Spanish-Swiss co-production was released in the United States as ''Chimes at Midnight'' an ...

'', by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

was filmed at the castle in Cardona. The

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

of the Church of St. Vincenç in Cardona was once covered with

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

. Fragments of these "painted vaults" were restored in 1960 and are now displayed at the

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (, English: "National Art Museum of Catalonia"), abbreviated as MNAC, is a museum of Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina M ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

External links

Parador at CardonaTown council of Cardona
(in Catalan)
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya MNAC
(National Art Museum of Catalonia)

References

*Pedrosa, Andreu (2001). ''The Castle of Cardona''. Sant Vincenç de Castellet: Farell. {{coord, 41, 54, 51.93, N, 1, 41, 8.01, E, region:ES-CT_type:landmark, display=title Paradores Castles in Catalonia 9th-century establishments in Spain Buildings and structures completed in 886

See also

Notes

External links

References