Castle of San Marcos (also ''Castillo de Alfonso X El Sabio'') is a medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

located in

El Puerto de Santa María EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The castle was erected as a

fortified church A fortified church is a church that is built to serve a defensive role in times of war. Such churches were specially designed to incorporate military features, such as thick walls, battlements, and embrasures. Others, such as the Ávila Cathedra ...

by King

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

. It was built on the site of a mosque of which the wall of the

qibla The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the s ...

survives. Close to the castle there is a replica of the map of

Juan de la Cosa Juan de la Cosa (c. 1450 – 28 February 1510) was a Castilian navigator and cartographer, known for designing the earliest European world map which incorporated the territories of the Americas discovered in the 15th century. De la Cosa was th ...

, along with an explanatory plaque; and a little fountain.

Conservation

The castle was declared a national monument on 30 August 1920 and is currently listed in the Spanish heritage register as a ''

Bien de Interés Cultural A Bien de Interés Cultural is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Venezuela and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense) and inclu ...

''.

Gallery

File:Castillo de San Marcos, El Puerto de Santa María, España, 2015-12-08, DD 06.JPG, Lateral view File:Castillo de San Marcos, El Puerto de Santa María, España, 2015-12-08, DD 01.JPG, Detail of tower File:Castillo de San Marcos 2, mayo de 2009.jpg, Statue of Alfonso X of Castile File:Castillo de San Marcos, bajada hacia Micaela Aramburu.jpg, Far view File:Semana Santa en El Puerto de Santa María 2008-1.jpg, ''Paso'' in a procession of Holy Week

References

External links

Buildings and structures in El Puerto de Santa María Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century Castles in Andalusia Fortified church buildings in Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Cádiz {{Cádiz-struct-stub

Conservation

Gallery

See also

References

External links