The Castle of Zahara de los Atunes and Palace of Jadraza (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''El Castillo de Zahara de los Atunes. Palacio de la Jadraza'') is a medieval castle on Spain's coast. Located in

Barbate Barbate is a municipality of Spain part of the Province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is coastal town located off the Atlantic Ocean, close to the Strait of Gibraltar. Displaying a total area of 142.17 km2, it has, ...

and

Zahara de los Atunes Zahara de los Atunes is a village on the Costa de la Luz of Spain in the province of Cádiz and the autonomous region of Andalusia. It is noted for its excellent beaches, an outdoor cinema, and la Iglesia Del Carmen church where, curiously, tuna ( ...

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 ...

, it protected the local

Almadraba Almadraba (from Andalusi Arabic ''almaḍraba,'' meaning 'the place to strike, also derived into pt, Almadrava) is an elaborate and ancient technique for trapping and catching Atlantic bluefin tuna (''Thunnus thynnus'') originally used by the Pho ...

tuna traps as well as having a wider strategic role. It is known by several alternative names including ''Fortaleza o Castillo de la Chanca, Fortaleza y Casa Chanca, Palacio de las Pilas, Castillo de Jadraza & Palacio Real de la Almadraba''.

History

In 1294, King

Sancho IV of Castile Sancho IV of Castile (12 May 1258 – 25 April 1295) called the Brave (''el Bravo''), was the king of Castile, León and Galicia from 1284 to his death. Following his brother Ferdinand's death, he gained the support of nobles that ...

granted a licence to

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

Alonso Pérez de Guzmán Alonso Pérez de Guzmán (1256–1309), known as ''Guzmán el Bueno'' ("Guzmán the Good"), was a Spanish nobleman and hero of Spain during the medieval period, the founder of the line from which the dukes of Medina Sidonia descend. Biography ...

to build traps for tuna fishing in reward for his heroic defense of

Tarifa Tarifa (, Arabic: طريفة) is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, it is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for windsports. Tarifa ...

. This activity in this area has a history dating back to Phoenician and Roman times. Guzman fisheries in

and

Conil de la Frontera Conil de la Frontera is one of the White Towns of Andalusia in the province of Cadiz (region of Andalusia), located on the Atlantic coast in the southern part of Spain, with around 22,000 inhabitants. In summer its population exceeds 90,000 inhabi ...

were for centuries the most productive in Europe provoking the development of important auxiliary buildings. The Palace served three functions: as a fortified castle to protect against

Barbary pirates The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...

, a residential palace during the Tuna Season and a processing plant to deal with the tuna. Its location at a strategic point of the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

has been given prominence in numerous historical events, and it maintains a continued presence in coastal mapping. In the twentieth century the building was used by the fishing industry before becoming a barracks. The building was declared ''

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 ...

'' in 2004.

Structure

Building is a square structure defined by four defensive walls with parapet surmounted with a narrow walkway. In the north-west corner is the so-called '' Torre de Poniente'' which has an inner chamber beneath a high domed roof also with a parapet. In the north-east are the remains of ''de la Torre de Levante''. Both towers were designed as corbelled spaces to overlook the defensive curtain walls. The main gateway is located in the west wall, the two sea gates are in the south, which originally also provided access to large patio inner enclosure of the building. In the twentieth century 'New Gate' was added in the north wall, where there are also various other piercings introduced for practical reasons as the use of the building developed over time. The factory is made of regular

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

blocks with lime grout and pebbles. The corners boast reinforced stonework. The three original stone doors were of generous proportions with arches and keystones . At the sea gates, two separate buttresses of considerable thickness are arranged inward to reinforce them in their defensive mission.

References

{{reflist
Castillo de Zahara de los Atunes
(in Spanish) Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Cádiz Castles in Andalusia