Castle of Lorca ( es, Castillo de Lorca) in
Lorca,
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
,
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 ...
, is a fortress of medieval origin constructed between the 9th and 15th centuries. It consists of a series of defensive structures that, during the
Middle Ages
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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, made the town and the fortress an impregnable point in the southeast part of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
. Lorca Castle was a key strategic point of contention between
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
during the
Reconquista
The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...
. It is listed as a
Site of Cultural Interest
Site most often refers to:
* Archaeological site
* Campsite, a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area
* Construction site
* Location, a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere
* Website, a set of related web pages, typically ...
.
It is 640 m long and 120 m wide, and one of the largest castles in Spain.
History
![Panoramica Castillo de Lorca y barrios Altos](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Panoramica_Castillo_de_Lorca_y_barrios_Altos.jpg)
Archaeological excavations have revealed that the site of the castle has been inhabited since
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
times. There were archaeological excavations conducted between 1999 and 2011, in conjunction with other excavations conducted in the centre of the town of Lorca. The excavations revealed the existence of an
Argaric
The Argaric culture, named from the type site El Argar near the town of Antas, in what is now the province of Almería in southeastern Spain, is an Early Bronze Age culture which flourished between c. 2200 BC and 1550 BC.
The Argaric culture ...
town that extended from the castle to the actual site of the current town. The excavations revealed funerary sites, homes, and a wall.
It has not been determined exactly when a castle or fortress was first built on the hill. The first written documentation referring to a castle at Lorca is of Muslim origin, which in the 9th century, indicates that the city of ''Lurqa'' was an important town in the area ruled by
Theudimer Theodemir, Theodemar, Theudemer or Theudimer was a Germanic name common among the various Germanic peoples of early medieval Europe. According to Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel (9th century), the form ''Theudemar'' is Frankish and ''Theudemir'' is Gothi ...
(Tudmir), who ruled seven cities in southeastern Spain, mentioned in the
Treaty of Orihuela
Treaty of Orihuela (also known as the Treaty of Tudmir/Theodemir) was an early Dhimmi treaty imposed by the invading Umayyad Caliphate on the Christians in the city of Orihuela in the Iberian Peninsula in 713.
History
The Treaty of Tudmir was a ...
that was preserved by the
Andalusian historian
Ibn Adarí in the thirteenth century:
Orihuela
Orihuela (; ca-valencia, Oriola ) is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 33,943 inhabitants at the beginning of 2013. The mun ...
, Valentila (possibly an equivalent for
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 ...
),
Alicante
Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
,
Mula,
Bigastro
Bigastro () is a municipality in the Valencian Community (Spain) situated in the south of the province of Alicante, in the comarca of Vega Baja del Segura. It had a population of 6,450 at the time of the 2005 census.
History
In La Loma there is ...
, Eyya (probably
Ojós), and Lorca.
[Collins, ''The Arab Conquest of Spain'', 39–41.]
During Muslim rule, Lorca Castle was an impregnable fortress and its interior was divided into two sections by the Espaldón Wall. In the western part, there was an area used to protect livestock and grain in times of danger. The eastern part had a neighbourhood called the ''barrio de Alcalá''.
Lorca was conquered by the Castilian Infante Don Alfonso, the future
Alfonso X
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 ...
, in 1244, and the fortress became a key defensive point against the
Kingdom of Granada
)
, common_languages = Official language:Classical ArabicOther languages: Andalusi Arabic, Mozarabic, Berber, Ladino
, capital = Granada
, religion = Majority religion:Sunni IslamMinority religions:Roman C ...
. For 250 years, Lorca Castle was a watchpoint on the border between the Christian kingdom of
Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
and the Muslim state of Granada.
Due to this geographic position, the Castilian monarchs repopulated the town and maintained the defensive structures of Lorca.
Alfonso X ordered:
Alfonso X ordered the construction of the towers known as the ''Alfonsina'' and ''Espolón'' Towers, and strengthened and fixed the walls. Hardly a trace of the Muslim fortress remained due to this reconstruction. Muslim traces remain in the foundation stones and the wall known as the ''muro del Espaldón''.
The neighbourhood of Alcalá, at the base of the castle, was repopulated after the Reconquista and during construction of the hotel, the Parador de Nacional de Turismo, the remains of the
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
Quarter (Judería) of Lorca, of 14th-century origin, were found.
The Jewish Quarter was found within the
alcazaba, the Moorish fortification, separated from the rest of the city by its walls. The physical separation had the purpose of protecting the Jewish people in the town from harm, but also had the result of keeping Christians and Jews separate, with the Christians inhabiting the lower part of town.
![Castillo de Lorca (Fortaleza del Sol)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Castillo_de_Lorca_%28Fortaleza_del_Sol%29.JPG)
The remains of the Jewish Quarter extended over an area of 5,700 square m, and 12 homes and a synagogue have been found; the
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
dates from the 14th century and is the only one found in the Murcia. The streets of the town had an irregular layout, adapted to the landscape, and is divided into four terraces. The synagogue was in the central location, and around it were the homes. The homes were of rectangular shape, with various compartmentalized rooms. The living quarters were elevated and a common feature was benches attached to the walls, kitchens, stand for earthenware jars, or cupboards.
The angular stone found in the archaeological excavation is associated with the synagogue. It is found, partially excavated, in the floor to gain height in the interior while on the outside not exceeding in height the rest of the building. In this manner, the building adhered to laws of the period.
Access to the synagogue is available via a patio in whose side there are two corridors, and the area for women is accessed via a separate corridor. The interior of the synagogue conserves the place where the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
was kept, and examples of
yeseria
Stucco decoration in Islamic architecture refers to carved or molded stucco and plaster. The terms "stucco" and "plaster" are used almost interchangeably in this context to denote most types of stucco or plaster decoration with slightly varying c ...
of Gothic style. The plinth where the
bimah was located has also survived, and along the perimeter of the interior of the temple were benches where the male worshippers would sit. The women had a separate area, known as the
matroneum
A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be located ...
; in Lorca's synagogue the matroneum was located above the vestibule.
With the disappearance of the frontier after the conquest of Granada in 1492, Lorca Castle no longer became as important as before. With the expulsion of the Jews by order of
Ferdinand and Isabella
The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both ...
, Lorca Castle was also depopulated as a result. The castle was abandoned completely, and was almost a complete ruin by the 18th century. In the 19th century, the castle was refurbished due to the
War of Spanish Independence
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, ...
. The walls and structures were repaired or modified and its medieval look changed. A battery of cannons was installed, for example, during this time. On June 4, 1931, Lorca Castle was declared a
National Historic Monument and on March 5 the historic centre of Lorca including the castle was declared a
Conjunto Histórico-Artístico
The term ''conjunto'' (, literally 'group', 'ensemble') refers to several types of small musical ensembles present in different Latin American musical traditions, mainly in Mexico and Cuba. While Mexican conjuntos play styles such as '' norteño' ...
(Historic-Artistic Group).
The wall of the castle and the Espolón Tower were seriously damaged during the
2011 Lorca earthquake.
El terremoto de Lorca causa la "mayor catástrofe" patrimonial en Europa en los últimos años
''Lorca Taller del Tiempo''
''Lorca Taller del Tiempo'' (“Lorca Time Workshop”) is a company that uses the castle as a theme park for medieval re-enactments and includes a touristic train that travels throughout the city, departing from the Visitor Centre (formerly the Convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
of La Merced).
Parador
Currently, a parador
A ''parador'' (), in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries was an establishment where travelers could seek lodging, and usually, food and drink, similar to an inn. In Spain since 1928, a Parador is a state-owned luxury hotel, usually located ...
(luxury hotel) has been built within the castle. As a result, archaeological discoveries have been found, including the Jewish Quarter.
References
Sources
*Rosalía Sala Vallejo, ''Lorca y su historia'' (R. Sala Vallejo, 1998), .
*VV.AA, ''Castillos de España'' (Everest, 1997), .
External links
Ayuntamiento de Lorca
*
Lorca Taller del Tiempo
*
Ley 16/1985, de 25 de junio, de Patrimonio Histórico Español
*
{{coord, 37, 40, 39, N, 1, 42, 21, W, region:ES_type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title
Paradores
Castles in the Region of Murcia
Lorca, Spain
Buildings and structures in the Region of Murcia
Tourist attractions in the Region of Murcia
Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Region of Murcia