The Montgrí Castle ( ca, Castell del Montgrí) is a historical edifice in

Torroella de Montgrí Torroella de Montgrí () is a coastal municipality on the Costa Brava, and small town in Catalonia, Spain. The town lies on the north bank of the Ter river, a few kilometres before it flows into the Mediterranean. The beach resort of L'Estartit als ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

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 ...

, built between 1294 and 1301. Its reason to be was the existing conflict between the counts of Empúries - who ruled over most of the area around the town - and the counts of Barcelona, the most powerful of

at that time, who also had great power over the Mediterranean. In order to control the moves of the counts of Empuriés, the court of Barcelona commanded Bernat de Llabià, the governor of the Royal town of

, to supervise the building of a fortress on top of the

Montgrí Massif The Montgrí () is a small mountain range in Catalonia, on the north bank of the Ter river. It is part of the Catalan Coastal Range and its highest point is 311 m. Features The Montgrí Massif stretches from east to west north of the town of T ...

. Work started in 1294 but the fortress was never completed as is obvious today. After those days, the fortress has lost its strategic value but has instead become a symbol of the region. The

GR 92 The GR 92 is part of the extensive GR footpath network of paths, tracks and trails in Spain. It will eventually run the length of the Mediterranean coast of Spain, from Portbou, on the border with France to Tarifa, the most southerly point of Spa ...

long distance footpath, which roughly follows the length of the Mediterranean coast of Spain, passes the castle on its stage between

Sant Martí d'Empúries Sant Martí d'Empúries is an entity of the town of L'Escala. It is located next to the ruins of Empúries or Empòrion. Ancient Greeks established the settlement in the 6th century BC. It was the county seat until 1079 Empúries moved to Castel ...

and

Structure

The fortress' style is one of the Middle Eastern fortresses that became popular in Europe after the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. They featured a regular plan with cylindrical towers attached within the walls. The only parts erected were the perimeter walls, forming a square of 31m along each side, and the four round towers at its corners. The walls are high with battlements along the top. The interior of the enclosure was laid out around a square, stone-paved central courtyard. Underneath this, there remains a large cistern for collecting rainwater. Around the courtyard, four wings of auxiliary buildings were planned out but never built. However the interior surfaces of the wall retain certain elements (toothing stones and springings for arches and vaults) which enable us to visualize the structure that these buildings were to have. Outside the castle, the former quarries can be seen, as well as the remains of a wall in the south face and a large cistern on the northern slope of the mountains.

References

External links

Torroella de Montgrí Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgri Castle Castles in Catalonia Baix Empordà