Alcaudete Castle

Located in what was a strategic enclave between Christians and Muslims, the old Al-Andalus castle of Alcaudete is a proud and imposing construction set between the mountains and olive fields.

Control over it was so important that it passed between Christian and Muslim hands on a number of occasions during the Christian Reconquest of Spain. It was ceded by the Castilian Monarchs to the Military Order of Calatrava. It was these soldier-monks who built most of the castle (13th-14th century) that is preserved today. It is constructed on a hill overlooking the town of Alcaudete, and consists of a walled polygonal area that adapts to the slopes of the hill, with seven towers: two are on the main gate, a rounded arch enclosed in a rectangular Moorish moulding (alfiz). Inside the walls there is a high and imposing keep, which in the 16th century was adapted as a stately residence by the recently named Counts of Alcaudete, residents of the town.