Castillo de Xivert is an ancient Arab fortress of the X century which was later passed into the hands of the Crown of Aragon. The fortress was donated by Alfonso II to the Order of the Temple, then moving on to the Order of Montesa, and in the sixteenth century it lost all its military importance and the inhabitants of Xivert who lived in the mosque or Moorish quarter, as they were converted to Christianity and fully integrated into the Christian culture were expelled in 1609 by Philip III with all the Moors from Spain, so that the area fell into ruin and neglect in the XVIII century.
The fortress has a double walled enclosure, one of Muslim origin and another built later by the Christian Templar Knights, it highlights two spectacular circular towers, the parade ground, the chapel, the well of a water tank next to the entry. Xivert Castle sits atop the Sierra de Irta, from where they controlled all the territory around it, dominating the plain and the sea. From the top, you can enjoy a fantastic view of the whole valley.
To reach the Castle Xibert you should follow the signs from the town to the chapel of Calvari, bordering the Sierra de Xibert, until the car park located just 500 meters from the castle.
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Castle Chivert

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The castle is located on the highest point of the city. It was built by the Knights Templar on the remains of an old Moorish citadel. It was built with walls of carved stone. Most of the rooms had barrel vaults. It is a sober and solid construction. It was the residence of Benedict XIII, who turned it into a palace and papal library when he moved to Peñíscola in 1411.
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Peñíscola Castle

Peniscola Castle (Spanish: Castillo de Peñíscola; Valencian: Castell de Peníscola) is a castle in Peniscola, Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain. The castle is restored and is open to the public.

The castle is situated on a crag overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, at an altitude of 64 metres (210 ft) above mean sea level.

The earliest evidence of habitation in the area were Ibero-Roman remains excavated in the port of Peniscola; they date to the 1st–2nd centuries BC. Arab writer Al-Idrisi described Baniskula in the 11th century AD, and briefly described a Moorish castle overlooking the sea. There are no detailed descriptions until the 13th century, when James I of Aragon briefly summarised the Muslim defences. The castle was transferred to James's control in April 1229, after the last Almohad governor of Valencia, Zayd Abu Zayd, signed an accord surrendering various castles in eastern Spain.

The current form of the castle is essentially that developed by the Knights Templar, who planned to develop a kingdom centred on Peniscola. James II of Aragon gave the castle to the Templars in 1294, together with the nearby castles of Pulpís and Xivert. The Templars began work that year, demolished the Muslim fortifications, and completely rebuilt the castle; the work was completed in 1307. In common with other Templar fortifications, the castle was laid out around an inner ward and possessed a chapel. Architectural features included barrel vaulting and round arches. The basic Templar core of the castle remains intact; some changes were made by Antipope Benedict XIII in order to modify it for use as a papal residence in the early 15th century. The castle defences and the associated town fortifications were significantly upgraded from the early 16th century onwards, in line with advances in military technology. The castle was massively redeveloped by military engineer Giovanni Battista Antonelli in the 16th century.


The castle was involved in various military conflicts of the Kingdom of Aragon, and later in the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, the Peninsula War and civil conflicts in the early 19th century, each of which impacted upon the state of the castle defences in some form. The castle garrison was finally disbanded in 1890.