Guardamar Castle, locally known as Castillo de Guardamar, lies on a hill in the center of the city of Guardamar del Segura in the province of Alicante in Spain. Guardamar Castle is situated on a slighty sloping ridge, a strategic place in the coastal strip of the Bajo Segura area, next to the river mouth and facing the sea. And what now is known as Guardamar Castle was actually a walled village with a castle at the highest end of the ridge. The village and castle were founded in 1271 as a royal town by Alfonso X of Castile. He populated the town with Castilians. The site however has been inhabited since before Phoenician times. Castilian rule over Guardamar lasted till 1296 when James II added it to his Aragonese kingdom. In the beginning of the 14th century it became the most important port and coastal fortress for the inland town of Orihuela. In 1331 it was sacked and burned during a Moorish raid. In 1368, during the War of the Two Peters, the village was placed under the jurisdiction of Orihuela. During the 16th century the old medieval defences were reconstructed to cope with the advance of warfare; medieval towers were lowered and a couple of bastions were built. In 1829 the area was hit by a severe earthquake. The castle and village were destroyed and subsequently abandoned as its inhabitants moved to the lower lands next to the sea. At present Guardamar Castle is freely accessible. It used like a town park. There is not very much to see here, so not very interesting, but nice if you want to have a nice viewpoint over the city. http://www.castles.nl

El castillo de Guardamar se encuentra en un cerro rocoso sito junto a la localidad del mismo nombre, en la comarca de la Vega Baja del Segura (Alicante, España). De origen árabe, se trata de un recinto alargado dividido en dos secciones. La parte superior constituye el castillo propiamente dicho, de planta poligonal, datado en la primera mitad del siglo XII y del que quedan muy pocas restos, puesto que fue destruido, igual que el castillo de Orihuela, durante el fuerte terremoto de marzo de 1829. La parte inferior es de mayor tamaño y está rodeada por una muralla gótica que sufrió importantes modificaciones en el siglo XVI. Los elementos más importantes son algunos tramos de sus sólidos muros, así como las bases de algunos torreones y construcciones auxiliares. La zona de más valor arqueológico es el denominado Baluarte de la Pólvora. La villa permaneció dentro de estos muros hasta el terremoto de 1829, cuando fue trasladada. Actualmente se encuentra en estado de ruina consolidada, ha sido parcialmente rehabilitado, y se siguen realizando excavaciones arqueológicas.

Se puede aparcar en la misma zona de acceso El acceso es libre El acceso es libre http://www.magmuseo.com/contacto/

-