The Quermançó Castle is located about 2 km north of Vilajuïga, Spain, situated on top of a remote hill and directly accessible only on foot from a small road that turns off the N-260. The history of the castle dates back to 1078. It was owned by Counts in the Empúries region. In 1472, during the Catalan Civil War, the castle was occupied by forces loyal to John II. In 1808, the castle was captured by Napoleonic troops, occupied for several years, and was even fortified as a keep for armaments. Despite the additional fortifications, an explosion ordered by Marshal Suchet during the French withdrawal in 1814 left the castle in ruins, which have degraded further into what is now the current state of the castle. The surrealist painter, Salvador Dalí, had a deep affection for the castle and was very familiar with it as it is positioned on the road nearly halfway between his home town of Figueres and his coastal home in Cadaqués. He had several ideas for the castle including creating a natural pipe organ in the castle which would have been "played" by the tramuntana wind that constantly blows in the area. Another was to house a rhinoceros in the basement purely for tourists to come and view, and the other was to acquire the ruins of the castle and make them in the residence of his wife, Gala. Moderate work has been performed on the castle to maintain its current state, but visitors will note that it is on privately owned land. Also of note is that the interior has been closed to the public in order to thwart vandals, so only the exterior is visible to visitors.

El castillo de Quermançó está situado a unos 2 km al norte de Vilajuïga (provincia de Gerona, Cataluña, España), sobre un monte alto de un risco, inaccesible por poniente y mediodía. Las demás vertientes tienen pendientes acentuadas. Es Bien de Interés Cultural desde 1988. Historia El castillo fue posesión de los condes de Ampurias. Ponce I, que había instalado el archivo diplomático del condado en aquel castillo, por su testamento de 1078 dejó el castillo de Quermançó a sus hijos Hugo y Berenguer. De Dalmau Berenguer de Quermançó, documentado desde el 1099, que posiblemente era nieto de Ponce I de Ampurias, arranca el linaje de los vizcondes llamados después de Rocabertí. El 1288 fue fugazmente ocupado por un ejército francés al servicio de Jaime II de Mallorca que invadió el Ampurdán.

Acceso libre y GARTUITO Acceso libre y GARTUITO Estado de ruinas

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