Torredonjimeno castle

Municipality: Torredonjimeno

Regions: Campiña Norte de Jaén

Latitude: 37.765326°

Longitude: -3.959708°

Altitude: 582.136 m

Video - Torredonjimeno castle

Torredonjimeno is a municipality located between Jaén and the Cordoba countryside.

The name of the town derives from Don Ximeno de Raya, conqueror of the town in the 13th century.

The castle of this town is integrated into the current urban area. The castle as it is known today fue Built by the Christians in the second half of the 13th century, on top of an old Arab fortress.

History of Torredonjimeno Castle

Muslim era

Between the 7th and 10th centuries, the land that would later be occupied by the castle was used as a settlement for a farmhouse dedicated to raising cattle and cultivating the land.

In the 11th century and the first decades of the 13th century, the Arabs built a fortress with the aim of protecting the peasants and ranchers.forehead to the internal Arab conflicts and the advance of the Christian hosts.

Regain

in the pact of Las Navas de Tolosa , al-Bayyasi gave in toFerdinand III Martos and Torredonjimeno was integrated into the territory of the Order of Calatrava. The old Arab castle underwent numerous modifications.

In 1368, thethe raidscarried carried out against Jaén by the Nasrid king Muhammad V, forced to further strengthen the defenses of Torredonjimeno. For this, an outer wall was built to protect the citizens and the security of the castle was improvedendowing to the castle of a moat of water coming from the Salado river

16th - 18th centuries

In the year 1526, Carlos V ordered the demolition of the walls of Torredonjimeno. The stones of the old wall were used for the construction of the church of the Immaculate Conception of Santa María.

Upon losing its military function, the Guzmán family rehabilitated the fortress as a stately residence. It was endowed with two patios and the towers were abandoned, causing their deterioration.

In the 18th century, the Duke of Abrantes ordered the removal of stones from the towers, battlements and walls to be used in theconstruction of two oil mills and other dependencies.

20th century - Present

late of the 20th century, the castle was ceded to the municipality and the Workshop School was in charge of rehabilitating it as cIt isntrOcultural.

At present, ininside ofhe castle houses the interpretation center of the Visigothic treasure, found at the beginning of the 20th century in the surroundings of the municipality.

The castle

Exterior

The material used in the construction of the Castillo de Torredonjimeno is irregular masonry.

At present, yesOnly two towers remain, one circular and the other square, and three sections of wall, all of them built on a masonry base filled with earth and stone.

The northwest tower serves as a buttress, with just enough space for a staircase to access the wall walk.

Interior

Towards the interior area, the remains of the old parade ground are located, surrounded by old wall structures.

TheCurrent remains reveal two rectangular enclosures in which the wall of the outer enclosuremeets the forewall function of the interior. In addition, there was a natural moat,fed by the water of the Salado River, carried through an underground mine passageway.

Inside the enclosure we can appreciate part of the palace housebuilt in the 16th century in which several of its rooms with roofs in the Mudejar style stand out.

Curiosities

The first book on the art of bullfighting

Thetradition account that, in the Tower of Homage of the castle, the commander of theOrder of Calatrava He wrote the first book on the art of bullfighting. Only one copy of this book survives. printed in the 16th century and currently preserved in the Library of Salamanca.

Acces

The visit must be made under reservation It can be reserved through the House of Culture. Telephone 953 57 22 02 or in Torredonjimeno C/ Plaza Victoria Nº 2.

Photo Gallery - Torredonjimeno castle

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