Medellín Castle

The Medellín Castle stands on a hill near the Guadiana river between Mérida and La Serena. The first documents found concerning this castle refer to the Moslem period in the 12th century, with a splendid double cistern preserved from this time. Later on, in the 13th century, this fortress was occupied by the Christians under the leadership of Ferdinand III. Shortly afterwards the castle was completely destroyed to be rebuilt in the 15th century by the Count of Medellín, Don Rodrigo Portocarrero.

During your visit you will find traces of all these episodes in the irregular diamond-shaped structure of this fortress, which is adapted to the hillside on which it stands. The main body is divided by an internal rampart, flanked by a wall with four cubes and two towers. Another of the peculiarities of this structure was that it had four doors, of which you can now see only two, one with a rounded arch and the other with a pointed arch, and two towers in the centre of the north and south sides, both ingeniously communicated to give access to the different floors. In spite of the passage of time, the Medellín Castle maintains its defensive character, which has led to its declaration as a cultural heritage site.