Medieval castles in Navarre

Royal Palace of Olite

The Palace of the Kings of Navarre of Olite was one of the seats of the Court of the Kingdom of Navarre, since the reign of Charles III 'the Noble' until its conquest by Castile (1512). The fortification is both castle and palace, although it was built more like a courtier building to fulfill a military function. On an ancient Roman fortification was built during the reign of Sancho VII of Navarre (13th century ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Olite, Spain

Zalatambor Castle

The first documents of Zalatambor Castle date back to 1024. This fort became known since the 13th century as the castle of Zalatambor, coinciding with the first fortifications made in the main rock. In addition to the successive extensions and reforms of Zalatambor, the defense of the city was reinforced with the construction of a new castle, Belmecher, in 1276, and a tower as a defensive watchtower that, following the m ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Estella, Spain

Xavier Castle

The Castle of Xavier (Castillo de Javier) is located on a hill in the town of Javier. Built in the 10th century, this castle was the birthplace and childhood home of Saint Francis Xavier, son of the Lords of Xavier, hence his surname. The town of Javier belonged to the Kingdom of Navarre which was always its own kingdom, never belonging to France. The castle consists of three buildings with different antiquity. The Tower ...
Founded: 10th century AD | Location: Javier, Spain

Cerco de Artajona

The walls of Artajona is 11th century fortified walled complex. It originally had fourteen crenellated towers, of which nine remain. The complex has also fortified church of San Saturnino, which was part of the complex’s defense system together with robust walls, buttresses, the watchtower, the parapet walk and dungeon. The church was Gothic edifice from the 13th century.
Founded: 11th century | Location: Artajona, Spain

Marcilla Castle

The Castillo Palacio de Marcilla is a Gothic-style castle built in the 15th century by Mosén Pierres de Peralta. At first it had a defensive character but when the Marquisate of Falces was instituted it became the residential palace of the Marquises. The gateway to the castle, which houses the drawbridge under which the moat runs, is next to what is considered to be the Homage Tower, one of the four towers that make up t ...
Founded: 15th century | Location: Marcilla, Spain

Tiebas Castle

Theobald I ordered the construction of the Tiebas castle around 1250 and since then it has suffered throughout history. It survived numerous attacks quite well until an attack by Castile in 1378 ended with it on fire. With it, burned a good part of the Navarre Archive, and this has deprived us of a lot of information about our history. Luckily, in 1512, it managed not be demolished under Cardinal Cisneros. Then it witne ...
Founded: c. 1250 | Location: Tiebas, Spain

Cortes Castle

Cortes Castle originates from the Muslim reign, but first document dates from 1128 after the town was conquered by Christian army. The medieval building was restored as a residential palace in the mid-16th century and again in the 19th century.        
Founded: 12th century | Location: Cortes, Spain

San Esteban de Deyo Castle

San Esteban de Deyo, also called the Castillo de Monjardín, is a ruined castle on a hill overlooking Villamayor de Monjardín in Navarre. The castle lies at an elevation of 890 metres. The castle has a Roman foundation, but was repeatedly rebuilt over the centuries. It was one of the last fortresses of the Banu Qasi, the local Muslim dynasty, before it was taken by King Sancho I of Navarre in 914. According to ...
Founded: 9th century AD | Location: Villamayor de Monjardín, Spain

Irulegui Castle

Irulegui castle is located on the Sierra de Aranguren in the municipality of Laquidáin. During the Iron Age it there was a castro de los Vascones. This pre-Roman fort was destroyed around 76 BC. as a consequence of the rebellion. Although there are legends that suggest the existence of the castle (or, at least, of a defensive structure in this place) during the Almanzor raids in the 11th century, the first reliable do ...
Founded: 12th century | Location: Laquidáin, Spain

Garaño Castle

Garaño castle is one of the oldest in Navarre. It may be the Sajrat Qais, mentioned in the Arab chronicles in the 8th-10th centuries. Coins from the 11th century are found from the ruins. There were a small town, which disappeared in the 14th century. The castle was dismantled in 1512, today some ruins remain.
Founded: 8th century AD | Location: Saldise, Spain

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Monte d'Accoddi

Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.