The Puig des Molins contains the Punic Necropolis, a medieval Islamic rural property, and an archaeological museum. It gets its name from the windmills (molins in Catalan) which have stood on the top of the hill since at least the 14th century. This place was chosen by the founders of the city of Ibiza, the Phoenicians, in the middle of the 7th century BC, to bury their dead. During Antiquity, this was the site where the urban necropolis was located.
Since 1903, several archaeological works have been carried out, which have provided a huge amount of Phoenician, Punic and Roman materials. The monographic museum is world class, especially due to its Phoenician-Punic archaeological collection. In 1931, the necropolis was declared Historical and Artistic Monument (a Spanish type of protection category for monuments at those times), which kept it safe, at least some of it, from the urban growth pressure that was starting to affect the city. Because of this, today, with its nearly 5 preserved hectares, it is the largest and most well-preserved Phoenician-Punic necropolis in the western Mediterranean basin.
Exhibitions of three civilisations are housed in the Archaeological Museum. The building is the setting for a display of artefacts left on the islands by three different peoples: Phoenicians, Punics, and Romans, including objects from the necropolis of Puig des Molins, whose burial chambers contained necklaces, bronze and lead tools, projectile weapons, amulets, and coins were found. Highlights include the collection of decorated ostrich eggs, and particularly a bust of the goddess Tanit, who has become a veritable symbol of Ibiza.
References:The Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg is situated in a strategic area on a rocky spur overlooking the Upper Rhine Plain, it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years' War when it was abandoned. From 1900 to 1908 it was rebuilt at the behest of the German kaiser Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist site, attracting more than 500,000 visitors a year.
The first records of a castle built by the Hohenstaufens date back to 1147. The fortress changed its name to Koenigsburg (royal castle) around 1157. The castle was handed over to the Tiersteins by the Habsburgs following its destruction in 1462. They rebuilt and enlarged it, installing a defensive system designed to withstand artillery fire.
The fortification work accomplished over the 15th century did not suffice to keep the Swedish artillery at bay during the Thirty Years War, and the defences were overrun.