Miranda de Ebro Castle, Miranda de Ebro, Spain

The castle of Miranda de Ebro is located on Picota hill and offers great views of the city and the mountains that surround it. The origins of the castle date from 1358, when Tello of Castille asked the bishopric of Calahorra for the land to construct a castle at the top of the hill of La Picota, a place that was at that time occupied by the church of Santa Maria. Nevertheless, the construction did not begin until 1449, when Pedro Sarmiento occupied the church. Construction was delayed until 1485 and were directed by the expert stonecutter Juan Guas.

The fact that Miranda has been always a border region has caused the castle to witness the consequences of war on numerous occasions, and was continuously redeveloped. The most recent conflict it saw was during the War of Independence of Spain and the Carlist Wars, that left the castle in ruins. Perhaps the most important event of the fortress's history occurred during the War of Spanish Independence, when Jose Bonaparte signed the decree of use of the French currency in Spain at the castle.

In 1903, the city council, which was at the time the owner of the castle, decided to dismantle it. The stone from the castle was used for the construction of the bullring (today disappeared), the ruins of the castle were covered with earth and used as the foundations for the construction of a water tank.

Today only the north wall is visible, between the King's Battery and the Queen's Battery. Also preserved, though hidden by vegetation, is the East-West wall and a circular tower in the southwestern edge, which was probably crenellated. The entrance to the fortification was through a barbican: a small defensive system that consisted of a series of entrance halls before the front door. It also had a pit on the west side that looks towards the rest of the hill of the Picota.

The castle was constructed of ashlar masonry stone, or at least the external walls, while the rest was completed with rubble.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Andreea Manea (3 years ago)
From above, the scenery is interesting. Only one column has been preserved, the rest is being rebuilt. You can also go up with the elevator. The garden started by the nuns is interesting, there are species that are not specific to Spain.

Nagore (3 years ago)
I didn't like it at all, when they told us about seeing the "botanical garden" the truth is that I expected much more than a few pots and plants planted without more, which just the same for the time of year in which I went they don't look nothing, but come on, that for me is more similar to a home garden than a botanical garden. As for the castle, I understand why the people of Mirande feel proud, and in its day it was very important, that's for sure, but what there is today has little of a castle. The only thing worth seeing is the view from the top. The truth is that it has not been at all as I expected.

Jose Felix Salazar (4 years ago)
Well preserved. Interesting

Carmen Maestre (4 years ago)
Little remains of what was. Nice views of Miranda de Ebro. Misspellings on poster

Ornella Petrazzini (5 years ago)
We went up at 1:20 pm and it was closed

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Andy Hay

Historic Site of the week

Argos Theater

The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.

The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.

Miranda de Ebro Castle

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Argos Theater