Capdepera Castle

Capdepera, Spain

The Castle of Capdepera is one of the largest castles on the Majorca island. Its construction began in 310, but in the fourteenth century it was rebuilt on the remains of a Muslim village.

The Castle of Capdepera is important to the island as it was from here that the surrender of Menorca, the island neighbouring Majorca in the Balearic archipelago, was accomplished. King James I of Aragon, having conquered Majorca, decided he needed his troops for the future conquest of Valencia. He devised a ploy to deceive the Muslims residing on Menorca and cause them to surrender. To do this, he ordered a large number of bonfires lit in Capdepera so that they were visible from the neighbouring island. This was to make the Saracen Menorcans believe that a large army had camped there and were preparing to invade Menorca. The ruse worked. So finally, at this very castle, James I signed the Treaty of Capdepera, through which the Menorcan Muslims were allowed to remain there in submission to the King of Aragon under tribute.

The first construction of a fortress on this site was by Romans. It was later enlarged by the Moors. It was destroyed during Christian invasions but they later constructed another structure in the same location in the fourteenth century.

King James II (1285-1295) having already founded the town of Capdepera in 1300, ordered the population of the area, which had been scattered, to build the walled enclosure surrounding one of its watchtowers now known as Miquel Nunis. Its strategic location on a hill allowed them to view the adjacent lands and sea channel separating the two islands.

The castle was occupied by military troops up to 1854 when it was abandoned. From then until 1983 it was under private ownership. At that time the owners donated it to the Capdepera Town Council. Today it remains open for tourist viewing throughout the year.

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Details

Founded: c. 1300
Category: Castles and fortifications in Spain

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Travel Zone (2 years ago)
It’s nice attractive and if you hire car it’s much easier to car near attraction go there by walk. Entrance ticket was €3. Good place to explore and at top you can explore whole town. There is museum and church in side the castell
Chris Mooney (2 years ago)
Very interesting well preserved Castle. Loads of information to read. Very inexpensive. Great views of both the Castle and surrounding landscape. You can see menorca from the top. Nice village surrounding the Castle. Very few other people, lots of space and time to enjoy it. No time limit. I'd recommend bring some snacks to eat and enjoy the view from the top.
Nina (2 years ago)
€3 admission to nice little castle ruins with a small museum about its history. Quite nice to walk around, with beautiful panoramic views of the surrounding areas. However, it’s difficult to walk around, extremely hilly, very tiring and especially bad on a boiling hot day! Also the car needs to be parked in the village and you climb up to get to the castle, so difficult to get to and to walk around!
Pablo Garza (2 years ago)
This is a good visit if you are passing through Capdepera. Really nothing splendid but a nice visit nevertheless. The entrance was about €3 and it took us not more than 45 minutes to visit the whole castle. It has a nice viewpoint of the coast from the top and of all Capdepera. Highly recommend visiting the Far the Capdepera after you come here. I would only visit if you have some minutes to spare, but I would prefer going to a nearby beach.
Sofia Almeida (2 years ago)
The castle is located at the top of the hill and has an unobstructed view over the city and the sea. It is necessary to park the car in the city and walk up the road. Entrance is paid and has a value of 3€. The castle is very well maintained, in addition to the ruins, it also has trees, flowers and even benches to sit on. In the highest part of the castle there is a chapel and a tower. The interior of the tower has been transformed into a museum where there is an explanation of the history of the place. It is a recommended place to visit.
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