Rello Castle, Rello, Spain - SpottingHistory.com

The fortified town of Rello still maintains the original defensive walls and castle that were used as protection against civilisations that came from the south following the Douro River. It is the best-preserved walled enclosure in the province.

You can go inside through either one of the two gates located on the sides of the castle. The castle is protected by a fortified enclosure with circular and quadrangular towers that have elbow openings. The upper part of the towers are crowned with 15th-century machicolations and you can still see some remains of the keep, a water pool and a wall of the gate that separated the castle from the rest of the town.

In the outer enclosure, there are still gunboats in the lower section that were used for artillery.

References:

sorianitelaimaginas.com

User Reviews

Ramón (3 months ago)
I went on a rainy day in December and there was no one in town. Literally. The restoration of the walls well done. A viewpoint of the silhouette of the town on the road that comes from Medinaceli is missing.

Carmen Sanz (5 months ago)
We arrived at the town of Rello by chance. The castle was under restoration but we were able to tour the town. I really liked the rough beauty of its stone houses, the views over the riverbank, the encounter with the people we crossed, the greeting and the solitude and silence that inhabit it. A small stop that is well worth it.

bego de caso (5 months ago)
Incredible and surprising place. Some views that you can not stop contemplating and more in this autumn season where the range of colors is infinite. Wonderful

Jordi nieva (11 months ago)
I fell in love, a charming town where its streets, walls, stone houses make you enter times of the past where the locals make you feel comfortable, as if you were one of the town, kindness and good treatment is breathed in the atmosphere while you walk its streets

Pablo A. Pérez (2 years ago)
Aldea situada en la Soria profunda y desabitada. Conserva íntegramente el aspecto mediaval con callejuelas estrechas, llenas de historia. Tanto el castillo como la muralla está en reformas que mejorará de sobremanera el conjunto. No deberían permitir aparcar vehículos en el interior pues desdice la imagen del conjunto histórico.

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Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians. The county became a privileged refuge for persecuted Cathars.

The castle, often besieged (notably by Simon de Montfort in 1211 and 1212), resisted assault and was only taken once, in 1486, thanks to treachery during the war between two branches of the Foix family.

From the 14th century, the Counts of Foix spent less and less time in the uncomfortable castle, preferring the Governors' Palace. From 1479, the Counts of Foix became Kings of Navarre and the last of them, made Henri IV of France, annexed his Pyrrenean lands to France.

As seat of the Governor of the Foix region from the 15th century, the castle continued to ensure the defence of the area, notably during the Wars of Religion. Alone of all the castles in the region, it was exempted from the destruction orders of Richelieu (1632-1638).

Until the Revolution, the fortress remained a garrison. Its life was brightened with grand receptions for its governors, including the Count of Tréville, captain of musketeers under Louis XIII and Marshal Philippe Henri de Ségur, one of Louis XVI's ministers. The Round Tower, built in the 15th century, is the most recent, the two square towers having been built before the 11th century. They served as a political and civil prison for four centuries until 1862.

Since 1930, the castle has housed the collections of the Ariège départemental museum. Sections on prehistory, Gallo-Roman and mediaeval archaeology tell the history of Ariège from ancient times. Currently, the museum is rearranging exhibits to concentrate on the history of the castle site so as to recreate the life of Foix at the time of the Counts.

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