The Cartama Castle is located in the Monte de la Virgen (Mount of the Virgin), where the Hermitage of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios is also located and where it is possible to be enjoyed some impressive panoramic views. Cártama Castle was built by the Moors in the early Middle Ages. During the Mozarabic revolt of Omar ibn Hafsun, between 881 and 914 AD, Cártama stayed loyal to the Caliphate of Córdoba and the castle was strengthened.
Because of the advancing Christian troops Cártama Castle was again strengthened during the 14th century. By that time the castle would probably have had a double curtain wall and several towers. In 1485 however, the castle was taken by Christians troops. Because the castle was important for their siege against the city of Málaga the Catholic Monarchs invested large sums of money in maintaining the castle between 1485 and 1487. From 1491 on the castle lost its strategic importance and the castle was used as a quarry by the locals.
What you can see today are the scarce remains of a rectangular alcazaba with its surrounding walls and a cistern.
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.