Cortegana Castle, Cortegana, Spain

The Cortegana Castle is situated on top of a hill. From this elevated position there are beautiful views of the Cortegana town and also of the Natural Park.

The Cortegana Castle is the best preserved medieval fortress in the region. The exact foundation date is unknown. Possibly the first castle was erected in the andalusí period, although its present appearance should be put in relation with the military sponsored bt the Council of Seville in the late 13th century to defend the northwest corner of its territory.

The Fence is the first line of defense on the enclosure. This consists of a powerful masonry wall, adapted to the contour lines at regular intervals protected by towers square and rectangular. In its southwest extreme, on the road to the town, its entrance door was placed protected by a tower. Constituted the first line of defense of the castle but, in turn, served as a venue where safeguard assets and livestock of the villagers when the Portuguese raids occurred.

References:

Andalucia Rustica

Address

Calle Piedad 28, Cortegana, Spain

See all sites in Cortegana

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Spain

More Information

andaluciarustica.com

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Almonaster Mezquita (5,1 km)

Aracena Castle (22,4 km)

User Reviews

Lorena Carleos Gomez (13 months ago)
I went for a medieval festival and it was as beautiful as usual

diana dorina mita (2 years ago)
Best castle

L G (2 years ago)
We went at around 1.30 pm. Beautiful day, few people around, entry fee quite cheap, great views all around. The lady at the ticket office was super nice and took 5 minutes to explain the site before we bought the tickets. Definitely a 5 stars visit.

Loreyn santana (2 years ago)
Beautiful place. The views are fantastic and is fair

junto geto (3 years ago)
I really like castles. Unfortunately this one was under renovation during this time and was not suitable for entry. If you go towards the end of February, there will be wildflowers in bloom all around the castle, yellow and white, making it look very pretty

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright adegie

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Czocha Castle

Czocha Castle is located on the Lake Leśnia, what is now the Polish part of Upper Lusatia. Czocha castle was built on gneiss rock, and its oldest part is the keep, to which housing structures were later added.

Czocha Castle began as a stronghold, on the Czech-Lusatian border. Its construction was ordered by Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, in the middle of the 13th century (1241–1247). In 1253 castle was handed over to Konrad von Wallhausen, Bishop of Meissen. In 1319 the complex became part of the dukedom of Henry I of Jawor, and after his death, it was taken over by another Silesian prince, Bolko II the Small, and his wife Agnieszka. Origin of the stone castle dates back to 1329.

In the mid-14th century, Czocha Castle was annexed by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia. Then, between 1389 and 1453, it belonged to the noble families of von Dohn and von Kluks. Reinforced, the complex was besieged by the Hussites in the early 15th century, who captured it in 1427, and remained in the castle for unknown time (see Hussite Wars). In 1453, the castle was purchased by the family of von Nostitz, who owned it for 250 years, making several changes through remodelling projects in 1525 and 1611. Czocha's walls were strengthened and reinforced, which thwarted a Swedish siege of the complex during the Thirty Years War. In 1703, the castle was purchased by Jan Hartwig von Uechtritz, influential courtier of Augustus II the Strong. On August 17, 1793, the whole complex burned in a fire.

In 1909, Czocha was bought by a cigar manufacturer from Dresden, Ernst Gutschow, who ordered major remodelling, carried out by Berlin architect Bodo Ebhardt, based on a 1703 painting of the castle. Gutschow, who was close to the Russian Imperial Court and hosted several White emigres in Czocha, lived in the castle until March 1945. Upon leaving, he packed up the most valuable possessions and moved them out.

After World War II, the castle was ransacked several times, both by soldiers of the Red Army, and Polish thieves, who came to the so-called Recovered Territories from central and eastern part of the country. Pieces of furniture and other goods were stolen, and in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the castle was home to refugees from Greece. In 1952, Czocha was taken over by the Polish Army. Used as a military vacation resort, it was erased from official maps. The castle has been open to the public since September 1996 as a hotel and conference centre. The complex was featured in several movies and television series. Recently, the castle has been used as the setting of the College of Wizardry, a live action role-playing game (LARP) that takes place in their own universe and can be compared to Harry Potter.

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Cortegana Castle