Interesting Sites Nearby
User Reviews
El Moral Castle is located in the heart of the historic town centre of Lucena. It was originally built by the Moorish califate of Al-Andalus in the 9th century on the site of Roman and Visigoth remains. Later the castle was the headquarters of the 'donceles', a military body and group of elite nobles serving King Ferdinand the Catholic. The Keep was where King Boabdil was held prisoner after being captured in the battle of Martín González (1483), near the Sierra de Aras. It later became the residence of the Marquises of Comares.
The building currently houses the Archaeological and Ethnological Museum of Lucena, which features the Hall of Sima del Ángel, an important site from the Lower Palaeolithic era, considered one of the three essential sites for discovering the origins of mankind in Spain together with Orce and Atapuerca. The Jewish Room, refers to the ancient Jewish city of Eliossana, known as the Pearl of Sepharad.
There are stunning views of the town from the Paseo de Ronda and the terrace of the Keep.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.