Burgalimar Castle horizontal view photograph

Burgalimar Castle in Baños de la encina:

Burgalimar Castle (Spanish: Castillo de Burgalimar) is a historic castle in the town of Baños de la Encina, Jaén Province, Spain. It was built in the 10th century under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba.

Here you are an horizontal view photograph if you’re interested to buy a license.

History:

A marble inscription plaque found at the entrance of the castle records the date of its construction as 967 AD (357 AH), during the reign of the caliph Al-Hakam II, who is also named in the inscription. The marble plaque is now kept at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid. The castle was built as a military base and garrison to defend the valley of the Guadalquivir River and the roads to and from the capital city of Córdoba.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, during the Reconquista, the castle changed hands multiple times between the Muslim rulers of Al-Andalus and the Christian kingdoms to the north. Alfonso VII captured it in 1147 but it returned to Muslim control after his death in 1157.

Alfonso VIII and Alfonso IX together captured it again for a time in 1189. It was captured by the Kingdom of Castile in 1212, shortly before the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, but returned to Almohad control three days after the battle. The castle was definitively conquered by Castile in 1225, when it conquered the surrounding region. The Castilians later added a keep tower called the Torre del Homenaje (“Tower of Homage”) in 1466.

It was designated a National Monument of Spain in 1931.