Top 13 Castles around Castelló D'Empúries

Small but beautiful municipality

The octagonal fortress Castell de Sant Ferran, covering 32 hectares, was built to accommodate 6,000 people and 500 horses. It is the largest bulwark fortress built in Europe in the 18th century.

Panoramic views of the Alt Empordar maritime mountains. You have two benches and a picnic area next to the motorhome and parking area. The neighborhood just below the castle is a bit problematic, so don't leave your bike behind because it can be stolen by the group of young people who come up to smoke boil and...

https://castellsantferran.com/es/horarios https://castellsantferran.com/es/horarios https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB1WPtwXzCo The Castle of San Fernando in Figueres, known as Castell de Sant Ferran, is the largest bastioned fortress in Europe, its construction beginning in 1753 under the reign of Ferdinand VI of Bourbon. It was designed by military engineer Juan Martín Zermeño and could house a garrison of 4,000 men. During the War of Independence, it was occupied by Napoleonic troops and later recovered by the Catalan migueletes. In the Spanish Civil War, it served as a concentration point for the International Brigades and a refuge for the Spanish Artistic Treasure, and in 1939 it hosted the last meeting of the Republican Cortes in national territory. It was subsequently used as a barracks until the 1960s and was opened to the public in 1996. The fortress has suffered significant damage throughout its history, including the destruction of part of its walls and structures during explosions in the Civil War. .

Located on a hill, at the end of the Castell pujada, it is a large bastioned fortification built in the 18th century following the project of the commander of the Corps of Engineers Juan Martín Zermeño. It occupies an area of 32 hectares with a perimeter of 3,120 meters, and the cisterns, located under the parade ground, hold 9 million liters of water. The castle of San Ferran, which had a capacity for 4,000 men, currently constitutes a heritage legacy of the first order, the largest monument in Catalonia and the largest modern fortress in Europe. Due to its enormous dimensions, the sophisticated construction techniques applied in the military engineering of the time, and its excellent state of conservation, a visit to the Sant Ferran castle constitutes a unique experience.

The temple of Sant Martí del Far, located at the highest part of the town, was part of the castle built at the end of the s. XIII. It is a single nave church with a rectangular apse. The vault of the nave is pointed and followed, the presbytery has the same shape. The cover, located to the west, has three semicircular arches in gradation, lintel and smooth tympanum. The most remarkable element of this facade is the upper half-point arched window, of large dimensions and with saw-tooth decoration. A saddle bell tower with two semicircular arches and an upper corsair supported by nine corbels complete this facade. The walls of the apse rise above the level of its vault. In this area, on the roof, a set of long loopholes opens around this rectangular apse. The upper part of the wall is finished by a corsera formed by small pointed arches. The fortification of the apse and that of the bell tower on the front are from the same period as the rest of the temple; on the other hand, on the side walls of the nave are raised stone walls finished with rectangular battlements that correspond to a late reform, possibly from the 18th century. On each of the side walls of the nave there are also five gargoyles and in the apse we find four with a very simple decoration. The entire church presents a set of well-spaced ashlars that form perfectly consecutive rows. In the upper part of the apse where the loopholes open there is a frieze made up of three rows of ashlars of a darker color that stands out within the monument as a whole. The church of Sant Martí del Far has been documented since the 13th and 14th centuries. It seems that it was rebuilt during the 13th century, when the Count of Empúries had the castle built. It is a Romanesque temple that indicates the transition to the Gothic style.”

In 959 Count Gausfred recognized this place as one of the many properties that Riculf had. Cinco Claus Castle was built in the 14th century. In 1402, Sinch keys appeared, along with the Courts, as places incorporated into the Crown by King Martí l'Humà. Because of its proximity to Empúries, it suffered numerous military confrontations: the military contest between Count Hug V of Empúries and King Jaume I (1274-1275), pirate raids (1483), the attack of Castilian troops of Felipe IV in the War of Secession, when the Cinc Claus castle belonged to the head of the Catalan militia Josep de Margarit i de Biure (1640) and the Carline wars. The farmhouses of Cinco Claus were built by reusing materials from the remains of the old castle.

nice view, but also an incline to get there