Ciudad Real Castles
Castle of Calatrava la Nueva
(Aldea del Rey)
This is a Gothic castle with a rose window in its church that
should not be missed.
This castle-convent consists of three walled enclosures. In the
first wall, oriented towards the south, you find the Gate of the
Sun, where the way up to the castle begins. It is a gate made
of volcanic stone, like the arches of the cloister. On the main
façade the Iron Gate gives access to the fortress and to
an area covered by a stonemasonry vault. In the convent, the plasterwork
decorating its walls is outstanding. In the church, the most important
feature is a Gothic-style rose window. Within the fortress there
are also guest quarters and the Field of the Martyrs (cemetery
of the Order of Calatrava). Between the hallowed ground and the
church is the access to the Castle, which has a library whose
walls are entirely of stone to prevent fires.
Castle of Calatrava la Vieja
(Carrión de Calatrava)
Of Arab origin.
An important water defence system, combined with walls and walled
passageways was included in the construction.
The River Guadiana served as a natural moat for the northern part
of the fortress. The rest of the wall was surrounded by a 10-metre
deep ditch filled directly with river water. along its 1,500 metres
of wall there are 44 quadrangular plan towers and 2 pentagonal
shaped ones. It has 2 elbow accesses and 2 'albarrana' towers,
standing along, but connected to the walls by arches. The wall
area is divided into 2 zones: the Medina and the Citadel. Here
the outstanding feature is a Templar apse with a dodecagonal plan
which was never completed. The remains of the forge and the vaulted
rooms are also interesting.
Ciudad Real guide