Petrer Castle
Petrer Castle
Its double walled enclosure can still be seen today. It stands in the highest part of the city, and was built in the late 12th century by the Arabs. The fortress played a part in the Muslim revolt of 1256, and in 1296 Jaime II incorporated it into the kingdom of Aragon.
Spainisculture
The castle is Petrer’s most iconic monument. Outlines against the sky, it stands on top of a hill surrounded by the town’s historic centre and overlooks most of the Vinalopó valley. The Islamic inhabitants of the town of Bitrir, the Arab name for Petrer, built the fortress in the late 12th century. Barely fifty years later they were forced to surrender to advancing troops from Castile and Aragon, and the town became part of the Kingdom of Valencia from the 14th century onwards.
If you visit the castle you will see that it has two areas: the upper enclosure or citadel, with a free-standing tower, the great hall and the dungeon, and the lower enclosure or esplanade, where there was a settlement defended by an outer stone and mortar wall. This wall reveals a final and exciting surprise: cave houses. This unique form of living accommodation dates from the early 20th century, when local people built their homes by setting them into the walls.
Costablanca.orgWebsite:http://petrer.es/cas/monumentos.html
