Santa Bárbara Castle

Historia

Santa Bárbara Castle is a fortification in the center of Alicante, Spain. It stands on Mount Benacantil .HistoryBronze Age, Iberian, and Roman artifacts have been found on the slopes of the mountain, but the origins of the castle date to the 9th century at the time of Muslim control of the Iberian Peninsula, from 711 till 1296. The Arab medieval geographer Al-Idrisi calls this mountain Banu-lQatil, and the toponym may derive from the words pinna (Arabic for "peak") and laqanti, adjectival form of Laqant, the Arabic name for Alicante.On 4 December 1248, the castle was captured by Castilian forces led by Alfonso of Castile. It was named after Saint Barbara, on whose feast day the castle was recaptured from the Arabs. It was conquered by the Aragonese in 1296 during the reign of James II of Aragon, who ordered its reconstruction. Peter IV of Aragon, Charles I of Spain and Philip II of Spain would oversee further reconstructions.

"El Castillo de Santa Bárbara está ubicado en la cumbre del monte Benacantil, a 166 metros de altitud. En él se encuentra una de las más grandes fortalezas medievales de España, desde la que se divisa a la perfección la bahía de Alicante.Constituye además un equipamiento cultural en el que se celebran numerosos eventos a lo largo del año.Se recomienda la organización previa de la visita para tener presentes los itinerarios transitables y las normas de seguridad que se aplicarán en el recinto por COVID-19Acceso gratuito."