Castle of Santa Bárbara

The Castle of Santa Bárbara ("Castillo de Santa Bárbara") is located in the center of Alicante, Spain. It stands on the mountain called "Benacantil" (166 m).

History

Bronze Age, Iberian, and Roman artifacts have been found on the slopes of the mountain, but the origins of the castle date to the ninth century at the time of Muslim control of the Iberian Peninsula. 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 December 4, 1248, the castle was captured by Castilian forces led by Alfonso de Castilla, later Alfonso X. It was named after Saint Barbara, on whose feast day the castle was captured. 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.

The castle was bombarded in 1691 by a French squadron. During the War of Spanish Succession, it was held by the English (Alicante, along with the rest of Valencia, backed Carlos in the War of Spanish Succession). In 1873, it was bombarded, along with the city, by the "cantonalistas" from the frigate "Numancia".

The castle was sometimes used as a prison. It remained abandoned until 1963, when it was opened to the public. Elevators were installed inside the mountain.

External links

* [http://www.cult.gva.es/dgpa/Inmuebles/Detalles.asp?IdInmueble=320 Catálogo del Patrimonio Cultural Valenciano]
* [http://video.google.es/videoplay?docid=-2136224048129738769&q=dicumental+castillo+santa&total=4&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1 Reportaje Documental sobre el Castillo de Santa Barbara]