#VILLENA

#Villena #CastillosComunidadValenciana
This spectacular fortress was built by the Almohad Empire at the end of the s. XII, as a refuge for the Muslim population of Villena. The inner wall and the first two floors of the homage tower with its imposing vaults, unique in the castles of Spain along with the fortress of Biar, date from this period.
Jaime I conquered the castle in 1240 and, after the signing of the Treaty of Almizra, the Lordship of Villena passed to the domains of the Manuel family, the first feudal lords. In the 14th century, the famous writer Don Juan Manuel, author of El Conde Lucanor, was Prince of Villena. In addition, his second wife, the Infanta Doña Constanza de Aragón, lived in the castle, which forced the first reforms to be carried out. In the 15th century, the castle was ruled by the powerful Pacheco family, Marqueses de Villena, who added two new floors to the tower and built the second wall. In 1476, the Catholic Monarchs snatched the castle from the Pachecos after a harsh siege, from which numerous projectiles remain in the parade ground.
During the following centuries, the castle was the protagonist in the wars of the Germanías, the Succession or the Independence, as shown by the formidable existing artillery impacts and the graffiti on the tower, made by prisoners.