Since the Muslim period, the defence of Al-Andalus became a primary objective and that is the reason why castles were built in fortifications located in strategic places. Most of them are over six centuries old, witnesses of the Middle Ages, built by the Arab population to defend themselves from the Christians fighting for the Reconquest. These fortresses or castles have survived to the present day as living witnesses of that exciting period.
The different recommended routes through the castles of the province of Seville promote the valuable architectural and historical legacy of these jewels located in numerous towns of the province and that centuries ago were meeting places for cultures, centres of trade and transmission of knowledge, as well as defensive enclaves, inherited from the recent Muslim past, reformed or rebuilt in some cases after the Christian reconquest.
In this way, the route will take us to know the defensive fronts known as the “Galician band”, which runs through the north of the province in order to control any incursion into it from the kingdom of Portugal, as well as the “Moorish band”, located on the south of the territory and which defended the border with the Nasrid kingdom.
To discover everything that the province of Seville has to offer in relation to this theme, four different routes are proposed. These are geographically close and related to the two defensive fronts mentioned above: the Galician band and the Moorish band.
Enjoy this proposal that combines the discovery of this interesting architectural and historical legacy with the tradition, idiosyncrasy and unique characteristics of our towns.
ROUTE: Second route belonging to the Moorish band
It is located to the south of the town of Mairena del Alcor and the old town. The castle of Mairena was built from an Arab tower called Mairena, which was given to the Order of Calatrava in the division of Seville in 1253. Due to its morphology, the fortress is considered as one of the first constructions dedicated to artillery defence. Some of the towers and parts of the wall are quite well preserved.
On the escarpment of Los Alcores, next to the path that connects Alcalá de Guadaíra with Campiña del Guadaíra and Sierra de Morón, stands a castle from the Andalusian period. In the beginnings, Marchenilla was a farm used by the Arabs during the occupation. However, the invasions of the Marinids in the lands reconquered by the Christians led to their decision of building a castle for defensive purposes.
At present, the castle resembles a Sevillian farmhouse with a tower and walls, which is why it is called a “fortified farmhouse”. It is a privately owned monument.
Located in the former village of Gandul, in the present town of Alcalá de Guadaíra, 6 km away from the town centre in the direction of the town of Arahal. The origin of the settlement may have been a small population within the nearby city that existed in the Mesa de Gandul, from the end of the 3rd millennium BC until the late Roman period. The castle, of which only a tower remains, dominates the uninhabited area from the top of the escarpment above the palace of Gandul. Its appearance is the result of a mixture of different construction stages.
Located high above the Guadaira river, the medieval castle of Alcalá de Guadaira is on the western end of the small village of Alcalá. Together with the Guadaira river, the castle of Alcalá de Guadaira is probably one of the identity signs that best define the town of Alcalá de Guadaira. It is the historical germ of the town, which has spread out over the centuries to form the current borders of the town centre.
It was built under Muslim domination in the 11th and 12th centuries, although it is with the reconquest by Ferdinand III that it acquired its definitive configuration.
Castle of Morón de la Frontera
Above a hill 300 meters above sea level, located in the very centre of the town, stand the remains of a medieval castle declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. It is the oldest architectural vestige in Morón de la Frontera and the elements that remain of it date back to the Middle Ages.
Castle of Osuna
The remains of the castle are located in a hill overlooking the village, on its eastern end. Next to them we find the Collegiate Church founded by the Dukes of Osuna. The remains of the fortress are of Arab origin. A stretch of wall and two towers are all that remain.
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