Hornachuelos Castle

This prismatic volume stands out for its robustness and its dominant position in the precinct. Square in plan and over 8 meters on each side, its construction alternates masonry with ashlar reinforcements at the corners. Inside, a half-orange vault on pendentives evidences its use as a noble residence for the warden.

The defensive perimeter is reinforced with square towers that have no interior rooms. These structures are solid blocks of earth and stone designed to withstand artillery impacts and mining attempts, ensuring the stability of the walls even under intense siege.

Beneath the parade ground floor hides an impressive work of hydraulic engineering: a rectangular cistern covered with a barrel vault. Built in the Caliphate era, it collected rainwater through channels, ensuring vital supply for the garrison isolated atop the hill.

Openings in the shape of a cross and orb (lower circular hole) can be observed on the walls and towers. These are embrasures adapted for the use of primitive firearms like culverins and harquebuses, testimony to the modernization of the fortress in the 15th century in the face of new gunpowder technology.

Historical access to the fortified precinct was through a monumental gate connecting the medina with the castle. Although transformed by urban growth, its function of control and filter between military power and the civilian population of the town is still perceived.

Much of the original defenses are built in rammed earth (“tapial”), an earth concrete technique characteristic of Almohad architecture. This mixture of earth, lime, and stones, compacted in formworks, has demonstrated extraordinary resistance, hardening over centuries to acquire the consistency of stone.