Castillo y Recinto Amurallado de Archidona

Located in the city of Archidona, the Castle and Walled Enclosure of Archidona or "Medina Arxiduna", capital of Cora de Rayya, which includes a large area in the province of Málaga, where Abderraman I was proclaimed Emir in 756.

The castle crowns the Cerro de la Virgen, at an altitude of 946m and was constructed in a number of phases. The most primitive remains date back to the 5th and 4th centuries BC, until the first stages of Al-Andalus, in the 8th and 9th centuries. It was consolidated in the Almohad period and later restored in Alhamar times ( 13th century), who established the Nasrid dynasty in Granada.

The fortress had the natural protection of an unassailable drop that defended the position and it is divided into three sections of wall. The one with the greatest perimeter linked the mountains surrounding the “dip”, creating an enclosure around this place. The second is the highest one and defends the fortress, it contains the main tower, the palace or residence of the Wali, called the homage in the Christian period, and the bailey, of which there remain part of the foundations and the upper part of the cistern. The third runs along the side the hill and was to protect the Medina or Muslim city. Its walls are broken up by ten, mainly circular towers. A main feature is the Puerta del Sol, a typical Moorish entrance gateway.

The interior of the fortress is composed of dwellings, silos and barracks for the guards. Today we can only see some of the foundations and the upper part of the cistern, a key element in the city's resistance during the many sieges that had to suffer throughout its history.

The castle is currently declared to be of Cultural Interest.