Álora Castle

Álora Castle, locally known as Castillo de las Torres, lies on a hill next to the village with the same name in the province of Málaga in Spain.

The first fortification at this site was built by the Romans on Phoenician remains. Their fort was destroyed by Vandals during a raid.

The present Álora Castle was built in the 9th century by the Moorish state of Córdoba during a campaign against the Mozarabic rebel leader Umar ibn Hafsun. Later modifications in the 10th century added two enclosures. The inner enclosure was square and used as a fortress. The outer enclosure, with several towers, covered a large area of the perimeter of the hill.

In 1434 Diego Gómez de Rivera, Adelantado of Andalusia, died in front of the walls of Álora Castle while leading his troops.

During the 17th century the parish church was built on the old mosque inside Álora Castle also using one of the castle towers. The castle was damaged by the earthquake of 1680 and since then was also used as the village cemetery. The church tower still shows several bullet holes made by a squadron of French cavalry in August 1823.

At present Álora Castle can not be visited. Until recently it was still used as the village cemetery but is now undergoing restoration works. When I visited there were also archaeological excavations going on. The castle has also suffered from the widely spread ugly Spanish restoration practice of rebuilding wall parts with a sort of concrete.

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