Castillo de Granadilla, Medieval fortress in Zarza de Granadilla, Spain.
Castillo de Granadilla is a medieval castle in Zarza de Granadilla, in the Extremadura region of Spain. It consists of thick stone walls, corner towers, and a central keep that rises above the surrounding terrain.
The castle was built in the 15th century to help control the Silver Route, a trading road that connected northern and southern Spain. Centuries later, the village that had grown around it was abandoned when the Gabriel y Galán reservoir was built in 1955.
The castle sits above the abandoned village of Granadilla, which has been empty since the reservoir was built and whose streets and houses visitors can still walk through today. The combination of the fortress and the deserted village below gives a rare sense of what life in a small Extremaduran town once looked like.
The castle is part of a larger site that includes the abandoned village of Granadilla, so it is worth setting aside a few hours for the visit. Sturdy footwear is a good idea, as paths run over uneven cobblestones and rough ground.
Although the village of Granadilla has been empty for decades, it was not left to decay but was instead restored by the Spanish Ministry of Education in the 1980s and has since been maintained by student and youth groups. It is one of the few abandoned villages in Spain that is regularly visited and kept in good repair.
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