Castillo de Vélez-Málaga, Medieval fortress in Vélez-Málaga, Spain

Castillo de Vélez-Málaga is a fortified complex from the Moorish period that sits on a hilltop in the town. The main tower and surrounding walls form the remains of this medieval fortress, which contained various areas for defense and administration.

The castle was first built in the 10th century and enlarged and partly rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries, when it became one of the most important alcazabas of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada. After the Christian conquest it served as a royal house, captaincy general, prison and town council. During the Peninsular War (1808–1810) it was adapted by French troops, who blew up large sections during their retreat; later it was quarried for lime. The Puerta Real and the Torre del Homenaje, almost the only parts still standing in the mid-20th century, were rebuilt in the early 1970s.

The Puerta Real, a horseshoe arch, and the tall square keep beside the Puerta de Antequera are the two elements rebuilt in the early 1970s. The surviving 13th- to 15th-century walls are rammed lime-and-sand with courses of rubble masonry and brick bands on the outside. After the Christian conquest the enclosure served as a royal house, captaincy general, prison and town council seat.

Access is from the Carretera del Polideportivo Fernando Hierro, the road to the sports ground, not from the town centre. The walled enclosure covers about 1,500 m² on the highest point of Vélez-Málaga, with a rest area and viewpoints over the town and the Vega de Vélez.

The Torre del Homenaje, square in plan and of great height, stood next to the Puerta de Antequera; by the mid-20th century these two and the Puerta Real were almost all that remained upright. Both were rebuilt in the early 1970s. The preserved walls, from the 13th to 15th centuries, are rammed lime-and-sand with courses of masonry and brick bands on the outside.