Castillo de Zafra; one of Spain's most distinctive castles.
Channel: Patrick Beckers
Date: 25/02/2023

On the site of this castle - sandstone rocks more than 240 million years old - remains have been found dating back to the Bronze and Iron Ages. But the Romans and Moors also built on this same spot. The current castle was built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. It played an important strategic role until the early 16th century (it was located on the border between the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon). Then it gradually decayed and became ruinous. The ruin was owned by the Spanish state until 1971, but that year the scholar Antonio Sanz Polo (1913-2008) bought the structure and began a 30-year reconstruction. He restored it to its current state. The castle is located remote and can only be reached via two dirt roads. The castle itself is not accessible and can only be viewed from the outside. But that alone in a spectacular landscape is more than worth it!

More info about and pictures of this castle at www.castles-across-europe.com