Castillo de Mequinenza is a castillo-palacio that has dominated the confluence of the rivers Ebro, Segre and Cinca. Built by the Moncada family in the centuries following its initial history, it served as a border point between Aragon and Catalonia, and between the provinces of Zaragoza and Lerida. It is located on a 185-meter high spur overlooking the junction of the three rivers, protected on the south by a steep slope and on the north by an artificial moat.
In 1192, the villa of Mequinenza and the castle were ceded to Armengol of Urgel. From the 13th century, the property passed to the Moncada family, who received the title of Marquisate of Aytona in 1581, until 1722 when the lordships fell to the Dukes of Medinaceli. During the Catalan rebellion, the castle was a first-line fortress where the royal army could take refuge. It was attacked and capitulated to troops following a long struggle after the year 1809, and then troops would recover it in 1814.
The name of Mequinenza appears in the Arco de Triunfo of the plaza L’Etoile and figures among the names of the plaza fuertes: Nápoles, Plaisance, Madrid and Mequinenza. In 1816, the castle was reincorporated as a military garrison. After 1939, the castle was abandoned. In 1959, the castle was bought and restored by the architect Adolfo Florensa. In 2026, the Town Hall of Mequinenza purchased the building to promote a tourism project.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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