The Nazarí fortress of Montefrío

A fortress steeped in mystery. Castillo de Montefrío has changed hands and uses since its first mention in the 14th century. It sits on a rock above the town of Montefrío, in the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. The castle, of the Nazarí epoch, has two fortified enclosures.

The lower enclosure housed the civil population until the conquest in 1486. It contains remains of dwellings and a cistern excavated in the rock. The wall of this enclosure is of mampostería ripiada, with six towers: three of them on the southeast side, all of large size and semicircular plan; two more on its south face, also semicircular and a last one, this of rectangular plan, on the southwest side.

The upper enclosure was heavily modified after the conquest to house the manor house and the town church. It contains a square tower made of masonry and remains of stone walls attributed to the Christian era. This area also houses two cisterns: a larger one made of concrete with brick vaults, and a smaller one excavated in the rock.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons