El Telègraf (Torre Fossada) is a square tower standing tall over the Llobregat river pass near the Devil's Bridge in Castellbisbal, Vallès Occidental. Originally part of an ancient military stronghold, the visible structure dates to the mid-19th century and was once tower number 4 on the Barcelona-Lleida optical telegraph line, communicating with towers at Molins de Rei and Esparreguera. The 7-meter-tall tower, with a sloping base, features two floors and a surrounding moat – it gained prominence during the Spanish Civil War as a republican defensive position controlling the Llobregat crossing.
In 1939, during the war's final stages, El Telègraf became one of the last bastions of resistance for Republican forces against Francoist troops. Restoration efforts led by the City Council of Castellbisbal began in the mid-1990s, aiming to preserve the tower and its history. An archaeological intervention took place at the end of 2002 to document and empty the trench surrounding El Telègraf, but no structures older than the telegraph tower were found.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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