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Communications room
- Agenda
The castle
of Castellet is located in the municipality of Castellet i la
Gornal in the Alt Penedčs area, south of Barcelona and
just a few kilometres from Sitges and Vilanova i la Geltrú.
It was one of the fortresses which, around the year 1000, formed
the frontier between the Spanish Marches (modern-day Catalonia)
and Al-Andalus, which in those days covered the rest of the
Iberian peninsula, one of a dense network of castles and towers
for the defence of the frontier with the Muslim territories.
The first reference to the castle dates back to a document from
the year 977. The fortress was of major strategic importance
until the 16th century. Over these centuries the control of
the site alternated between several houses of feudal lords,
the counts of Barcelona (in the 11th century) and the crown
of Catalonia-Aragon (in the 15th century). From then onwards,
the castle went through successive periods of decadence until
it fell into ruin.
Between 1928 and 1930 the castle underwent partial restoration
work, covering the structures of the central and western parts.
The southern part was not affected by this work, which formed
its profile today. After so many years the castle was declared
a cultural site of national interest, but this was not enough
to ensure the preservation of the fortress.
