- Type
- Castle
- Built
- 1333 · 14th century
- Location
- United Kingdom
- Coordinates
- 36.1439°, -5.3500°
History
The first fortifications on the Rock went up after 1160, when the Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu'min founded a fortified town here. Castile took Gibraltar in 1309, but in 1333 the Marinids won it back, and Sultan Abu al-Hasan had the battle-damaged fortress rebuilt – the present Tower of Homage dates from that reconstruction. In 1462 the town passed into Christian hands for good, and in 1704 an Anglo-Dutch fleet captured it. The British used the castle as barracks, and until 2010 it housed a prison.
What to see
The best-preserved part is the massive Tower of Homage, whose walls still bear the marks of cannonballs from successive sieges. Visitors can climb to the top for views over the town, the harbour and the Spanish coast. The castle lies within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, on a route that also leads to the tunnels of the Great Siege.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q249047
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