Requesens Castle

Requesens Castle.

Requesens Castle is situated on a hill overlooking the southern valleys of Mount Neulós, approximately 7 km east of the Requesens neighbourhood. For centuries, it has controlled the passage into Spain and corresponds to the ancient village of Requesens, a settlement in La Junquera.

Feudal castle

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The castle is referenced in a grievance memorial (rancures) from Count Ponce I of Ampurias to his cousin, Count Gausfredo II, and his son, Guislaberto II of Roussillon (circa 1040-1071). Ponce I protested the recent construction of the castle (“castrum de recoser”) by the latter on allodial land entrusted to them within the territory of the County of Ampurias.

The construction of this first documented castle in Requesens was part of the disputes between the two counties following their separation at the end of the 10th century. The Counts of Roussillon retained control within the County of Ampurias until their extinction. The lordship of Requesens (dominicaturam de Rechesen) was confirmed to them in a 1075 agreement between the respective counts, and control over the castle (castrum Rechosindo) was reaffirmed in agreements of 1085 and 1121. The Roussillon counts or their vassals had a “castlà” (lord of the castle), who, during the first half of the 12th century, was a member of the same count family, indicating their ongoing interest.

The stables of the castle.

These individuals owed allegiance to the Count of Ampurias and also to the Viscount of Perelada, within whose territories the fortress was located. During the 12th century, conflicts arose due to the alliance between the Rocabertí, viscounts of Perelada, and the Counts of Roussillon, making Requesens Castle a significant factor in these disputes. One such conflict, known as the “war of Requesens” (1047-1072), began with the capture of the castle by Count Ponce II of Ampurias. This count was troubled by the isolation of his domains, surrounded by the lands of a single lord, the Count of Barcelona, who seized the county in 1172. To pacify the region, the new lord of Roussillon, King Alfonso II, renounced his rights to Requesens in favour of the Count of Ampurias, thereby securing full control.

Very few remnants of the castle from these events remain, primarily located in the area of the upper enclosure, which, in the 13th century, when a new outer enclosure was built, was known as the greater or upper fortress.

At the end of the 12th century and during the 13th century, several individuals with the surname Requesens are documented, apparently serving as castellans or lords of the castle for the Count of Ampurias. For example, Arnau de Requesens (died after 1256) is recorded in Girona in 1181, and Guillermo de Requesens (died after 1262) is listed as lord of the castle. It is assumed, though not proven, that the Requesens family of merchants and citizens, later ennobled as Counts of Palamós, documented in Tarragona from 1272 and who played significant roles in Catalonia's history during the 15th and 16th centuries, descended from these castle lords. Guillermo de Requesens acquired, through marriage, the Cabrera tower or fort in Girona, later known as Requesens, which was held as a fief of the Montcada. Guillermo's inheritance passed to Botonac and later (early 14th century) to Castellnou, Roussillon nobles sometimes also called Requesens.

During the crusade against the Crown of Aragon, the castle and its prominent lord, the Count of Ampurias, faced an invasion, as recorded by Bernat Desclot in his Chronicle. The castle was besieged by the French in the summer of 1285 but was not captured. However, in 1288, it was briefly occupied and looted by a French army in the service of James II of Mallorca, who invaded the Ampurdán.

Pedro I of Ampurias (1325-1341) acquired the lordship of Requesens Castle from the Castellnou, completing the count’s domain. It remained under the control of the Counts of Ampurias until the county’s reversion to the crown in 1402, when the will of the last count, Pedro II of Ampurias, in favour of his wife Juana de Rocabertí and, subsidiarily, his brother-in-law, Viscount Jofre VI of Rocabertí, was declared null. However, this will was successfully invoked by Viscount Dalmau VIII of Rocabertí to obtain from the new Trastámara kings some assets in the territory of the former County of Ampurias, including Requesens Castle (1418), by donation from Alfonso the Magnanimous. The Rocabertí viscounts retained possession until the late 19th century.

Nineteenth-century mansion

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Floor plan of the reconstructed castle.

Between 1893 and 1899, the castle was entirely rebuilt by its owners, the last Counts of Perelada residing in the area, Tomás de Rocabertí-Boixadors Dameto and Verí, and his sister Juana-Adelaida. The aim was to convert it into a summer residence, using neo-medieval design principles that were popular at the time, similar to their restoration of Peralada Castle.

Unlike other nearby neo-medieval reconstructions, such as Carcassonne, the chosen style retains the Mediterranean character of the region. The reconstruction was directed by master builder Alexandre Comalat, who restored the impressive remains of the medieval building with the same layout and granite stone from the mountain, making it difficult to distinguish the original parts from the rebuilt sections.

From the medieval structure, only a few bastion walls, the square tower in the north, and part of the upper enclosure door from the 12th-14th centuries remain. Exceptional photographs taken before and during the reconstruction, including some by Count Tomás de Rocabertí, one of the first amateur photographers in the region, provide valuable records of the building's state.

The reconstructed fortress features three fortified enclosures, with round and square towers, portals, battlements, and striking machicolations. In the lower enclosure, the large chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Providence (formerly to San Romano) stands out. This chapel incorporates Romanesque elements from other local buildings (such as arches from the portal of Santa María de Requesens) and French elements (such as the tympanum and reliefs above the door), as well as stables and various wrought iron bars imitating medieval patterns from Barcelona Cathedral. There are also service buildings, including kitchens and what served as a military hospital during the post-war period. The second, more limited enclosure features an attractive fortified door. The noble or upper enclosure includes various rooms (with flooring decorated with the heraldic rock of the Rocabertí, partially preserved), the great hall (currently closed), with a stone fireplace and windows with theatrical shutters, and a round watchtower (also inaccessible), which is the highest point of the monument. The large courtyard of the first enclosure and the castle's surroundings were landscaped with native and foreign plant species to highlight the ensemble.

Tomás de Rocabertí's initiative had a significant impact throughout Catalonia and was celebrated by many visitors. However, the counts could not enjoy their new residence; Tomás died in January 1898, and Juana-Adelaida, who succeeded him, died in 1899, just after the grand inauguration party on Saint John's Day of that year. Juana-Adelaida's sudden death, under unclear circumstances and without direct heirs, led to a noisy lawsuit. According to noble law, her titles were inherited by her blood nephews (the Sureda marquises of Vivot, succeeded by the Fortuny in 1912 and by Montaner in 1973), and the estate was inherited by Fernando Truyols i Despuig, Marquis of la Torre, nephew of her husband, all from Mallorca.

In 1923, the castle and the adjoining property (more than 2000 hectares) were acquired by brothers Pedro and Juan Rosellón, Mallorcan industrialists who exploited the forest in the area. They sold it in 1927 to Joaquín de Arteaga, Duke of Infantado and businessman, who maintained the property sporadically but dismissed all the inhabitants and colonists.

In 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, it was brutally looted by CNT-FAI activists. After the war, in 1942, the duke sold the entire estate and the castle to the Borés SA company, a firm interested solely in exploiting the forest. The castle was occupied by a military detachment throughout these years with the aim of controlling the activities of the maquis. The military modified some of the rooms (installing kitchens and a military hospital) and damaged the interiors and some of the battlements.

In 1955, it was sold to its current owners, Miquel Esteba Caireta (an industrialist from Anglés and the second democratic mayor of Figueras, 1979-1980) and Josep Pijoan. Salvador Dalí had attempted to acquire the castle before buying Púbol but was unsuccessful. Although the castle remains uninhabited, and its 19th-century interior is completely dismantled and has recently suffered vandalism that has forced the closure of some upper grounds for safety reasons, visits are permitted.

The Castle of Requesens is one of the best-preserved examples of neo-medieval architecture in Catalonia. Unfortunately, neither the resources of its current owners nor the interest of institutions are commensurate with its historical importance.

Projection

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Courtyard of the first enclosure (1912).

The castle and its surroundings have inspired various fields, including literature, commerce, photography, music, and film.

In literature, aside from minor works such as La ida a Requesens by Bonaventura Bassegoda (1882), Verdaguer included it in Canigó (1886), and the name (though not the actual location) has appeared in other works (e.g., Manuel Maristany’s La enfermera de Brunete, 2007).

Count Tomás de Rocabertí's photographs from 1886 are among the earliest taken in Alto Ampurdán and, along with those preserved by Comalat, are the sole records of the building's state before reconstruction.

In music, Francesc Basil won the Barcino award with the sardana El castillo de Requesens (1956). In cinema, part of the film El caballero del dragón (Fernando Colomo, 1985) was filmed there.

Legend

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A legend recounts that during a furious siege of the castle, when the defenders were attempting to force a surrender through starvation, they offered their adversaries a lavish feast with fresh fish from an underground river flowing beneath the Pyrenees into Cap de Creus. The attackers, unaware of this source, were disheartened and lifted the siege.

It is also said that a large underground corridor connects the castle with the northern slope of the Albera mountain range, with the entrance still visible in the lower parts of the fortress, although it may be obstructed.

The Castle of Requesens is said to have been inhabited by the wife and daughters of a giant, seven times taller than the tallest tower of the fortress, who was lord of all the Pyrenees.

Protection

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The Castle of Requesens is protected under Spanish historical heritage regulations from 1949 and 1988 and is classified as a Cultural Asset of National Interest under the Catalan Cultural Heritage Law of 1993, like all castles in Catalonia.

Bibliography

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Castell de Requesens.
  • Inventari del Patrimoni Arquitectònic de Catalunya: Castell de Requesens[dead link]
  • Castell de Requesens (Alt Empordà Turisme)
  • Requesens, del castell al veïnat (fotografies)
  • Castell de Requesens, Alt Empordà (Castells medievals de Catalunya) (fotografies)
  • Castell de Requesens (fotografies)
  • Castell de Requesens: el castell laberíntic (Terra de castells)
  • El caballero del dragón (Internet Movie Database)
  • Bibliografia interdisciplinària de l'Alt Empordà de Inés Padrosa Gorgot

42°26′47.85″N 2°56′39.84″E / 42.4466250°N 2.9444000°E / 42.4466250; 2.9444000

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