Contents
The Almodóvar del Rio Castle is located in Córdoba and is a fortress of Muslim origin. It was previously a Roman fort, but the current building definitely has Berber origins, from the year 760. Traces of multiple cultures, such as Muslim and Christian, have marked its style over the years.
During the Middle Ages it was subjected to different reforms and reconstructions. Between 1901 and 1936 it was restored by its owner, Rafael Desmaissieres y Farina, 12th Count of Torralva, under the technical direction of the architect Adolfo Fernández Casanova. The most important towers are the Square, the Round and the Homenaje.
The Muslim era saw great development and in 740 the Berbers built a fortress called Al-Mudawwar (round or secure), from which the town is named. During the 8th, 9th and 10th centuries the fortress and its territory were part of the province of Córdoba, while in the 11th century it was assigned first to the taifa of Carmona and then to that of Seville. With the Almoravids it was reintegrated into the jurisdiction of Cordoba and, finally, in the 12th century and part of the 13th century it became dependent on the Almohad court of Seville.
In 1240 it was incorporated by agreement into the crown of Castile by Ferdinand III, who handed it over three years later to the council of Córdoba. With Alfonso X, in 1267, the limits between Almodóvar and Posadas were established. In 1360, Pedro I stayed in his castle, as Henry II would do repeatedly. The ownership of the Almodóvar castle is linked during the 15th century to the House of Baena y Cabra.
Almodóvar and its castle served as collateral to buy Fuente Obejuna in 1513, but it returned to the hands of the crown. The town had a royal jurisdiction, linked to the city of Córdoba, until Philip IV agreed to the sale of the town of Almodóvar in 1629. The buyer was Francisco del Corral y Guzmán, knight of the Order of Santiago, and thus the town became a lordship.
