ARCHIVED - 80,000 euros for restoration of historic fortress in Cartagena

The 19^th century castle of Despeñaperros stands on one of the five hills of Cartagena

The Town Hall of Cartagena is reactivating plans to restore and clean up the ruined fortress of Despeñaperros, which stands on the hill opposite the bus station, setting aside a budget of 80,000 euros to begin the work following the drawing up of a four-phase plan by architects José and Alberto Amorós.

However, no definite timeframe for the restoration has been established while the Town Hall hopes to have at its disposal the 400,000 paid by the Ministry of Development as compensation in a case relating to the Muralla del Mar.

The first stage of the work is to improve access to the fortification and to clean up and reinforce the better-preserved walls, preventing it from becoming a permanent nesting ground for seagulls, according to Mayoress Ana Belén Castejón. At the same time additional structures which did not form part of the original structure will be removed, all of the work being complicated by the difficult terrain of the hill on which the castle stands.

The work will be carried out in conjunction with the AFORCA association which lobbies for the conservation and repair of the military architecture of the municipality of Cartagena, and this group was the recipient of the 400,000 euros paid by the Ministry.

A previous attempt to restore Despeñaperros, also known as the Castillo de San José, was made in 2017, when it was announced that the fortress was to be restored to something resembling its original form so that it could be visited by members of the public. At that time AFORCA agreed to fund the work on the castle to the tune of 435,000 euros while the council is to pay for the cleaning up of the surrounding hillside.

The fortress of Despeñaperros is a 19th century fortification which stands at a height of 55 metres above sea level on the easternmost of the five hills of Cartagena. These hills are believed to have served as a natural system of defences as long ago as the 7th century BC, when historians theorize that this was the location of the Tartessian city of Mastia.

It is also thought that the Romans erected a temple here to the god Vulcan, choosing the same location as the Carthaginians for their place of worship to Chousor, the god of fire, iron and blacksmiths.

It is believed that in the 19th century the fortification of the hill coincided with the Peninsular War in which Spain fought to free itself from Napoleon’s forces, the idea being to be able to attack the nearby Castillo de los Moros should it fall into enemy hands. By 1846 it had fallen into disuse, although 13 years later reforms had restored it to acceptable condition.

But in the 20th century such fortifications had become redundant, and although the Castillo de Despeñaperros has been listed as an Item of Cultural Interest since 1997 its condition has steadily deteriorated.

Also awaiting attention and restoration in Cartagena are the castles of Los Moros and La Atalaya: the former was included in an EU restoration plan four years ago but work was restricted to the cleaning up of the hill on which it stands and the improvement of access, while plans to restore the latter in 2016 were never fully carried out.

For more local information visit the Cartagena section of Murcia Today.

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