Castillo de San Juan, Calasparra

The Castle of San Juan, Calasparra

The Castle of San Juan is located on the uppermost peak of the Serreta de San José, the casco antiguo, or old quarter of the town itself wrapped around the foot of the cerro.

As with all of these mediaeval fortresses within the Region of Murcia its function was twofold: to protect the inhabitants from attack and stamp the authority of the owner upon his lands.

This particular fortification was built during the 13th century, shortly after the Christian Reconquist of southern Spain, which had been in the hands of the Moors since the 7th century.  ( if you´re interested in the history of the region, you may find the History of Calasparra of use, or the History of Murcia Capital, which has more detail about the Moorish occupation.)

Granada was still a Moorish Kingdom, and although Murciahad surrendered peacefully in 1243 following the treaty of Alcáraz, there were still frequent skirmishes along border territories and revolts within the remaining Moorish population.

A major fortified Moorish settlement existed in Calasparra in the Villa Vieja, a few kilometres from the existing town, and although it is possible that the area was controlled from a fortification located on this site, there is little in the way to substantiate this theory, as the existing structure totally replaced any which formerly stood on the same location.

The Villa Vieja appears to have been abandoned following the Reconquist and the town of Calasparra built on its current location by the Order of San Juan , Orden de San Juan de Jerusalén, to whom it was given in 1289.

This important Military order was given the town of Calasparraby Sancho IV of Castile, an ownership which lasted for 6 centuries.

Mediaeval Spain was a place of turbulence, as the Kingdoms of Aragón and Castile battled for supremacy, although their intense rivalry was united in the desire to drive the Moorish forces out of Spain altogether. It would take nearly 200 years of struggle for this aim to be fulfilled, during which time the noble houses of Spain schemed and plotted, fought each other, and won and lost lands and power.

The Monarchy relied on the support of the stronger noble houses and religious Military Orders for its stability, support which was rewarded with land and power, although this was also a fine balancing act, some historians supporting the theory that Calasparra was given to the order of San Juan as a means of limiting the power of the Order of Santiago, which owned large tracts of Murcia. ( see Order of Santiago.)

The order was charged with repopulating the area with Christian settlers, and controlled all the important structures within the town, such as the mill and bakehouse, as well as overseeing the well being of the residents, educating the inhabitants and collecting revenues from the agricultural activity which took place in the fertile plains surrounding Calasparra.

The Kingdom of Granada fell in 1492 to the Catholic forces of Isabella and Ferdinand, the Catholic Monarchs, following which the defensive ròle of the castle declined in importance and by the 17th century the castle was falling into disuse as the Order built structures within the old town.

Unfortunately, many of the walls had been built using a shuttering system favoured by the Moors, and these suffered most as the decline of the castle set in, many of the remains which have survived until today being those built with stone blocks.

A project has been underway to restore and conserve as much of the original structure as possible, although the budgetary restraints of the 2011 economic crisis stalled ongoing restoration works.This was finally completed in June 2014 and the restored castle opened officially for public visits.

The gardens below the castle have been improved to offer shaded seating and an impressive auditorium built alongside the historic structure giving views across the surrounding countryside.

The castle can be visited at any time, by foot, and is part of a walking route around the historic quarter of Calasparra. A leaflet for this route can be collected from the tourist office in the Edificio Casa Granero in Calasparra.