ARCHIVED - Mula castle is finally under the control of the Town Hall

The Castillo de los Vélez can finally be repaired and restored to attract visitors to Mula

After years of campaigning, lobbying, arguments, protests and above all unstinting effort, the Town Hall of Mula has this week finally succeeded in achieving one of its most important aims, that of returning the Castillo de los Vélez to the people of the town.

On Thursday afternoon Mayor Juan Jesús Moreno was once again in Madrid, this time to sign a document by which a 22.22 per cent share in the 16^th century fortress is donated to the Town Hall of Mula by Álvaro Beltrán de Lis y Baillo, bringing the council’s share of the monument up to 66.67 per cent in the monument. What this means is that at long last decisions regarding the upkeep, maintenance, repair and restoration of what ought to be a major tourist attraction in the north-west of Murcia is finally in the hands of the people of Mula, rather than those of Sr Beltrán and his family.

The Beltrán de Lis family are descendants of the Marqueses de los Vélez, who effectively ruled over Mula for much of the Middle Ages and built the castle as a show of strength and to strengthen their hold over the town. For this reason the family was awarded ownership of the fortress in 1998, but since then the owners have allowed their property to fall ever deeper into disrepair.

At present the only work undertaken to look after the castle, on which construction started in the early 16th century, has been to shore up some of the least stable walls and remove obvious safety risks to members of the public who disregard warnings that the monument is not in a fit state to be visited. Ultimately, though, the aim is to design and implement a far more complete project to restore the historic home of the Marquises de los Vélez to a condition in which it can be visited.

As for the remaining 33.33 per cent of the ownership of the castle, one third of that belongs to a member of the Beltrán family who has so far refused to hand it over, while the rest was owned by two more relatives who have died without descendants. This means that 22.22 per cent could eventually be owned by the State.

First things first, though. Being the holder of a majority share in the castle gives the Town Hall of Mula control, but it also brings the responsibility which has been shirked by the Beltrán de Lis family for so many years, and it is now the council’s obligation to carry out maintenance work, an obligation which will require funding. Sr Moreno is hopeful that this will be provided, at least in part, by the regional government in Murcia, and is lobbying for an amount to be set aside in the budget for 2018.

For more local news, events and other information go to the Mula section of Murcia Today.

Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Murcia region: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/