Thursday, 4 June 2026

Novelda Castle (a few more photos added 04/06/2026)

 Novelda Castle 

(El Castillo de la Mola)

This photo came off the internet (obviously taken by drone) shows the castle and towers nicely

Situated on a small hill 360m above sea level, 3km from the town of Novelda.

The castle was built on the site of an earlier Roman fort in the late 12th Century by the Muslims. When the Christians conquered the region the castle and region fell under the Castilian Crown; and in 1305 was turned over to Aragon and became part of Valencia.

The Castle saw much renovation and improvements during the 14th Century including the interesting triangular tower. This tower is one of only two triangular towers known to exist in the Valencia region.

 During the 14th and 15th Centuries various nobles and lords passed through the castle until it became the seat of the Barony of Novelda in 1448. The castle fell into disuse in the mid-16th Century and by the 18th Century was in a state of complete abandonment. Excavation and restoration work began in the early 20th Century and is still ongoing today.

View from the carpark of the triangular tower
Nasty concrete re-built wall (cerca 1960)
A few photos taken looking up at the castle from the Vinilopo River
View down the Vinipolo River Valley towards the castle
Side view of the tower
View across the courtyard
Second tower
Second tower entrance
Triangular tower
Arrow slit from inside the triangular tower
Internal doorway
Views from on top of the triangular tower
Debbie this photo shows the internal arches and keystones
Reinactors at the main gate







8 comments:

  1. Interesting to see a triangular tower

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    1. Yes it is very different, by all acounts there is another is in Castellon but it is just a ruin. You can go into this one and climb to the top and its mostly original 15th century! The construction is very impressive.

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    2. Thanks for the pics. I must have missed the original post.
      “Just a ruin” makes any castle of interest to me.
      A quick check on Google suggests there are a fair few castles in the local area - although some might be difficult to get to (especially when you’re not a fan of heights like me) 😎
      Cheers,
      Geoff

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    3. There is a whole chain of border forts set out in a rough crescent around what is now Alicante province (some in a far better state of restoration than others - Villena, Sax, Petrer, Novelda, Tibi, Busot, Aspe (which has 3 on its own I`ve not explored yet) & Alicante plus numerous watch towers along the coast including a chain of 18 set around the old town of San Joan alone. Each could signal by beacon to the next in line to warn of approaching enemies, pirates, etc

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  2. Nice looking castle.

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    Replies
    1. The drone view (not mine) is just excellent to give the overall look.

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  3. What an interesting castle, never seen a triangular tower, thanks for the great pictures.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, a triangular tower is very unusual, I found only one other in this region.

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