Petrer Castle and Powder Mills

Petrer Castle and Powder Mills

Petrer is a town situated roughly 30mins drive from where we live, we had seen the rather nice looking castle as we drove past along the A31 motorway, but until we visited with our Spanish Wednesday walking group on May 6th 2026 we had never been there or to the town.

Petrer Castle

How the castle looked before restoration

Built to watch over the middle valley of the Vinalopo River during the C12th by the Moors. It was a fortified settlement from the Almohad period called Bitrir and had an important defensive function controlling the trade and communication route between the plateau and the coast.

From the top of the tower signal fires could pass warnings to other forts in the chain - Novelda and Sax

It was conquered in the middle of the C13th and became part of the Kingdom of Castille. In 1265 the local Mudejar population rebelled against the lord of the town, but later the fortress and lands were recovered by King James I of Aragon who gave it and the lands around to Garcia Jofre de Loaysa.

At the end of the C19th the Parish of Bartolome rented the land and castle to poor families who could not afford better housing, they were allowed excavate cavehouses into the outer castle walls! These still exist today as an extension of the Damaso Navarro Musuem of cultural history, the rooms have been excavated and refurbished and decorated to represent dwellings from the early C20th period.

Original floors cerca C13th

Hard to make out but right in the center of this photo os Sax Castle some 11km away

Powder Mills

Our Spanish walking companions knowing my interest in things military were keen to explain the history and function of these ruins. As always the knowledge of such things I already had seemed to amaze, delight, confuse and surprise them in equal measure 😁 

The use of water as power to grind corn etc was quite common, but with the invention of gunpowder another use was found for water power. The mixture of Charcoal, sulfur and saltpetre (potassium nitrate) was ground and mixed in a moist corning process to create grains. 

During the groups walk we passed by the ruins of several old mills and the seperate magazines where they stored the explosive mixture away from the manufacturing to prevent disaster. 

The mills date back to the late C17th and continued in production right up to the end of the C19th.

Basic plan of a water mill cerca C17th

Aquaduct which would carry the water into the mill storage tank 

This old mill has been reconstructed into a family home

Magazine dug into the cliff

Another Magazine entrance, this time with the remains of a gatehouse and guard towers

Mill ruin

Mill ruin

The tall structure is the water tank which was used to crcate the fall to drive the wheel.

Water outlet

This leads from the water wheel inside, the water would then be captured and routed to other mills down stream.

Magazine caves well away from the mills and manufacturing factory

Another mill converted into a home