Montemayor Castle

Montemayor Castle, locally known as Castillo de los duques de Frías or Castillo de Martín Alonso, lies in the village of Montemayor in the province of Córdoba in Spain.

The village itself was already known in Roman times as the only town, in the area now known as Andalusia, that remained loyal to Caesar in Caesar's Civil War in the 1st century BC, for which it was granted the title of 'Fidentia'.

The present village grew up around Montemayor Castle which was built from 1340 on by Martín Alonso de Córdoba. He built the castle to better protect the area which had been reconquered for the Christians a century earlier by St. Ferdinand III, King of Castle. To build the castle he largely demolished nearby Dos Hermanas Castle to get building materials.

Later Montemayor Castle was owned by the Counts of Alcaudete and the Oropesa family.

Montemayor Castle has 3 large towers with curtain walls forming a triangular enclosure. Two towers, the keep and the Torre de las Palomas, have battlements. The third; Torre Mocha, has not.

At present Montemayor Castle is private property of the Dukes of Frías and therefore not accessible. Too bad because it's a great castle.

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