Sant Ferran Castle

Telephone:972514585
Price: 3.00 €

Castell de Sant Ferran was considered in its day to be one of the most impressive fortresses in Europe and is still the most extensive.You can choose to roam among the buildings and battlements at your own pace, but it’s more rewarding to opt for an audioguide and follow the marked itinerary.

The castle was built in 1753 to defend the town against the French, but an unpromising start saw it fall twice to their arch enemy in the early nineteenth century without a single shot being fired. In the Spanish Civil War, it was used as a barracks for the International Brigades and was the last home of the Spanish Republic before its leaders fled into exile in 1939. Most recently used as a prison for Colonel Tejero, who staged an attempted coup in 1981, it was opened to the public in 1997.

An imposing gateway leads through the defensive outer walls, over 3km in circumference, and the wide, earth-filled moat to the inner walls, which conceal a vast parade ground. On the eastern side are the atmospheric underground stables, an enormous double-galleried nave, which was able to shelter a cavalry regiment of five hundred.The real wonder lies 8m beneath the parade ground, where cavernous cisterns store water in a sabotage-proof marvel of hydraulic engineering designed to last out a year-long siege. Dinghy trips through the cisterns are available, preceded by a jeep ride around the walls.



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Sant Ferran Castle, Figueres

Castillo de Sant Ferran

Château de Sant Ferran

Castell de Sant Ferran

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