Querforadat Castle: A Medieval Territorial Castle in Catalonia
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Unclassified
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page7 sections
History
Querforadat Castle is a twelfth-century Romanesque castle in Spain, standing above the village of Querforadat in the municipality of Cava, Catalonia. The place is mentioned in 1004, while the castle itself appears in records from 1109. It formerly served as a territorial castle governing the surrounding area.
The counts of Cerdanya and the Pinós family
During the eleventh century, Querforadat Castle belonged to the counts of Cerdanya, the medieval rulers of a Pyrenean county whose authority extended over castles and dependent settlements. Around 1100, Galceran, son of Sicardis, swore allegiance to the counts of Cerdanya for several castles, including Querforadat. The castle later passed by donation to the Pinós family.
In the first half of the twelfth century, the count of Barcelona inherited the possessions of Bernat, count of Cerdanya. After this change, another Galceran, son of Adalaidis and a member of the Pinós line, swore fidelity for Querforadat Castle.
Lordship and changing titles
In 1313, the procurator of Saura of Mallorca, widow of Pere Galceran de Pinós, rendered homage to James of Aragon for the castle and the settlement of Querforadat. Homage was a formal declaration of loyalty to a superior ruler. The Galceran de Pinós family repeatedly maintained that the castle was their own allodial property, meaning land held outright rather than as a feudal fief.
Through marriage, the Viscounty of Évol passed to the Castre-Pinós family in 1428. A viscounty was a territorial lordship governed by a viscount, traditionally a noble subordinate to a count. Around 1620, Gaspar Galceran de Castre-Pinós de So i Aragó, the first Count of Guimerà, apparently adopted the title Viscount of Querforadat on his own initiative, and his successors continued to use it.
Querforadat Castle is protected in Catalonia as a Cultural Asset of National Interest and in Spain as an Asset of Cultural Interest classified as a historic monument.
Remains
Castle site and surviving structures
The castle occupies the highest part of Querforadat, on a rocky outcrop above the left bank of the Torrent del Coll del Quer. At an elevation of 1,414 metres, its position forms the physical setting for the surviving fragmentary remains. Construction belongs to the twelfth century, and the castle is Romanesque in style.
Ruined wall
Very little of the castle survives above the village. One of the remaining elements is a fragment of ruined wall, preserving part of the former defensive structure in a highly incomplete state.
Circular tower
A tower is almost concealed because it is attached to a house. The house incorporates the vault that identifies the tower’s circular ground plan, preserving a structural element of the medieval building within the later domestic fabric.
