Castell del Rei: Tarragona’s Royal Castle
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Classical, Medieval
- Civilizations
- Crown of Aragon, Roman
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page8 sections
History
Castell del Rei is a medieval royal castle in Tarragona, Spain, developed from a Roman building that formed part of the provincial forum. The Roman structure was adapted into a largely Romanesque castle during the thirteenth century, creating a royal centre whose history reflects Tarragona’s changing political, military, and administrative roles.
Roman foundation and royal administration
The original Roman-period building was a large construction within Tarragona’s provincial forum, a civic complex serving the administration and ceremonial life of an entire Roman province. Tradition later identified it as the praetorium of Augustus or the Tower of Pilate. Much of the medieval castle was created by adapting this earlier structure.
In 1118, Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, donated the city of Tarragona while retaining the palatium, probably referring to this building. The arrangement associated Castell del Rei with royal authority in Tarragona. It became the seat of the royal administrative district, over which the archbishop had no jurisdiction.
Medieval enlargement and transformation
The castle was attacked in 1282 by inhabitants of La Selva del Camp. They had refused to provide money for the royal army’s campaign to conquer Sicily. After a royal official seized some of their livestock as security, the attackers stormed Castell del Rei to recover the animals. Infante Alfonso, son and successor of Pere II the Great, later reproached the inhabitants for the assault.
Further construction and restoration took place under Jaume II, Pere III, and Joan II. Jaume II assigned money for the works in February 1295, and in 1304 he ordered the bailiff of Tortosa to pay 2,000 Barcelona sous for construction and restoration. Work continued at least until 1313. Projects carried out between 1313 and 1317 were supervised by the royal veguer of the Camp de Tarragona, an official with delegated judicial and administrative authority, and did not fundamentally change the building’s Roman structure.
Pere III the Ceremonious ordered a complete remodelling of the interior between 1383 and 1386 to meet contemporary tastes and requirements. Tarragona was initially required to contribute 100 gold florins each year to the works, with the annual payment later increased to 200 florins.
Decline, destruction, and later uses
Castell del Rei gradually ceased to function as a royal residence. The kings stayed at the Archbishop’s Castle, as Ferdinand I of Aragon did in 1412, while Castell del Rei housed the offices of the royal procurator, the official responsible for representing and administering royal interests.
The castle fell out of use during the sixteenth century. In the seventeenth century it was converted into a depot for military equipment and a barracks for soldiers. During the eighteenth century it became a prison.
On 19 August 1813, during the Peninsular War, Marshal Louis-Gabriel Suchet ordered the walls and buildings to be blown up before the withdrawal of Napoleon’s troops. The explosion caused many casualties and destroyed fortifications and buildings, leaving Castell del Rei severely damaged.
The building was reconstructed in the middle of the nineteenth century and converted into a provincial prison, a function it retained until 1953. During this period it also served as an optical-telegraph tower on the civil line from Madrid to La Jonquera. Optical telegraphy transmitted messages through visual signals between strategically placed towers. Castell del Rei stood between the tower at La Tossa in Salou and the Sant Antoni tower at Altafulla.
Restoration and institutional history
After substantial restoration, Castell del Rei underwent museographic adaptation. In 1971 it was assigned to complete the facilities of the National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona. In 1986 the tower came under the administration of the Tarragona History Museum. The medieval elements that remain indicate construction in the thirteenth century, while older drawings and plans preserve evidence of additional medieval work.
Remains
Castell del Rei consists of two rectangular bodies joined by medieval arches. The western body contains the most substantial medieval fabric, while Roman construction survives especially in its lower sections. Later rebuilding is also visible, reflecting the building’s repeated adaptation after its Roman and medieval phases.
Western body
The western body rises through three storeys and includes large rooms and a roof terrace. On the upper storey, beneath the terrace, the north facade has a doorway framed externally by a semicircular arch and internally by a segmental arch. A bifora, or double window, is set above it. The west facade contains two Gothic windows, each formed with three small arches. On the east wall are a doorway, several loopholes, and the remains of another opening.
Mason’s marks survive on the original medieval ashlar beside the openings in the north and west facades. These marks are also numerous in the west wall of the storey below the upper hall, where a second bifora and a large loophole form part of the principal medieval remains.
Upper hall and Roman levels
The upper storey contains a large hall divided by five diaphragm arches. These transverse arches support the roof and divide the interior into structural bays. The level below includes a large vaulted room, while most of its other walls belong largely to the Roman period.
At ground level, Roman walls make up most of the structure. The south wall has a doorway topped by a semicircular arch made from ten wedge-shaped stones, known as voussoirs, with a relieving arch above it. This upper arch diverts weight away from the doorway. The vault over the ground floor is Roman, as is the vault of the first floor, and both belonged to the Roman provincial forum complex.
