Castell de Sort: A Medieval Castle in Catalonia, Spain
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.1
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Unclassified
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page8 sections
History
Castell de Sort, also known as Castell dels Comtes de Pallars, is a medieval castle in Sort, Spain, first appearing in records in the thirteenth century. Its surviving fabric combines Romanesque and Gothic elements. The castle and the central part of Sort were historically inseparable, forming part of the enclosed town known as the Vila Closa.
The Counts of Pallars
Although the castle first enters the written record in the thirteenth century, Sort was associated with the Counts of Pallars from the tenth century. These hereditary rulers governed the historic County of Pallars in the Pyrenean region. In 1055, Countess Ermessenda donated the town of Sort to the canonry of Santa Maria de la Seu d’Urgell, a religious community attached to the cathedral church of La Seu d’Urgell. A tradition also holds that Saint Ot, who later served as bishop of Urgell from 1065 to 1122, was born at the castle.
Conflict and royal control
In 1280, Count Arnau Roger I of Pallars, after rising against the king and suffering defeat, ceded several domains, including Sort, to Pere the Great. From the late thirteenth century until 1327, Arnau I d’Espanha, Viscount of Coserans and a grandson of Count Roger II of Pallars, repeatedly invaded Pallars and seized the castle. Jaume the Just recovered it on each occasion.
The castle continued to serve as a place of government. In 1378, Count Hug Roger II of Pallars issued general powers from its “new chamber” and appointed Roger de Besora as his procurator, an official empowered to act on the count’s behalf.
Palace, prison, and abandonment
During the fifteenth-century war against King Joan the Faithless, or Joan II of Aragon, the king sold the County of Pallars to the Count of Cardona. The new count granted important privileges to Sort in 1513. Around the same period, the castle-fortress was converted into a palace, probably in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century.
By 1634, the castle was serving as a prison, and its cisterns were repaired. A fire caused general destruction during the first half of the seventeenth century. The castle was abandoned during that century, although the precise date is unknown. In 1842, the Duke of Medinaceli transferred it to the municipality for use as a cemetery. The cemetery was enlarged in 1866 and was later decommissioned.
Archaeology and protection
Archaeological and restoration interventions have taken place since 1992. Castell de Sort is designated a Cultural Asset of National Interest as a historic monument and is also registered as a Spanish cultural-interest monument.
Remains
Castell de Sort occupies a broad polygonal enclosure on the upper northwestern side of Sort, at approximately 700 to 710 metres above sea level. Its open grounds cover 1,934 square metres and are enclosed by walls that follow the polygonal perimeter. The surviving remains bring together Romanesque masonry from the eleventh and twelfth centuries with later Gothic and palace architecture.
Romanesque walls and fortified tower
The eastern wall preserves large, irregular stones associated with the Romanesque phase. Two cylindrical towers stand at its ends. High stretches of wall also close the enclosure on the southern side, and these sections may date from the eleventh or twelfth century. On the western side, a semicircular structure rises as the tower of homage, the principal fortified tower associated with a castle’s authority and defense. It housed the district prison at least until the seventeenth century.
Gothic palace facade
The eastern wall continues northward into the facade of a small Gothic palace dating from the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Its large portal has an arch formed from wedge-shaped stones. Beside it is a broad loophole, a narrow opening used for observation or weapons. The facade also contains two mullioned windows divided by vertical stone members, with a round oculus above them framed by a chamfered edge.
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