Castell de Solivella: A Historic Fortress in Solivella, Spain

Visitor Information

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Official Website: www.poblesdecatalunya.cat

Country: Spain

Civilization: Medieval European

Site type: Military

Remains: Castle

History

The Castell de Solivella is located in the municipality of Solivella, Spain, and was originally built by the medieval Catalan nobility. The fortress first appears in historical records in 1076, mentioned in a donation document that ties it to the Solivella family. By 1204, a member of this lineage, Pere d’Olivella, is noted as a witness to a property transaction involving the nearby Poblet monastery, indicating the castle’s early connection to local noble estates and religious institutions.

During the 13th century, ownership passed from the Solivella lineage to the Puigverd family. Through marriage alliances, control later transferred to the Anglesola family. In the early 1300s, the castle’s possession became contested when the monastery of Santes Creus acquired it through a complex sale. However, in 1324, Arnau Messeguer purchased the fortress, and it eventually reverted to royal authority by 1391. Only two years later, King Joan I sold the castle with full jurisdictional rights to Ramon d’Abella. Shortly after, Ramon d’Abella transferred it to Berenguer de Boixadors. In 1424, ownership returned to the crown under King Alfonso the Magnanimous, who granted the castle to Ramon Berenguer de Llorac and his wife Violant, appointed as the castle’s caretakers or castlans.

From the late 15th to the early 16th century, the Llorac family undertook significant rebuilding efforts, reconstructing the fortress in the Gothic style. This work involved erecting a new stronghold on the foundations of the original medieval structure and blending Renaissance details with traditional military architecture. The castle’s strategic and administrative importance increased when, in 1599, King Philip III of Castile established the Barony of Solivella. This grant bestowed full civil and criminal jurisdiction upon Simó Berenguer de Llorac i Castelló, affirming the family’s regional power.

The castle experienced interruptions in its noble lineage during the 18th century, briefly returning to royal hands in 1729 due to disputes, but it was recovered the following year by Joan de Llorac. Through marriage in 1751, the property passed to the Despujol family. During the 19th century, the castle saw military use and sustained damage throughout both the First and Second Carlist Wars. After these conflicts, in 1870, it was sold to local owners and was eventually given to the town council of Solivella in 1912. Although the structure largely remained intact through the 19th century, it suffered significant destruction when dynamited in 1915.

Remains

The Castell de Solivella was constructed as a large fortress combining Gothic architectural elements with Renaissance touches, standing on the site of an earlier medieval stronghold. Its layout was rectangular, encompassed by two lines of defensive walls. The outer walls featured towers alternating between circular and square shapes, each equipped with battlements for protection, narrow slits designed for archers, and openings known as machicolations—holes in the parapets that allowed defenders to drop objects or pour substances onto attackers below.

At the heart of the castle was the central courtyard, which contained a staircase providing access to the noble floor—the main residential level of the castle. This courtyard, however, has since fallen into significant ruin. On the southern perimeter stood a late-medieval gate, once functioning as the principal entrance, along with remnants of the surrounding defensive walls. Today, only one corner of the fortress survives, located on the northeast side, where walls rise about 10 meters high. The western section of these remaining walls reveals courses of carefully cut stone known as ashlar, indicating the skilled masonry employed during construction.

An important feature within the courtyard is an ancient cistern, originally built for collecting and storing water. Over time, this cistern was adapted to serve as the town’s water reservoir, a role it continues to fulfill. Although now enclosed within the castle’s ruined core, this cistern stands as a testament to the castle’s practical functions in addition to its military and residential purposes.