Castell de Verges: A Medieval Castle and Fortified Town Center
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Unclassified
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page7 sections
History
Castell de Verges is a medieval castle in Verges, Spain, whose presence gave rise to the town nucleus that developed around it. The castle is recorded in a document dated between 1115 and 1164, when the Count of Roussillon received from the Count of Empuries a capbreu, a medieval cadastral record listing properties, rights, and obligations.
Disputes between church and county
During the Middle Ages, the castle became the subject of repeated disputes between the Bishopric of Girona and the County of Empuries. Count Hugh IV temporarily pawned it and was later excommunicated, a formal exclusion from participation in the sacraments and communion of the Church.
The castle and the settlement of Verges remained possessions of the County of Empuries until 1295. In that year, they were granted to Bernat Amat of Cardona and Empuries, but the grant was confiscated again in 1302.
War and incorporation into the Crown
During the fourteenth-century conflict between Count Joan I of Empuries and Peter IV of Aragon, control of the castle was entrusted to Gascon and Armagnac mercenaries led by Bita. In the church at Verges, Bita swore that he would respect whatever was to be respected.
In September 1385, a royal army acting for Peter IV captured Verges and its castle. Peter IV then annexed the County of Empuries to the possessions of the Crown of Aragon, the composite monarchy ruled by the kings of Aragon. The county was returned to Count Joan in 1387.
Count Peter III married Joanna of Rocabertí in 1399. After Peter’s death in 1401, Verges and its castle passed to the Viscounts of Rocabertí, a viscount being a noble title below that of count. King Martin the Humane rejected the transfer, invoking provisions issued in 1325 and 1341 that required the county to revert to the Crown when the direct line of succession ended.
In 1402, Martin incorporated the county and the castle into the royal domains, and Verges became the center of the Barony of Verges, a territorial lordship organized under a higher noble jurisdiction. In 1587, Verges passed definitively to the Crown and became the center of a royal municipality.
The Battle of Verges
On 27 May 1694, the castle formed part of the setting of the Battle of Verges, also known as the Battle of the Ter, during a French invasion. A French army commanded by the Duke of Noailles defeated Spanish troops led by the Duke of Escalona.
Castell de Verges is protected as a monument. Its heritage designation was made on 8 November 1988.
Remains
The castle occupied the area now containing the schools, the town hall, and the square in front of them. The surviving elements preserve parts of the former medieval fortification layout within the historic center of Verges.
Surviving castle walls
Remains of the castle can be seen in the wall of the town hall and in a parallel wall belonging to the church. Together, these surviving sections identify parts of the castle’s former enclosure and show how the historic buildings now occupy its area.
Towers and medieval fortifications
Several towers and fragments of walls indicate the arrangement of Verges’s medieval defenses. These remains preserve evidence of a fortified settlement whose structures extended around the castle and helped define the town nucleus that developed beside it.
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