Ruinas de la Alcazaba
Ronda

Partially destroyed during the siege of Ronda in 1845 and, subsequently, by French troops in the Peninsular War (1812), the building suffered its most recent damage at the beginning of the 20th Century as a result f the widening of the Street of las Imágenes and the construction of the Castillo School.

What remains today still contains a large part of the original Moorish structure, although this has been obscured by redressing of its walls and subsequent building work. At first sight it appears to be a fortified construction of the 14th Century but in all likelihood its origins are far earlier. We know that it already existed in the 11th Century.

Its positioning gives it the greatest strategic importance in the whole of the city of Ronda, as it takes advantage of a rocky spur situated on the south, adapted with at least two lines of walls, of which the outer one can be seen. Inside, the castle itself was protected by a strong towered wall, the keep being situated in the easterly side facing the city.

The entire entrance to the city could be controlled from the Alcazaba and the two quarters, forming, along with the now disappeared Las Imágenes Gate, a practically unconquerable defensive system, vulnerable only to siege.