After the Muslim conquest, between the 8th and 9th centuries construction began on a walled complex consisting of two distinct fortifications: a large alcázar on the summit of the hill, and an alcazaba or citadel on the north slope, which was built using the remains of the Roman wall. The alcazaba was a large enclosure that served both a defensive and residential purpose; according to the records it housed a rectangular building with a porticoed courtyard that may have been the residence of the city’s first governors during the time of the emirate and caliphate. After the capital of the kura was moved to Yayyan in the 9th century the city underwent intensive development: the existing fortifications were repaired and new walls and towers were erected. 

As a result of the changing political situation in al-Andalus between the 11th and 13th centuries, the defensive walls were completely reformed and the alcázar on the summit was converted into a large and sophisticated fortress. Thus, the site became home to a large fortified complex consisting of two enclosures: at the western end there was a structure of rammed earth and mortar with an irregular layout known as Abrehuí Castle; and to the east there was the main fortification known as the alcázar viejo, which was accessed via a gateway protected by two towers standing in parallel. At the same time, a new palace, serving a political and administrative function, was built to the east of the alcázar viejo. Archaeological excavations have uncovered various traces of this building and determined its layout. There was a clear demarcation between the lower and upper sections, with the latter housing the palace, embellished with luxuriously decorated plasterwork and highly ornamented wainscoting (part of which is on display at the Museum of the Province of Jaén).

The conquest of Jaén in 1246 brought significant changes to both the city’s urban fabric and its defensive structures. The rammed-earth walls and towers were clad with masonry and although the layout of the old Islamic fortification on the summit was retained, between the 13th and 15th centuries a new fortress, known as the alcázar nuevo, was built at the east end of the site. The outer perimeter of this fortress consists of a walled enclosure incorporating six masonry towers. The towers are square in shape, except for the easternmost (the guard tower), which has a pentagonal shape and a projecting front façade as it was built around an existing Islamic tower. All of the towers are connected by crenellated parapets. The keep has three storeys: the first, which is windowless and has a ceiling comprised of four brick vaults converging on a single central pillar, would have been used for storage. The second is covered by a spherical brick-vaulted ceiling held up by a stone column in each corner, while the third storey has a polygonal brick-vaulted ceiling and was used as a residence. The archaeological excavations also revealed decorative plasterwork dating to between the 14th and 15th centuries, which would have covered the walls of the Chapel of Santa Catalina and may have been added after the alterations made to the chapel by Constable Miguel Lucas de Iranzo. 

To the east of the castle’s entrance, on the north side of the enclosure, there are two detached towers: the westernmost has a solid lower section and in its upper section houses a chapel dedicated to Saint Catherine, the patron saint of Jaén. The other detached tower has been thoroughly restored and originally served a military purpose; it has no rooms and consists of a solid cube crowned by a crenellated terrace. On the south side of the castle there is a postern gate next to the Torre de las Troneras, or “Embrasure Tower”, which also houses a number of latrines. Inside the castle walls there were a number of rooms and areas that enabled its day-to-day operation, including cisterns and an area for milling grain. 

In the third quarter of the 15th century, during the civil war that broke out in the reign of Henry IV of Castile, Constable Miguel Lucas de Iranzo further strengthened the city’s defences, adding an outer wall and moat in front of the main defensive walls, demolishing part of the parapets and blocking up some of the towers on the north wall, in order to make the city even more impregnable to the enemies of the Castilian king.

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, some rooms in the alcázar nuevo were altered and given a new function, a number of new rooms were added, and the postern gate on the south side was blocked off.

The outbreak of the Peninsular War in the early 19th century prompted major structural changes to this fortress, even though it retained the outer appearance of a medieval fortification. The alterations, which resulted in the demolition of a number of structures and rooms, consisted of repairing the walls, blocking wicket gates, adding new defensive structures, and constructing large buildings for various uses (e.g. stables, barracks, a hospital, guard posts, powder magazines, etc.). Barely any traces of these elements remain, owing to the construction of the parador de turismo (historic hotel) between 1963 and 1978 and various restoration projects carried out in the 1980s. 

Cerro de Santa Catalina has been inhabited since the Copper Age, although the oldest structures documented were part of an Iberian oppidum known as Oringis that dates back to the 9th century BC. Between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, the Romans transformed this settlement into a new fortified complex with a polygonal layout. The founding of Municipio Flavio Aurgitano at the end of the 1st century AD resulted in the rapid urban development of the area now occupied by the neighbourhood of La Magdalena, which was encircled by a walled enclosure.

The abandonment and plundering of the buildings that comprised the Roman forum, and the presence of isolated tombs and middens, illustrate the city’s gradual transformation during the time of the Low Roman Empire between the 3rd and 4th centuries AD; a process that would continue into the Visigothic era. 

After the Islamic conquest, the earliest records of the city that is now Jaén (Yayyan) date back to the middle of the 9th century, when the Umayyad Emir Abd al-Rahman II made it the new capital of the kura (region) and built the alcazaba (the predecessor of Santa Catalina Castle) along with part of the walls that connected it to the city. At the same time, the first palaces that would later comprise the alcázar were built in the medina. 

From the 11th century onwards, and especially during the Almohad period (1169-1246), the city expanded towards the south. This period also saw the renovation and extension of the alcázar inside the medina, built during the time of the Umayyad and taifa kingdoms. It now had gardens and lavishly decorated palace complexes, while a residential and administrative area was established within the castle. 

After the Castilian conquest in 1246, Jaén’s urban fabric remained largely unchanged until the 14th and 15th centuries. Ferdinand III took steps to restore the city’s population and ceded control of this to the Council of Jaén. During this period, it also became a bishopric. The instability that characterised the region until the conquest of Granada in 1492, and the conflicts between noble families that broke out during the reign of Henry IV of Castile, meant that constant repairs to the site’s defences were required. The Almohad wall was clad with masonry and construction began on the alcázar nuevo at the east end of Cerro de Santa Catalina. In turn, the Almohad alcázar at the centre of the city remained in the hands of the Castilian Crown until 1382, when it was converted into the Convent of Santo Domingo.

When Napoleon’s troops invaded Spain at the start of the 19th century, Jaén and its defences came to the forefront again and the city remained under Spanish control despite being attacked and pillaged in 1808, before eventually falling to the French in 1810. The instability that defined the period between 1808 and 1814 resulted in major alterations to the hill’s fortifications, which became an enormous barracks from which the occupiers could control most of the province and the routes towards Granada and Córdoba. Following the end of the Peninsular War, the defensive structures on the hill and within the city remained standing; however, they succumbed to a gradual process of deterioration that accelerated over the course of the 20th century, at the end of which a number of restoration projects were carried out.

LEGENDS

“The Legend of the Apparition of Saint Catherine”. Legend has it that while King Ferdinand III was laying siege to Jaén, Saint Catherine of Alexandria appeared to him in a dream and showed him the keys to the city. The king took this as an omen. The next day, the Muslims handed over the fortress to the Christian troops, and as an act of gratitude Ferdinand made Catherine the patron saint of the city and christened the newly conquered fortress in her name.

“The Chamber of Statues”. In the old castle there was a secret chamber with a door that was sealed shut. According to tradition, when each new king came to the throne he would add another lock to it. When the door had no fewer than 24 locks, a usurper seized the throne; however, instead of continuing the tradition, he ordered the door to be opened. Inside he found a relief carving in metal and wood depicting fearsome Arab warriors on horseback and bearing a prophetic inscription: “If any hand should open the door to this chamber, these warriors of metal shall become warriors of flesh, and shall take control of the kingdom”. Before the year was out, the castle fell to the Umayyad commander Tarik and his troops.

“The Legend of the Castle Cross”. Legend tells that when King Ferdinand III entered the fortress of Jaén after defeating the Muslims, in a gesture of triumph one of his captains thrust a sword into a rocky promontory at the south end of the hill overlooking the territory of Jaén. The shape formed by the weapon’s blade and crossguard resembled that of a Christian cross. The king was struck by this resemblance, and decided that a large cross should always stand at this point as a reminder of the victory of the Christian troops. And so the legend became a tradition.