Valderrobres Castle

Although the existence of an earlier construction cannot be ruled out, the documented history of the castle of Valderrobres begins at the end of the 12th century, when, coinciding with the Reconquest, it is shown as a defensive tower. In 1307, the archbishop of Zaragoza became the definitive feudal lord of these territories and promoted the construction of the most monumental Valderrobres, starting with the Gothic church and part of the first floor of the castle. In 1390, Archbishop García Fernández de Heredia resumed the works, transforming the old defensive tower into a palace that would serve as a residence for himself and the many lords who at that time passed through this area on their travels. After the assassination of Don García in 1411, the construction would again remain stagnant, but in the thirties of that century, a new archbishop would become interested in the territory: Dalmau de Mur y Cervellón, one of the great patrons of art and culture of the fourteenth century. Don Dalmau focused his patronage on the completion of the works begun. In addition to his contributions to finish the church, he reformed the second floor of the castle of Valderrobres, giving it a more utilitarian approach as a warehouse and finished the upper rooms, as well as the wall of the parade ground and the accesses. From the 16th century, the castle remains as a rarely used residence of the Archbishop of Zaragoza. Wear and tear and disuse took their toll on it over the centuries and only in rare exceptions, such as the reforms of Hernaldo de Aragón in the 16th century or the diocesan synod of 1656, did it find some of its former splendor. The coup de grâce came in the 19th century, when the confiscations made the building become State property, which meant its abandonment and the beginning of more than a century of ruin and massive despoilment. Fortunately, from 1980 and especially between 1982 and 1983, the monument began to be restored. In 1991, with the covering of the distributor of the first