Castell de Miravet

Miravet, Spain, Spain

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Castell de Miravet, dramatically positioned above the Ebro River in Miravet, Tarragona province, Catalonia, Spain, began as a 9th-11th century Muslim fortress before its 1153 conquest by Ramon Berenguer IV, who granted it to the Knights Templar.

The Templars transformed it into one of Europe's finest examples of military-religious architecture, featuring a double-walled enclosure with majestic 25-meter-high uniform stone walls, five advanced towers, a Romanesque church of Sant Martí, stables, cistern, refectory, and a possible treasury chamber, all arranged in a convent-like layout inspired by Holy Land models. 

After a year-long 1308 siege marking the Order's fall, it passed to the Hospitallers until 1835, with later 17th-18th century modifications for artillery; today, the well-preserved citadel offers stunning valley views as a cultural highlight.