Castillo de Toya

Spain, Spain

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Castillo de Toya, near the village of Toya in Peal de Becerro municipality, Jaén province, Spain, is a medieval watchtower and fortress ruin dominating a steep hilltop close to the renowned Iberian sepulchre that yielded the famous Bicha de Toya sculpture.

With roots in Roman Tugia and first noted by Arab geographer Al-Idrisi as Hisn Tuya, it was ravaged by Ferdinand III in 1224 during Jaén campaigns, later changing hands amid Nasrid raids before passing to Úbeda under Enrique II in 1378, featuring a large square 11.5-meter tower of reused Iberian-Roman stones, half-barrel vaults, and medieval fountain-aljibe remnants.

Declared a Bien de Interés Cultural in 1949 amid its Iberian necropolis, the site blends ancient Oretanian heritage with Muslim-Christian frontier defenses, now preserved near San Marcos hermitage.