El Castell de Guadalest

Guadalest was already a settlement in Muslim times before Christian forces took it in the mid-13th century. In 1293, King Jaime II of Aragon granted the castle as a fief to Bernardo de Sarriá, whose family held the castle and surrounding area for forty-two years. In 1335 it passed to the Crown, then to the Infante Don Pedro, then to his son — the first Duke of Gandía — and eventually to the Cardona family.

The Cardonas rose to become Admirals of Aragon, and in 1543 Charles I granted Sancho de Cardona the title of Marquis of Guadalest in perpetuity, a marquisate that covered many towns across the region. The area retained a large Muslim population under various Aragonese lords until the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609. A severe earthquake on 22 June 1644 wrecked the castle, and another struck later that same year.

During the War of Succession in 1708, the castle was blown up and the Casa Orduña burned. The last Cardona marquis died without heirs in 1699, and the title eventually passed to the Marquis of Ariza. In 1974 Guadalest was declared a historic-artistic monument, and the reservoir begun in 1953 was completed in 1971.

The town as a whole is a protected Cultural Heritage Site. At its highest point stands the Castillo de San José, a Muslim fortress built on bare rock. It was strategically important throughout the medieval and early modern periods but was progressively destroyed by earthquakes in 1644 and 1748 and by a deliberate explosion during the War of Succession in 1708.

Lower down sits the Castillo de la Alcozaiba, another Muslim fortress, of which only a ruined tower survives; it stands within the grounds of the former Casa Orduña. That house — a noble residence located between the parish church and the Alcozaiba — belonged to the Orduña family, who served as governors and trusted administrators for the Marquises of Guadalest. Inside, visitors can see period furniture, paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries, and a collection of ceramics.

The parish church, the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, is a Baroque building attributed to José Sierra. Beneath the town hall is an old prison, also part of the protected ensemble.