Calatrava+la+Nueva

= Calatrava la Nueva = = = = = Calatrava la Nueva is a medieval castle that was built on a rocky hilltop called Alacranejo in the town of Aldea del Rey. Supposedly it was built on top of another castle. A military group funded by the Vatican called the Cistercian Order took control of Calatrava la Vieja (the old castle) during the reconquest. There they founded the Order of Calatrava, another Christian army. Once they had control of the old castle, they decided to build a better fortress on the opposite hilltop - the Calatrava la Nueva - or new castle for the Order of Calatrava.

Some historians believe that the new castle was built atop the ruins of an older fort, the castle of Duenas. The new castle was lost to the Muslims in the early 1200s, but recovered again a few years later, then belonging to the Order of Calatrava until the 1700s.

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