Qualla: Castle of Lorca https://qualla.com/castle-of-lorca en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:17 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/w/y/castle-of-lorca-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Castle of Lorca https://qualla.com/castle-of-lorca Castle of Lorca: Introduction https://qualla.com/castle-of-lorca/ Photo credit gema de la fuente, CC BY-SA 2.0. Beneath the parador -- the luxury hotel that now occupies part of the Castle of Lorca -- construction workers uncovered something unexpected: the remains of a 14th-century Jewish quarter, complete with twelve homes and the only medieval synagogue ever found in the Region of Murcia. The discovery was fitting. This fortress, 640 meters long and 120 meters wide, one of the largest castles in Spain, has been accumulating layers of habitation since the Neolithic period. Each excavation reveals another civilization that called this hilltop home.

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Image: gema de la fuente | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/w/y/castle-of-lorca-wp/eywy-castle-of-lorca-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Castle of Lorca: Before the Castle https://qualla.com/castle-of-lorca/ Photo credit Luiyo, CC BY-SA 2.0. Archaeological excavations conducted between 1999 and 2011 pushed the story of this hilltop back thousands of years before any castle existed. Beneath the medieval fortifications, researchers found an Argaric Bronze Age settlement that extended from the hilltop down to the site o...

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Image: Luiyo | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/w/y/castle-of-lorca-wp/eywy-castle-of-lorca-before-the-castle.mp3 0:06 2 full Castle of Lorca: The Frontier Fortress https://qualla.com/castle-of-lorca/ Photo credit Paperkat, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1244, the Castilian Infante Don Alfonso -- the future Alfonso X -- conquered Lorca, and the castle became a critical defensive position against the Kingdom of Granada. For 250 years, this was frontier territory: the Christian kingdom of Murcia on one side, the Muslim state of ...

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Image: Paperkat | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/w/y/castle-of-lorca-wp/eywy-castle-of-lorca-the-frontier-fortress.mp3 0:06 3 full Castle of Lorca: A Hidden Synagogue https://qualla.com/castle-of-lorca/ Photo credit Ramón Cutanda López from España, CC BY-SA 2.0. The Jewish Quarter discovered during hotel construction extended over 5,700 square meters within the alcazaba, the Moorish inner fortification. The physical separation from the rest of the city served a dual purpose: protecting the Jewish community from harm while keeping Christi...

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Image: Ramón Cutanda López from España | CC BY-SA 2.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/w/y/castle-of-lorca-wp/eywy-castle-of-lorca-a-hidden-synagogue.mp3 0:06 4 full Castle of Lorca: Decline, Destruction, and Revival https://qualla.com/castle-of-lorca/ Photo credit Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0. When the frontier disappeared with the fall of Granada in 1492, Lorca Castle lost its strategic purpose. The expulsion of the Jews by Ferdinand and Isabella depopulated the Jewish Quarter. The castle was abandoned, deteriorating into near-complete ruin by the 18th century. It saw...

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Image: Tamorlan | CC BY 3.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/e/y/w/y/castle-of-lorca-wp/eywy-castle-of-lorca-decline-destruction-and-revival.mp3 0:06 5 full