Alcañiz Castle

Alcañiz was conquered in 1157 by Ramón Berenguer IV, bringing the castle into Christian hands. In 1179, Alfonso II donated ownership of the castle to the Order of Calatrava, and the Calatrava commandery of Alcañiz quickly became one of the most powerful in the Kingdom of Aragon — the castle functioned not just as a military bastion but as a center of feudal and religious power. The oldest sections date to the 12th and 13th centuries; the chapel, cloister, and keep preserve significant early-14th-century Gothic linear murals, with themes of minstrelsy and chivalry. During the 14th and 15th centuries, Mudéjar ornamental elements were added to both the castle and the surrounding walls.

Since 1968 it has been a Parador Nacional, and has been declared a Bien de Interés Cultural of Aragonese heritage.

Today its rooms sit within the Calatrava castle.

The castle's grant to the Order of Calatrava in 1179 ties Alcañiz directly to one of medieval Spain's most powerful military-religious orders, distinct from properties held by purely secular noble families.

The survival of early-14th-century Gothic murals with jousting and chivalric themes, inside a building of primarily military origin, gives Alcañiz an artistic dimension unusual among Spain's Calatrava-order castles.

The castle's Bien de Interés Cultural designation gives it formal recognition as a protected piece of Aragonese heritage, beyond its function as a hotel.