San Polo Castle

The castle of San Polo is one of the most significant enclaves in the historical landscape of Montiel, although today it retains very few remains.

It stands on a hill located west of the castle of La Estrella, in a strategic position from which the roads from Andalusia and the main crossings over the Jabalón River can be dominated.

Its value lies not only in what can still be seen on the ground, but in its role within the conquest and control of the territory, since it was a direct part of the military system that allowed the Andalusian fortress of Montiel to be surrounded.

San Polo was built by the Order of Santiago as a stepfather castle, probably around 1224, to harass the Muslim garrison stationed at La Estrella and thus facilitate its final surrender, which must have occurred in 1226. It is, therefore, a fortification born in a strictly military context, linked to the final phase of the Christian conquest of the Campo de Montiel. The enclosure must have had a wide perimeter wall built on artificially modified rock faces to reinforce its defenses, although today its structure is barely recognizable.

At the top of the hill, several elements of great interest have been documented, such as a large structure carved into the rock for water collection, a possible pool, and a cistern built with rammed earth and finished with rubblework, in addition to other traces of use and storage, now largely destroyed. These remains allow us to understand that, despite its current state, San Polo was a fully operational fortress, adapted to the demands of siege and surveillance of the surrounding area.

The visit thus allows one to approach a place less monumental than La Estrella, but essential to understanding the military strategy, the defensive topography and the organization of the territory in the early moments of the Santiago regime.