The magnificent Castillo de Gibralfaro sits on a high hill overlooking Malaga city and port, and dates back to the 10th century. The image of Gibralfaro is well known: you can see it in both Malaga city and province’s seal and flag. The hill where the Gibralfaro is situated forms part of the Montes de Malaga mountain range, located to the east and north of Malaga city – this land is protected by the Montes’ natural park status.

The place name derives from the Arabic word “jabal”, meaning mountain, and from the Greek “faruh” (lighthouse). According to some experts this indicates that the mountain was probably used since the Phoenician-Punic era as a coastal lookout. 

The castle was built in 929AD by Abd-al-Rahman III, Caliph of Cordoba, on a former Phoenician enclosure and lighthouse. Yusef 1, Sultan of Granada, enlarged it at the beginning of the 14th century, also adding the double wall down to the Alcazaba.

The castle is famous for its three-month siege by the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, which ended only when hunger forced the Malagueños to surrender. Afterwards Ferdinand occupied the site, while his queen took up residence in the town. Another important aspect of siege was that this was the first conflict in which gunpowder was used by both sides.

Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the fortress was used as an artillery base, and in the middle of the 19th century, French troops led by Napoleon occupied Málaga and thus also the castle complex. In the following years, the Castillo de Gibralfaro was also used as a prison before large parts of the fortress were destroyed during the war between Spain and France at the beginning of the 19th century. After the withdrawal of the French, the Castillo de Gibralfaro remained in its destroyed state and slowly fell into disrepair. Only a few rooms and courtyards remained.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, attempts have been made to preserve the building substance through many renovation and restoration works. In 1931, the Castillo de Gibralfaro was declared a Spanish national monument.