🏰 Gardeny Castle

Gardeny Castle is a 12th-century Romanesque fort built by the Knights Templar at Lleida. Located on a neighbouring hill, just over a mile away, from Lleida's main fortress, the Castle of La Suda, Gardeny defended the only accessible side of that castle. Although by the 20th century, the only buildings left standing were the palace and the church of Santa María de Gardeny, at right angles to each other, the castle grounds originally had several other buildings that were destroyed during the wars of the 17th and 18th centuries. Archaeological studies from 2005 show that the palace and church were originally constructed as two separate buildings, later joined by a corridor or sacristy.