Abandoned Castles
Abandoned castles are a rare find and one of my favourite types of derelict sites. There is so much history behind them and the architecture is always fascinating. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a castle where the inside hasn’t been touched. I probably have to go to more countries in Europe for that, which is definitely on the list of urbex plans for the next few years.
The Abandoned Castle of Can Jaumar in Cabrils, Spain
The abandoned Castle of Can Jaumar, formerly known as Can Rafart, dates back to the late and very dark Middle Ages. It was built in 1229 by a Christian family, the Rafart de Cabrils, who had fled to Northern Spain alongside thousands of others to live and pray in peace away from raging war battlefields and Islamic dictatorship. At that time, Spanish Christians had been fighting a 500 year long war against Muslims who had conquered large areas of the country (and wider Europe) and imposed a “convert or die law”. As the battles raged on, the Christians who remained in Spain had fled to areas such as Cabrils in Catalunya, and built themselves farmhouses to live in aswell as underground cave churches to pray in. The abandoned building you see in my video below and photos further down the page, is the former Rafart de Cabrils farmhouse. The medieval castle elements such as towers with crenellations, battlements, arched windows and heraldic shields were added in 1906 by its new owner, the Jaumar de la Carrera family. By the time the Jaumar’s had bought Can Rafart, Spain had succeeded in booting out the Muslims after a century-long war and the country was Christian once again. To ensure there
Abandoned Gothic Castle, County Kerry, Ireland
A Hidden Abandoned Castle in Ireland The abandoned Dromore Castle is located on the banks of Kenmare Bay in County Kerry, one of the most evocative regions of the Emerald Isle. The architectural design of this once-magnificent manor house is neo-Gothic/Revival Gothic. Most of its classic features are still intact such as lancets, turrets, spiral staircases, carriage arches, oriel windows, and of course, the famous round tower which is a replica of the Rock of Cashel. Dromore Castle and Estate dates back to the 19th century when it was built for Rev. Denis Mahony and his family, in 1839, by the famous Victorian architect, Thomas Deane. The Mahonys were, in early times, powerful chieftains and landowners in the province of Munster, and had extensive estates along the sea-coast of counties Cork and Kerry. Rev. Denis Mahony was a Church of Ireland minister who was also known for setting up a soup kitchen during the Irish Famine and providing free education and clothing to local children as long as they converted to the Protestant faith. However, his proselytizing activities did not make him a popular figure in the locality, and in 1850 he was attacked in his church at Templenoe. Richard John
