The Castle of Belalcázar, a tourist attraction in Los Pedroches, also known as the Castle of Gahete or the Castle of the Sotomayor-Zúñiga, is located in the town of the same name, in the north of the province of Córdoba, at approximately 500 meters above sea level, on an artificial promontory resulting from the settlement of numerous preceding cultures (Iberians, Romans, Visigoths, Arabs...), almost entirely bordered by the course of the Caganchas stream. It stands on Roman remains and the Arab fortification of Gafiq, spanning 25,000 square meters, of which the walled perimeter from the 9th to the 13th century is still visible, though greatly deteriorated.
The Castle of Belalcázar (Gahet, in Roman times; Gafiq, in Arab times; Gahete, from 1243; Belalcázar from the second half of the 15th century), with an area of 2,600 square meters, began its construction around 1450 by the Master of Alcántara, Don Gutierre de Sotomayor, and was completed in 1483 by the powerful marriage and lineage of Alfonso de Sotomayor (son of Don Gutierre) and Elvira de Zúñiga (daughter of the Count of Plasencia), especially the latter (Alfonso was assassinated in 1464) as she took charge of the immense possessions of the Lordship of Gahete, later the County of Belalcázar. It features tall sections of walls and 8 towers, among which its imposing Tower of Homage stands out—the tallest and most massive in Spain (47 meters high and 17 meters on each side), with granite ashlar walls over 4 meters thick, an interior cistern 10 meters deep, and a wide external moat. The Gothic cloister of the large parade ground, of great beauty, is almost entirely lost.
Since 2008, it has been owned by the Junta de Andalucía, and following extensive renovation in 2018-2019, it has been open to visitors every weekend, free of charge, by appointment, since November of that year.
