Though built in 960 on the orders of Cordoban caliph Abd ar-Rahman III, this restored fortress is named after Reconquista hero Guzmán El Bueno. In 1294, when threatened with the death of his captured son unless he surrendered the castle to Merenid attackers from Morocco, El Bueno threw down his own dagger for his son to be killed. Guzmán’s descendants later became the Duques de Medina Sidonia, one of Spain’s most powerful families .
A new castle museum should be open by the time you read this; timings may change.
