Morella’s castle is a mountain in the middle of a valley which commands the Bergantes river – one of the main passages between the sea and the Ebre’s valley.  The castle controlled the county of Els Ports – a wide territory of more than 1000 square kms and was established about the Islamic period and commands wonderful views of the surrounding landscapes and peaks ranging from 1400 to 2100m high.

The castle has been described as a two-body crag, or a three layer cake – it is geologically a hanging synclinal.  This means that the streaks of calcareous stone and clay make a store for water which meant they could survive for long periods of time during sieges as they had a good supply of water.

During the Islamic period (714-1231) the castle took over from Lesera – an Iberian Roman town – as the centre of the county.  As this time Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar – otherwise know as El Cid – who was in the service of the Muslim King of Zaragossa, raided his brother’s lands and pillaged the territory’s leading to the castle, however he was never able to conquer the castle.

The castle and the walls were classed as a National Monument more than 75 years ago in one of the first acts of the temporary Republican government in 1931.  After decades of abandonment, restoration only began a few years ago.