Spain · Still standing
Castillo de San Marcos
The Castle of San Marcos (Castillo de Alfonso X El Sabio) is a medieval fortress in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, Spain. Built by King Alfonso X on the site of a former mosque, the masonry complex is a listed national monument and retains its complete external fortifications.
Its prime
1270
Today
Still standing
As it stood in 1270
What Castillo de San Marcos looked like in its prime.
Compact fortified complex of warm beige ashlar masonry with a continuous curtain wall topped by regular triangular merlons. A tall polygonal/rectangular main tower rises prominently behind the curtain, flanked by smaller square towers bearing a horizontal reddish decorative band beneath their crenellations. The entrance is set into the curtain wall as a recessed, stepped portal with heavy doors. The castle sits at street level opening onto a paved plaza with trees nearby and was roofed and complete at its prime.
Its story
The story of Castillo de San Marcos.
The Castle of San Marcos in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, was erected by King Alfonso X of Castile — hence its alternative name, Castillo de Alfonso X El Sabio — as a fortified church, built on the site of a mosque of which the wall of the qibla still survives.
The castle is a listed national monument and retains its complete external fortifications. Close by stand a replica of the map of Juan de la Cosa with an explanatory plaque, and a little fountain.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1270.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Castillo de San Marcos — including 1 interior: surviving qibla wall (integrated interior wall). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Create History
Recreate Castillo de San Marcos with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1270 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
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