Guides to the cultural heritage of Roses (07)

Visitor’s Guide to the Ciutadella de Roses

Category: Medieval

  • Northwest Medieval Quarter and Modern Era Gardens

    The northwest quarter  is possibly the best-preserved  area of the medieval town. This is due to an accidental circumstance. During the siege suffered by the fortress in 1645, within the framework of the War of the Reapers, a powder magazine located in one of the old medieval towers accidentally exploded. It killed more than two hundred people and destroyed a significant part of thisquarter. When the French troops occupied the fortress, they did not rebuild the quarter,  but filled in  the area instead and built gardens on top of it. This structure continued to exist until 1993 when archaeological excavations began in the area.

    The houses preserved in this quarter  correspond to dwellings that had been remodelled  throughout the 16th and 17th centuries (as can be seen by the use of bricks in the door jambs, typical of this era), although they largely maintained the same structure they must have had in the medieval era.

    1 Detail of the washhouse that was built in the centre of the gardens.
    Source: Arxiu Municipal Roses.
    2 Aerial photo from the mid-20th century, when the structure of the gardens was still preserved.
    Source: MAC-Girona.
    3 Restitution of the Citadel in the mid-18th century.
    Source: J. Sagrera.