Santa Bárbara Castle sits on Mount Benacantil, 545 feet (166 m) above the sea in central Alicante. The article dates its origin to the 9th century, under Muslim control, though the oldest surviving foundations date from the 11th to 13th centuries. Castilian forces captured it on December 4, 1248. The Aragonese conquered it in 1296, and James II of Aragon ordered its reconstruction. Peter IV, Charles I and Philip II also oversaw later work. The intermediate enclosure's major rooms were completed in 1580.
A French squadron bombarded the castle in 1691, and the British held it for three years during the War of the Spanish Succession. It later served as a prison. In 1939 it was a Francoist camp for Republican prisoners.
It was abandoned until 1963, then opened to the public. It houses the Museum of the City of Alicante.
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