🏰 Castles of Lanzarote – Traces of the Island's Turbulent History

Today, Lanzarote is associated with sunshine, volcanoes and whitewashed towns, but for centuries its location in the Atlantic also meant a constant threat from the sea. Pirates and corsairs raided the island, plundered settlements and took inhabitants captive, which is why towers, forts and castles were built in different parts of Lanzarote.

Four of the island's most important historic fortifications have survived to the present day. Each was built under different circumstances and defended a different part of the island. Together, they tell a significant part of Lanzarote's turbulent history.

📖 Discover the History of Lanzarote with the Guidebook

The castles become much more interesting when you know who they were built to protect the islanders from and why they were constructed in these particular locations.

👉 In the guidebook Lanzarote with César Manrique, you'll find not only attractions and ready-made itineraries, but also the history of the island – from the Majos and the European conquest, through pirate raids, to volcanic eruptions and life on an island that suffered from water shortages for centuries.

☠️ Why Did Lanzarote Need Castles?

For centuries, Lanzarote's location was both an advantage and a curse. The island lies only around 125 kilometres (78 miles) off the coast of Africa and was situated along sea routes used by ships travelling between Europe, Africa and the Canary Islands. Its harbours were important to sailors, but easy access from the sea also made the island particularly vulnerable to attack.

From the 15th century onwards, the people of Lanzarote repeatedly suffered raids by pirates and corsairs. Attackers plundered settlements, stole food and possessions, and captured inhabitants to sell them into slavery or hold them for ransom. The threat, however, went both ways – Lanzarote's European rulers also organised expeditions to the nearby African coast, where people were captured and sold into slavery.

Defending the island was difficult. Lanzarote had a long coastline, a small population and limited military resources, while attackers could land at many different points along the coast. The island therefore needed both lookout points that could provide early warning of approaching danger and fortifications capable of protecting its most important settlements and harbours.

Over the centuries, towers, forts, batteries and castles were built in different parts of Lanzarote. Not all of them have survived to the present day. The four surviving fortifications that can still be seen today show how the places requiring the greatest protection changed as Lanzarote developed – from the former capital of Teguise, through the harbours of Arrecife, to the island's southern coast.

⚔️ Four Fortifications – Four Different Roles

Although all four structures were built to protect Lanzarote, they were not constructed at the same time and did not serve exactly the same purpose. Their locations reveal which parts of the island required particular protection at different points in its history.

🏰 Castillo de Santa Bárbara stood high above Teguise – the former capital of Lanzarote. It provided a wide view of the surrounding area, helped warn of approaching threats and served as a place of refuge for local inhabitants.

🏰 Castillo de San Gabriel guarded Arrecife from the sea. Its main purpose was to protect the growing harbour and the settlement developing around it.

🏰 Castillo de San José was built later to strengthen the defences of Puerto de Naos – a harbour that became increasingly important as Arrecife developed.

🗼 Torre del Águila guarded the southern coast and the La Bocaina Strait between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

Together, they show how Lanzarote's defensive system adapted over the centuries to the island's changing needs – from protecting the former capital and increasingly important harbours to controlling the southern coastline.

🧱 Not All Fortifications Have Survived

The four surviving structures represent only part of Lanzarote's former defensive system. Smaller towers, artillery batteries, lookout posts and other fortifications were also built across the island, some of which have disappeared or survive only as fragments. Their locations changed as ports developed, new threats emerged and methods of warfare evolved.

📖 Find Ready-Made Itineraries

In the guidebook “Lanzarote with César Manrique”, you'll find ready-made itineraries that allow you to combine the castles with other attractions without unnecessary driving back and forth across the island.

🍞 Castillo de San José – A Fortress Built in a Time of Famine

Castillo de San José was built in the late 18th century overlooking Puerto de Naos in Arrecife. During the reign of King Charles III, the decision was made to construct a new fortification to strengthen the defences of the harbour and this part of the coastline. Construction was completed in 1779.

Behind the castle walls, however, lies a story far more interesting than the defence of the harbour alone. Lanzarote was experiencing a severe crisis at the time, caused by drought and crop failures. Water and food were scarce, livestock were dying, and some inhabitants were forced to emigrate. The construction of the castle therefore became a way of providing people with work and an income during a period of extreme poverty. This is how it acquired its second, highly evocative name – Fortaleza del Hambre, meaning “Fortress of Hunger.”

Over time, Castillo de San José lost its military importance and fell into neglect. In the 1970s, César Manrique became interested in the fortress and proposed restoring it and transforming it into a space dedicated to art. He oversaw the adaptation work while preserving the character of the historic building.

In 1976, the Museo Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo – MIAC opened inside the castle. Today, visitors can step inside an 18th-century fortress while also viewing works of contemporary art by Canarian, Spanish and international artists.

Castillo de San José therefore brings together three very different chapters in Lanzarote's history – the defence of the island, the inhabitants' struggle against hunger, and the work of César Manrique.

🗼 Torre del Águila – Guardian of Southern Lanzarote

On the southern coast of Lanzarote, at Punta del Águila near present-day Playa Blanca, stands a small round tower known as Torre del Águila, Castillo de Las Coloradas or Castillo de San Marcial de Rubicón. It is the only surviving historic defensive structure of its kind in the south of the island.

The decision to build it was made in 1741. The tower was intended to protect the southern coast from corsairs and to control the La Bocaina Strait, which separates Lanzarote from Fuerteventura. However, it did not prove impregnable – on 12 August 1749, it was attacked and burned by Algerian raiders. It was rebuilt and enlarged in 1769, during the reign of Charles III. A stone inscription above the entrance still commemorates the date of this reconstruction.

🛡️ Before Torre del Águila Was Built

This site had defensive importance long before the present tower was constructed. Torre del Águila was built approximately on the site of the earlier Torre del Rubicón, associated with the beginning of the Norman conquest of Lanzarote led by Jean de Béthencourt in the early 15th century.

However, this does not mean that another medieval tower still stands beside today's Torre del Águila. Torre del Rubicón has not survived as a complete structure. Its remains form part of the San Marcial del Rubicón archaeological site, where researchers have uncovered foundations and sections of the walls of the former fortified tower, as well as remains of the first European settlement, a church, wells and a burial ground.

Today, Torre del Águila is above all a reminder of the centuries-long need to protect Lanzarote's southern coast – from the first European conquerors in the 15th century to the threat of corsair raids in the 18th century.

🏰 Castillo de San Gabriel – Guardian of Arrecife's Harbour

Castillo de San Gabriel stands on a small islet off the coast of Arrecife, connected to the city by the distinctive stone Puente de las Bolas. Its primary purpose was to protect the growing harbour and settlement from attacks coming from the sea.

The history of fortifications at this site dates back to the 15th century, when a small defensive tower was built here during the time of Diego García de Herrera. In the 16th century, it was replaced by a larger fort, which was captured and burned in 1586 by the men of the corsair Morato Arráez. The subsequent rebuilding and strengthening of the fortifications eventually resulted in the stone castle that can still be seen today.

Today, the castle houses the Museo de Historia de Arrecife, while the fortress itself, together with Puente de las Bolas, is one of the most distinctive historic landmarks in Lanzarote's capital.

👉 Discover the full history of Castillo de San Gabriel

🏰 Castillo de Santa Bárbara – The Fortress Above the Former Capital

The oldest surviving fortification on Lanzarote stands high above Teguise, on the rim of the Guanapay volcano crater. Its location was no coincidence – from this elevated position, guards could watch over a vast area of the island and spot threats approaching from the sea well in advance.

The origins of the fortification date back to the 16th century. Over time, the small tower was expanded and strengthened, and Castillo de Santa Bárbara became an important part of the defences of Teguise – the capital of Lanzarote at the time. During raids, local inhabitants could seek refuge inside the fortress, although its walls did not always guarantee their safety.

The castle witnessed some of the most dramatic events in the island's history, including the raid by Morato Arráez in 1586, when the attackers reached Teguise, plundered the town and took many of its inhabitants captive.

Today, Castillo de Santa Bárbara is worth visiting not only for its history. Its position on Guanapay allows you to see exactly what the castle guards saw centuries ago – the town of Teguise and the vast landscape of central Lanzarote.

👉 Discover the full history of Castillo de Santa Bárbara