Date Published: 10/01/2025

Renovation of Lorca castle expected to be completed by March 2026

Work is taking place within the castle walls to ensure the monument’s conservation

The castle in Lorca is one of the largest and most important historical tourist attraction in the whole city. Dominating the entire Guadalentín Valley from the last foothills of the La Torrecilla mountain range, this beautiful building has accompanied the life of people in Lorca for centuries.

The castle is the first port of call in the city for visitors who wish to really understand the city and its history. Established as one of the places in the municipality that receives the most visitors throughout the year, over the next couple of months there will be a great deal of work carried out in order to improve the condition of the castle and the experience of the visitors.

The subsidy of almost 3 million euros granted by the Government of Spain to the project is expected to go a long way to improve the site in which the castle is situated. The rehabilitation and musealisation of the hermitage of San Clemente will be one of the biggest projects to be undertaken in the works. The total for this work will come to 500,000 euros.

Moreover, the documentation and valorisation of the part of the site of the Jewish quarter that has not yet been excavated will also be a large project within the work. This work is expected to come in at 1.2 million euros.

Furthermore, the castle itself will benefit from work to its walls and structures and a new path is to be installed for visitors. Nines Mazuecos, who led the process of drafting the plan stated "This project will not only preserve important elements of our historical heritage, but will also transform Lorca into a more competitive and attractive destination for tourism".

The work therefore must begin and continue with speed as any delay in the work could compromise the funding granted to the project which has a deadline of March 2026.

Furthermore, in addition to this grant, there was also a grant of one million euros awarded last April for the area surrounding the Parador de Turismo. This work began last October and its purpose is to preserve, restore and improve public services to the areas of tourist routes of the archaeological remains found in the area of the citadel.

The castle of Lorca has received a lot of attention in recent years through work carried out on it. In October, the Castle added an access path for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as a bicycle parking lot, and months earlier it had its ornamental lights restored.

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Oficina de Turismo de Lorca

Lorca Tourist Office

The rich and extensive history of Lorca has left a legacy of archaeological sites, and historic buildings, around which the modern City has built its tourism industry. Amongst these are Lorca Castle, the Jewish Quarter of the castle and Synagogue, Lorca Tourist Office Plaza de España, Colegiata de San Patricio, Museo de Arqueologico Municipal, Iglesia de San Francisco, Casa Huerto Ruano, Palacio de Guevara, Iglesia de San Mateo, Pósito de los Panaderos, Convento Virgen de las Huertas, Antiguo Convento de la Merced, Iglesia del Carmen and the Teatro Guerra.

Unfortunately Lorca has also been prone to natural disaster, suffering a Gota Fría on September 28th 2012, as well as an earthquake which measured 5.3 on the Richter scale on 11th May 2011 and claimed 9 lives. Since this earthquake the city has been rebuilding, winning recognition for its Lorca, Open for Restoration initiative, which used the restoration of the city as a tourist attraction whilst it rebuilt its historical buildings, some of which are currently still not open.

Lorca Tourist Office The tourist office itself has temporarily relocated until the renovations are completed and is on Calle San Patricio near the church.

Lorca also has an area of coastline incorporating the Parque Regional de Cabo Cope - Puntas de Calnegre, in the Sierra de Almenara, which includes the beaches of, Puntas de Calnegre, Baño de las Mujeres, San Lorca Tourist Office Pedro, El Siscal, Cala Honda, Cuartel del Ciscar, Junquera, Cala de la Gruta, Cala Leña, Los Hierros, Cala Blanca and Playa Larga, although many are accessible only through agricultural exploitations.

However, in spite of its many attractions, the name of Lorca is synonymous with Easter, (Semana Santa) its biblical parades of International Tourist Interest status and famous throughout Spain. The week includes a Lorca Tourist Office series of parades in which the whites (Paso Blanco) and blues (Paso Azúl) try to outdo each other with the magnificence of their embroideries and the skill and daring of their horsemen.