Spain - Bulwarked Frontier Fortifications

"The fortifications which are the subject of this proposal are located in regions of Spain which border neighbouring countries, i.e. Portugal and France.

The bulwarked border fortifications were planned and built between the end of the 16th century or start of the 17th century and the end of the 18th century. They were constructed as a result of the military conflicts which in some cases, such as that of Portugal, led to the secession of the kingdom. They are characterised by the fact that they include elements which respond to the new defensive needs imposed by the use of artillery, thereby forming exceptional examples of the different conceptual types of defensive constructions: fortified civil cities in the case of Pamplona (Navarra); Jaca (Aragon); Ciudad Rodrigo in Salamanca (Castilla- León); “ForÇa Vella” and Figueras, in Girona (Catalonia); military fortresses in the case of Fuerte de la Concepción en Aldea del Obispo and the castle built on the Christian-Muslim border on the Tajo river, now contained within the Monfragüe Nature Reserve of Extremadura, and the re-use and updating of medieval defence systems which already existed within the territory, as in the case of San Felices de los Gallegos." 

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Ciudad Rodrigo of Salamanca, Spain. Thanks to Marta of Portugal.