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ARCHIVED - More than a million euros to restore the medieval walls of Niebla in Huelva
Located between Seville and Huelva in the Andalucía region, Niebla is an imposing fortified castle and town with more than 3,000 years of history
The latest in a succession of maintenance patch-ups which have been going on for approximately the last 1,000 years has concluded in Niebla, Huelva, where 1,029,733 euros have been spent on repairs and restoration by the EU-financed FEDER regional Development Fund.
Declared a Historic-Artistic Monumental Site in 1982, the settlement of Niebla dates back more than 3,000 years and is one of the best conserved late medieval complexes in Spain. Overlooking the Rio Tinto river, its most famous landmark is its Almohad wall, one of the largest and best-preserved enclosures of its kind in Europe and the most important Moorish-style walled city in Spain.
Niebla shows traces of the different civilisations that have passed through the area - Tartessos, Romans, Almohads and Christians - making it a great place to learn more about the history of the area. With this in mind, the authorities have launched a project to create a mobile app to offer maps and animations as well as comprehensive information on the castle and walls of Niebla in Spanish, English and Portuguese.
Regional government representatives have stressed the importance of conserving and restoring historical heritage for its potential to attract tourists, create employment and help the economy recover.
The restoration work, which will now continue on two of the gates in the walls, is financed by the FORTours project, which receives funding from the FEDER European Regional Development Funds.
The project’s main goal is to promote and enhance the heritage linked to the defensive fortifications on the border between Spain and Portugal, specifically in the area of Alentejo, Algarve and western Andalusia, creating routes that will attract tourists to visit a series of locations based on their fortifications.
Images: Turismo de Huelva and Diputación de Huelva