€600k Orihuela Castle Funding Bid Clears First Hurdle

The Orihuela City Council's application for state funding to restore the historic Orihuela Castle has passed its initial review. The council submitted a €1.065 million project proposal in February 2026 to Spain's 2% Cultural Programme, requesting €600,021 from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda. This represents 56.34% of the total project cost.

The council has already contributed €465,000 from its own budget. Councillor for Historic Heritage Matías Ruiz confirmed that the Ministry of Housing had completed its preliminary assessment, confirming that the application met the programme's requirements. The project focuses on the Alcazaba and Albacar areas of the castle, with the first phase involving archaeological excavations to study the surviving structures, their development, and current condition.

The long-term goal is to display and explain the findings while making the site more accessible to visitors. A visitor route is also planned to facilitate exploration of the castle's various parts. The council plans to collaborate with the School of Arabic Studies from Spain's National Research Council, involving researcher Pedro Jiménez and other specialists to support archaeological work and conduct scientific analysis of discovered materials.

The council is committed to the castle's restoration, with the €465,000 municipal contribution already allocated. Securing the state grant will enable a more ambitious restoration program. Orihuela Castle, owned by the city council since March 2020, is considered one of the city's most significant historical, archaeological, and landscape sites.

The council will await the next funding stage while continuing conservation and archaeological preparations, aiming to protect the surviving structures, enhance public access, and restore the castle's importance within Orihuela's history and identity.