Bétera Castle

There are many castles, big and small in the Valencia Community worth visiting.

The Castillo Palacio de los Boíl in the centre of Bétera is of Arab origin, and used to protect the Muslim farms in the area.

Although there are remains of earlier times, the origin of the current castle derives from the time of the Muslim domination. In April 1237 it was finally surrendered to jaime I in exchange for him respecting Muslim religion and property, and he later donated the castle to the Order of Calatrava.

In 1364 Peter the Ceremonious (Pedro IV of Aragon) ordered the demolition of the castle and walls because the town had supported the Unionist troops, who opposed royalist privelege.

In 1386, the castle was handed over to the Boil family, until it finally became the property of the Marquis of Dos Aguas.

During the War of Succession it was attacked by the Bourbon troops of the Conde de Torres. It was also the scene of the attack by the forces of the French Marshal Suchet during the War of Independence.

In 1888 the owner of the castle, the Marquis of Dos Aguas, Don Genaro María del Rosario Rabassa de Perelló Palafox, allowed it to be used for social purposes, and it was used as a school and an asylum, and during the twentieth century it was inhabited by nuns, who maintained a nursery school. It was finally donated in 1983 to the Town Hall.

Since May 2019, with funds from the European Union, it is being rehabilitated, and is used by the municipal library and as a conference hall.

The original building had six towers, of which only four remain, and the prominent Clock was installed in 1897.

On the main door the town coat of arms depicts the bars of the Crown of Aragon, the Cross of the Order of Calatrava and the arms of the Boil family.