Peralada Castle is a castle in Peralada

Peralada

Peralada is a village in province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It was the home of the Frankish Counts of Perelada who controlled this portion of the Marca Hispanica before becoming part of the lands held by the Count of Barcelona....

, Catalonia

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

A first castle was the seat of the medieval dynasty of the viscounts of Peralada, started by Berenguer, son of Ponce I, count of Empúries

County of Empúries

The County of Empúries was a medieval county centred on the town of Empúries and enclosing the Catalan region of Peralada. It corresponds to the historic comarca of Empordà....

. During the French invasion of the Empordà

Empordà

Empordà is a historical region of Catalonia divided since 1936 into two comarques, Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà....

, in the course of the crusade against Catalonia led by Philip III of France

Philip III of France

Philip III , called the Bold , was the King of France, succeeding his father, Louis IX, and reigning from 1270 to 1285. He was a member of the House of Capet.-Biography:...

, the castle and the nearby buildings were set on fire and destroyed (1285). Remains of these original structure are in the upper part of the town.

A new castle was built in the mid-13th century outside the line of the new walls. The current edifice received a new Renaissance facade, while the building was enlarged in the 19th century.