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It is also one of the principal tourist attractions in Spain along with the great cathedral of Seville, Alcazar. It was built around 1238 by James I of Aragon to be his last resting place. The building is decorated with regularly-spaced Arabic-style arches, horseshoe arches, and horseshoe windows. It has a rectangular plan that is oriented northeast to southwest, which gives it its landmark triangular shape by virtue of walls at 45 degrees from each corner that are less than 1 meter thick. The thickness of the walls averages 20 meters over its entire length. It has three levels: basement, main floor and a turret stage at the top. The castle also has a drawbridge and outer towers, which were part of the original design, but both were later demolished. The castle originally sat on a low hill, but during the mid-13th century it was raised to its current height by leveling the hilltop and adding height to it with masonry. It is surrounded by water on three sides, except for a small land bridge connecting it to the main land (now called Madroñal Island). The construction of such large walls required enormous amounts of stone and soil that had to be brought in from various areas. For example, some of stone was brought in from the Sierra Morena, more than 100 kilometers away. The soil had to be carried up long ramps that were built by hand with no machinery or animals to help. This made the construction of this castle a huge project that was completed during James I of Aragon's life time. The decoration on the bridge is clearly inspired by the Moorish style. The bridge was known as "Puente del Diablo" (Bridge of the Devil), but it is also said to have been designed by Gustave Eiffel, who also designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France circa 1887. The castle grounds are divided into three sections by the river bed through which the MartÃn River flows. This river crosses the castle from one corner to another, effectively separating it into three walls of fortification. The south wall has a rectangular tower on its northeastern corner. This tower is two stories high and has several balconies inside of it. The top level is an open platform which provides an excellent vantage point of the surrounding lands for watchmen on duty. The interior courtyard on the main floor features a garden surrounded by four circular towers that are connected to each other with arches made of red brick. The roof on top of each tower consists of three semicircular domes, giving them a somewhat Arabic appearance. The rest of the castle has rectangular towers. The courtyard contains several statues that were embedded into the walls after they were brought there from other locations that the castle conquered during the Arab-Castilian War. One of these statues, which is clearly Arabic in style, was originally situated at the Alhambra palace in Granada. The construction of the castle lasted nearly 100 years, but it was finished around 1238 by James I of Aragon, who reigned for more than 50 years. It was used to defend against Islamic attacks by trying to separate Christian Spain from Islamic Spain by controlling land route that connected them together. cfa1e77820