The Bolnuevo KnightsTower
Mazarrón - Murcia

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The Bolnuevo Knights tower still looks out to the sea from where the pirates from North Africa spied on the population. Five centuries ago, the insecurity of the assaults forced the creation of a network of watchtowers along the whole coast to warn of danger. In the middle of the last century, there was added a hermitage dedicated to the Most Pure Conception.

Piracy is nothing unknown on the Murcian coast, and for centuries the coastline suffered pirate attack. In Mazarrón, mainly between the 15th and 16th centuries, the population had to flee from their homes every time a band of marauders arrived by sea. The fishermen and anyone who had not managed to get to inhabited places for protection – the castle, the church or the Marquis of Villena strong house – were in danger. After a number of attacks, the solution was to recreate a network of towers along the whole coastline.

The Knights tower in Bolnuevo is of Cultural Interest and dates from the 16th Century. From there they warned and received warnings from other enclaves such as the Old Port Tower, the Hill Tower, or that of Asudia or Azohía of the presence of enemies on the coast. Although in the interior, the Molinete tower, also communicates with the coastal zone. What’s more, at that time there was another defensive structure, the San Ildefonso tower.

The main purpose of the tower was defensive, for which reason it had thick walls which make it seem big from the outside, but it only has 55 useable square metres. It is divided into two floors and initially the entrance was on the second floor via a rope ladder.

Although there were already some annex buildings, in the middle of the 20th Century the hermitage dedicated to the Most Pure Conception was built and which is still there.

In visiting the interior of the tower we can find some information about the role of the tower in watching over the coast and also about the history of the miracle of the Most Pure Virgin, a legend which tells of a religious event linked with the incursions of Berber pirates in Mazarrón.