Castle of the Week 6 - Javier Castle
Javier Castle is in the province of Navarre in
the Basque region of Spain about 30km from Pamplona. It was
originally constructed on a rocky hill in the 10th century as an
Arab Fortress. However, there is virtually none of the original
Arab buildings left. It had the double mission of being a bastion
to protect the frontier and also a home for noblemen and knights.
In later years it became a place of pilgrimage as it is possibly
most famous as the birthplace on 7th April 1506 of St Francis
Xavier (one of the founders of the Society of Jesus or Jesuits)
who is the patron saint of Navarre and the missionary church.
The keep is the oldest known fortification in
Navarre and was built at the end of the 10th century. The rest of
the castle evolved around it in a semi-circular shape with 2 side
towers in the 11th century and completed by the early 16th
century with trenches and walls. It was restored in the 1950s and
converted into a museum in 1986.
You enter through the main gate with the Javier
family’s coat of arms on the wall. In the courtyard are the
jail and well. In the Santo Cristo Chapel is a 14th Century
carved wooden figure of Christ which, as legend has it, is said
to have sweated blood on the day St Francis Xavier died. A
medieval ‘dance of death’ is painted on the walls of
the chapel – the only remaining example in Spain. It also
contains a 16th century multi-coloured alabaster altar-piece of
the Adoration of the Magi.
In the Chaplain’s Room there’s a
permanent exhibition of religious art, historical documents &
objects from the castle’s history including a collection of
14th century Japanese kimonos. The castle is now maintained by
Jesuit priests.
Written by GillB* . Photos courtesy of Sanda Kaufman.
For those of you that want to know more about Saint Francis Xavier, here's a link to his life's story as told by the Catholic Encyclopedia.
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