Habsburg and Bourbon Spain

Gerona

Today: Spain

Years: 1492–1833
Role: Fortress city and provincial capital

Girona, which belonged to the Crown of Aragon, extended and improved its walls through the 15th to 17th centuries to defend itself against French troops. It withstood the Napoleonic sieges of 1808 and 1809, the longest from May to December 1809 under the defence of Mariano Álvarez de Castro, until it capitulated. From these years the cathedral's façade and bell tower and the remains of Montjuïc castle survive; in 1833 it became the capital of one of the new provinces.

What to see today

Catedral de Santa María de Gerona (Catedral de Gerona): Cathedral, c. 1580 to 1764
Castillo de Montjuïc (Castillo de Montjuic): Fort, c. 1653 to 1675

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