Torre de la Justicia

Tower in Granada

The Torre de la Justicia or Tower of Justice is a Gate tower of the Alhambra Complex, in Granada, Spain.  It is an inhabited tower which sits above the Puerta de la Justicia.  It was the residence of the gate warden from the conquest of the city by the Catholic Monarchs.

In Moorish times this was called Bab Al-Sharía.

What can you see in the Torre de la Justicia

Now, after the restoration of the Tower of Justice, we can go to visit its interior. An exhibition has been established here, with information panels that take a tour of the history of the Puerta de la Justicia. We can see plans, drawings, postcards, and historical documentation, along with books from the Jorge Loring library, which were installed in the Tower.

History of the Torre de la Justicia

Both the Tower and the Gate of Justice were built by mandate of Sultan Yūsuf I in 1348, as stated in the founding inscription. After the conquest of Granada by the Catholic Monarchs, the Puerta de la Justicia became the most important access to the Alhambra. This forced to establish a tight control over the people who circulated through it.

The tower housed the residence of the gate warden, from the end of the 15th century until the arrival of the Napoleonic troops in 1810. Later, it was sometimes used as the residence of some of the romantic travelers who visited Granada.

The tower was also the home of the guards of the Nasrid compound, many of them elderly soldiers. Visitors to the Alhambra left some descriptions about the soldiers. According to Gautier, who walked the Alhambra in 1840, in the Tower of Justice “a guard corps is installed, and the poor tattered soldiers take a nap.” A few years later, in 1846, Murray tells that, at night, the doors of the Puerta de la Justicia are closed, and to enter the Alhambra “the difficulty is to wake up the guardians, since, being soldiers of advanced age, they are either too sleepy or too deaf to pay attention to any blow that is not of the strongest ”.

At the dawn of the 20th century the Tower of Justice was used for activities of the administration of the Board of the Alhambra and Generalife, this place being the origin of the Library of the Alhambra. It originally housed part of the legacy left by the Duke of Loring, and donations made in 1909 by the Count of Romanones.

What does the Torre de la Justicia look like?

It is structured on a rectangular floor plan, divided into two floors and a terrace, integrating into the palatine city wall along with 26 other towers.

The Tower is integrated into the wall of the palatial complex, along with 26 others. It is rectangular, divided into two floors and has a large terrace. It consists of two facades, one to the outside and the other to intra-walls, communicated by a passage of four bankruptcies. The Door of Justice opens on the exterior facade, formed by a large pointed horseshoe arch, framed by alfiz. Behind this arch an open-air space opens up that served to harass the enemy and precedes a smaller interior arch, on which the founding marble and slate headstone is arranged. The tower, possibly, was stuccoed and crowned by battlements according to different historical engravings.

How do I get to the Torre de la Justicia?

Access to the tower is opposite the south side of the Palacio de Carlos V, by the taxi rank and in the corner beyond the cannon.

Reading Point and the Torre de la Justica

The interior of the Torre de la Justicia is used as a arts and music space, which is called Caja de Música or Music Box.

The Torre de la Justicia appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Granada!

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Visiting Torre de la Justicia

Hours:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. From 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

CAPACITY: Maximum 30 people.


READING POINT AND “MUSIC BOX”

Every Saturday. From 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.


Price:

Free

Duration: 20 minutes
Official Website

Nearby Attractions

Tours and Activities from Granada

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