Badajoz: Iberia's most contested border town

On the border with Portugal, Badajoz changed hands between Spanish and Portuguese so many times over the centuries that it preserves fortifications from both Iberian military traditions.

The center, dominated by the Alcazaba, is comfortably explored on foot.

The Alcazaba of Badajoz, fortress among the most extensive in Spain, dominates the city from the eleventh century, when it was built by the Aftasids as the capital of their own taifa kingdom.

Just steps away, the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, built as both fortress and church, reflects the instability of a city always exposed to confrontation with Portugal.

Walking along the ancient walls you encounter sections of subsequent fortifications, updated over the centuries to resist the evolution of siege techniques and firearms.

Toward evening, the Bridge of Palms, a sixteenth-century bridge over the Guadiana River, connects the historic center to the city's more modern neighborhoods.

Badajoz witnessed some of the bloodiest sieges of the Napoleonic Wars in Spain, when British troops conquered it in 1812 after heavy losses on both sides.

Proximity to the Portuguese border today remains more a commercial advantage than a military threat: many residents cross the border daily for work or shopping.