Marc Guinjoan, a former teacher from Barcelona, felt a historic castle in Catalonia, Spain, needed a fresh lease of life when he came across the advertising. The vast property, also known as Castell de Llaés, is nestled amid the mountains in the Ripollès area and dates back to the 10th century, according to a website devoted to the castle.

Guinjoan told Insider that he had been the property’s custodian since 2013 and was in charge of its upkeep and day-to-day operations. In 2017, he was joined on the project by his wife, Ginny Martens, a former high school teacher from Holland. The castle is owned by an ancient Catalan couple who acquired the decaying edifice from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vic in 1994.

After spending 16 years restoring the castle, retired engineer Joan Tarrida i Miquel and former designer Esther Capdevila were seeking new guardians when Guinjoan emerged. Instead of acquiring the property, he offered to rent it to them and transform it into a rural hotel, with the proceeds flowing back into the grounds. Guinjoan did not say how much rent he owed the owners.

“I felt an internal call, but I was concerned that the owners would refuse because the castle was for sale,” Guinjoan stated. “The surprise was when they called me to accept the proposal, and that’s where the adventure began.” The surrounding land was owned by a feudal monarch called Count Guifré el Pilós in the late 9th century, according to Tarrida: “He constructed castles, and, among them, the Castle of Llaés was built.”

According to Tarrida, the first documented record referencing the stronghold dates from 919. The owner at the time was Countess Elo, a Spanish noblewoman. According to Tarrida, she gave the castle to the nuns of Sant Joan de les Abadesses in 955, who held it until 1017. Three centuries later, the stronghold was once again in the hands of the abbot of Sant Joan de les Abadesses.

Until 1971, the castle contained a rectory and a municipal school, according to Tarrida. Tarrida and his wife bought the castle from the Bishopric of Vic in 1994 after it had been abandoned for more than 20 years. He did not divulge how much they paid for the castle. “The castle and its surroundings seduced us from the start, and this seduction, together with our love for the territory and its history, led us to embark on the great adventure of buying it and restoring it,” Tarrida remarked.

However, rebuilding the ancient castle was no simple task: the stone walls were crumbling from years of neglect, and the construction needed both water and electricity. The castle was not only exposed to the elements for more than two decades, but it was also defaced. “The fact that a historic building is still abandoned and open to the public puts it in a vulnerable position because some visitors were not very respectful of the building,” Tarrida added.

adding that vandals had written on the walls and even taken sections of stone. Fortunately, the building’s basic characteristics, including walls, vaults, and a water cistern, were in fair shape, he noted. “Because there are no graphic documents, we don’t know what it looked like at first,” Tarrida noted. “However, considering the significant portions of the building that have been preserved, we believe it must have been very similar to how it is now.” Tarrida noted that the couple also employed a local, experienced mason to fix the stone walls.

However, he noted that the main roof was the most challenging component of the repair project. He added that even putting up the wooden framework studs required to support the roof was challenging owing to the sheer volume of the area that needed to be covered. According to the Castell de Llaés website, the castle is situated on top of the Sant Bartomeu mountain, 998 meters (326 feet) above sea level.

“It is nestled on a rocky hill at the end of a staggered, zig-zag ramp that cannot be accessed by any type of vehicle,” Tarrida added. He said that the couple had to construct a freight elevator at the bottom of the hill, as it was the furthest the vehicles hauling the different materials could reach.

He added that all of the things would be placed in the elevator and taken to the peak. Guinjoan noted that it was difficult to select a favorite part of the construction since each corner of the castle had a tale to tell.