Fortifications as Guardia Civil barracks: the ultimate act of service

The Civil Guard initially had to resolve its barracks by occupying vacant buildings due to its rapid and extensive territorial deployment and its financial incapacity. This long list of buildings includes, since 1844, a wide variety of architectures of all kinds, including ancient fortifications located both inland and on the Mediterranean coast, ranging from castles to watchtowers. Many of these historic buildings were already reused by the now defunct Carabineros Corps as an initial guideline for establishing itself on the coasts and borders. The subsequent legacy assumed by the Civil Guard when it absorbed the functions and barracks of the Carabineros in 1940 meant that some of these sites remained operational until the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. This continuity of use demonstrates, on the one hand, the strategic importance of their locations and the high representational power of these buildings, to such an extent that they influenced the design of the first new barracks; on the other hand, it also highlights the chronic difficulties of the Civil Guard in promoting its own barracks. Although the recycling of these fortifications has required some intervention, it has also contributed to their maintenance and conservation and, therefore, to the possibility that they have remained standing to this day, even though the future of some of these buildings is once again in doubt following the departure of the Civil Guard from these facilities. The analysis of these specific examples not only highlights the value of the fortifications, but also the Civil Guard's housing concept and its flexibility to adapt to different architectures and contexts, as well as demonstrating the possible and necessary conservation and reuse that these historic military architectures require.