York Castle

York Castle is a historical 445-year-old structure on the Place de la Kasbah in Tangier, Morocco. The stone castle was originally built by the Portuguese in 1580, and later, it was owned by the Duke of York, an English aristocrat, who gave the castle its name. Tangier was an English overseas possession from 1661 until 1684. The North African city on the Strait of Gibraltar had been under Portuguese rule until King Charles II acquired the city as part of the dowry when he married the Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza. In 1961, a long-term lease on York Castle was acquired by Yves Vidal, and the castle was restored by the Belgian architect Robert Gérofi. A large rectangular swimming pool was constructed in the courtyard which was surrounded by Moroccan arches, and beyond were the dining room and large entertaining rooms. Yves Vidal and the American-born interior decorator Charles Sevigny entertained with coveted dinners or cocktail parties each summer. On some evenings, a large round Moroccan dining tent was set up on the roof. Vidal and Sevigny lived here during the warmer months, and the rest of the year mainly at Le Moulin des Corbeaux, their 1480s former mill situated on a small island outside Paris. A catastrophe occurred during the winter of 2000 when York Castle suffered major and irreversible structural damage after rare heavy rains weakened the soil beneath a part of the castle, particularly the thick stone walls close to Bouknadel overlooking the port. This caused a partial collapse of the stone exterior, with large cracks in the exterior and interior walls. The swimming pool in the central courtyard and surrounding arches also were severely damaged, and much of the roof also collapsed. As a result, the entire structure became unstable and uninhabitable. Vidal and Sevigny were forced to abandon the castle since it would have cost many millions of dollars or euros and years to repair the foundations of the castle. They then moved to Dar Zero, another historically significant nearby residence on Place de la Kasbah with a spacious garden, several terraces and wonderful views, that they had acquired. Fortunately, the damaged exterior stone walls, cracks, and foundation have been rebuilt and restored. A very steep adjacent exterior stone stairway was added, so anyone may now walk up to the castle and Kasbah from the Corniche (Route de la Plage Merkala) or Bouknadel far down below. York Castle remains one of the most historical buildings in Tangier, even if some of it had to be demolished and altered from the original structure. There are spectacular views from York Castle of the Port de Tanger Ville, Tanja Marina Bay, the city beach, Malabata, Mnar, the Strait of Gibraltar, the mountains of Andalucía and the southernmost coastal town of Continental Europe, Tarifa, Spain. In 1987, York Castle was used as a location for scenes in the two-part television film "Poor Little Rich Girl: the Life of Barbara Hutton" (starring Farah Fawcett), since heiress Barbara Woolworth Hutton's former Tangier palace "Sidi Hosni" was not available for use as a location. York Castle is not open to the public since all of the interior is in ruins and there is no roof. You may see what remains from several angles and a bit of the interior by peering through an open door with bars.