Medieval castles in Castile and León
Velasco Castle
Velasco castle was built at the end of 14th century and mid-15th century. Due to its complexity, dimensions and conservation, it is the most important castle of Mena and one of the most interesting in the province of Burgos. The first documents of the tower dates back to 1397 when it fell, after sharing the heritage of Pedro Gomez de Porras, on Maria Alonso de Porras, married to Diego Sanchez de Velasco.
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Valle de Mena, Spain
Mazuelo de Muñó Castle
Mazuelo de Muñó Castle was built in the mid-14th century. The tower was inhabited until 1923 when a fire destroyed its interior.
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Mazuelo de Muñó, Spain
Virtus Castle
Virtus Castle built in the 14th and 15th centuries. Privately owned, it is used as a home. It once belonged to the Porres family. The building consists of two floors. The inside is made of sandstone ashlar, has square floor and attached towers of circular section in the corners.
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Valle de Valdebezana, Spain
Rebolledo de la Torre Castle
Rebolledo de la Torre castle is located on a hill, very close to the Romanesque church. It consists of a tower and a fence. It has an irregular polygonal floor plan. The castle dates from the 14th century.
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Rebolledo de la Torre, Spain
Aguilar de Campoo Castle
The walls and the castle of the Manrique family in Aguilar de Campoo were built in the 15th century on a previous structure.The castle was erected on top of a Celt-Iberian vernacular structure and became an important fortress in the 12th century.
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Aguilar de Campoo, Spain
Ampudia Castle
First built in the 13th century, but thoroughly altered in the 15th century, Ampudia Castle has a square plan with a gothic central courtyard and 4 towers on each corner. Half of the castle complex is surrounded by a barbican defended by cylindrical towers. It belonged to different owners such as Juan Alfonso de Alburquerque, Sancho de Rojas and Pedro Garcia Herrera (Marsical of Castille) among others. In 1521 it was a ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Ampudia, Spain
Enríquez Castle
At the beginning of the 16th century the Enríquez castle was owned by Bernardino Pérez de Sarmiento, Count of Ribadavia. It was a three-story castle with a square floor. The castle has been ruined at least since the 18th century.
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Hornillos de Cerrato, Spain
Monzón de Campos Castle
Monzón de Campos Castle was built in the 14th century by the Rojas family on the remains of an earlier castle which was contemporary one. The keep, made of high quality ashlar masonry, has no openings besides a couple of small arrow slits which gives it a severe appearance. The oldest part is the elevated entrance of the present tower of homage.The coat of arms on the pointed arch of the main gate belongs to the Rojas f ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Monzón de Campos, Spain
Fuentidueña Castle
Located in the extreme north of the province of Segovia, Fuentidueña village rises above a narrow valley formed by the Duratón River, a unique geographical location that explains the importance of the town during the Middle Ages. The Villa was walled on its north, south and west sides with a clearly defensive function. On the other hand, there is an impressive rock cut that makes defense very easy. Intramural access is ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Fuentidueña, Spain
Almenar Castle
Almenar castle was built in the 15th century over the remains of an older castle that can still be seen today. It originally belonged to the Bravo de Laguna and Saravias y Ríos families, and till this day you can still see their coat of arms on the castle’s walls. It has a double-wall enclosure: in the interior one you can find the Keep and the weapon courtyard, and in the exterior one, you can see the defensive walls ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Almenar de Soria, Spain
Arcos de Jalón Castle
Arcos de Jalón Castle, dating from the 14th century, stands on the site of an old Arab fortress. It was besieged in the 14th century by the supporters of the Castilian King Pedro I, who fought against the rebel D. Fernán Gómez de Albornoz, supporter of his bastard brother Enrique de Trastamara. This castle has a rectangular floor plan although it is quite irregular due to the fact that it adapts to the rugged land ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Arcos de Jalón, Spain
Berlanga de Duero Castle
Berlanga de Duero Castle, which is now in ruins, dates back to the 15th century though it was built over a 10th-century Muslim fortress of which there are no remnants. It originally belonged to the Tovar family who ordered the construction of the village’s collegiate. This castle played an important role, along with the defensive wall, in defending the villages along the Douro riverbanks during the Muslim Conquest. Of t ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Berlanga de Duero, Spain
Calatañazor Castle
According to the legends, Al-Mansur (legendary Moorish leader) was defeated near Calatañazor Castle in a bloody battle against Christian troops in 1002. The fortress originally had two quadrangular towers on the corners and a keep. Later on, circular towers were added to the southern wall and semi-circular ones next to the main entrance. The current appearance dates mainly from the 14th century. The castle is part of ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Calatañazor, Spain
Caracena Castle
Caracena Castle was first time mentioned in 1136. The primitive castle stood until the 15th century until it was demolished during the local conflict. In 1491, Alfonso Carrillo de Acuña, nephew of the archbishop of Toledo, obtained the lordship of Caracena and proceeded to rebuild the castle.
Founded: 1491 |
Location:
Caracena, Spain
Castillejo de Robledo Castle
Castillejo de Robledo castle and its lands were property of the Order of Malta until it was suppressed by Pope Clement V in 1311. After that the estate passed to the Knights Hospitaller and then to the residents of the town. In the town there was an old Moorish fortification where the current castle was built in the 12th century. The remains of the original wall are visible and are characterized by a greater thickn ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Castillejo de Robledo, Spain
Ciria Castle
Ciria Castle was built to protect the passage from Bilbilis to Numancia during the Moorish era. Later Ciria was linked to the border disputes between Castilians and Aragonese. In 1430 the Aragonese king seized the castles of Ciria and Borobia.
Founded: 9th century AD |
Location:
Ciria, Spain
Gormaz Castle
Gormaz was the largest fortress in Europe after its expansion in 956 AD. It is without a doubt the greatest example of military architecture, not only in Soria but in the entire Spanish territory. The original castle was built shortly after 756 AD by emir Abd ar-Rahman I of Córdoba, as part of a state ('dawla') policy to control rich landowners and peasants, as well as to try to govern and protect the Centra ...
Founded: c. 756 AD |
Location:
Soria, Spain
Magaña Castle
The castle of Magaña is considered to be one of the most important castles from the 15th century in the province of Soria. This castle is in better condition than what we are used to seeing in the area and the best way to contemplate its majestic silhouette is from the road on the way towards Fuentes de Magaña or from the highest parts of the town. You will be able to see all the plants that have reclaimed its walls con ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Magaña, Spain
Medinaceli Castle
Medinaceli Castle was built in the 9th century and rebuilt in the 15th century. There aren’t many remains left of this castle which was of great importance during the Middle Ages. According to legends, inside the castle, which is now completely restored, there was an Arabic citadel where Al-Mansur was buried after being defeated and killed in the Battle of Calatañazor in 1002, although, there aren’t any remains of th ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Medinaceli, Spain
Monteagudo de las Vicarías Castle
Monteagudo de las Vicarías Castle was located in the centre of the town within the defensive walls that completely surrounded it and that can still be seen throughout the town. It was built between the 15th and 16th century by the Hurtado de Mendoza family, and it has towers and buttresses on the corners, a great indoor courtyard and an octagonal shaped keep. Recent restorations have been carried out on the battlement he ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Monteagudo de las Vicarías, Spain