Burgos Castle, Burgos, Spain - SpottingHistory.com

The Castle of Burgos is located on the hill of San Miguel to 75 m above the city of Burgos. According to excavations the castle attributes to the Visigoths, and its oldest parts, to the Romans. It is believed that the fortress was already built back in 865 when Muslims amounted to the Castilian plateau led by Al-Mondzir obliterating. Twenty years later the Asturian monarch Alfonso III gives order to Count Diego Rodríguez Porcelos to repopulate and re-fortifying Burgos because had credited his military virtues in the Battle of Briviesca and in defend Pancorbo.

The growing importance of the city requires a great fortress, whose perimeter is well documented. Probably during the reign of Alfonso VIII of Castile occurs the first great transformation, participating experts builders to the Mudéjar taste of the time. The Castilian king Henry IV makes the second reform, mainly for beautification, in order to transform it into palace: halls, chambers and chapel.

During the Early Modern Age and because both the evolution of military techniques, as the remoteness of the war zones, loses its former defensive function. In its enclosure was settled the first training school for gunners that have been in Spain, reaching produce twenty quintals of gunpowder daily in 1542. This was about secondary activities.

During the French occupation, the June 15, 1813, the French army decided to leave the Castle of Burgos, and they destroyed it with explosives. The explosion resulted in the almost total destruction of all the castle grounds. The remains of the fortress, in state of ruins, has allowed its qualification as a museum, opened in 2003, or interpretation center, and it can also visit the well and the underground tunnels, known as Cueva del Moro.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Marcel Longe (5 months ago)
The outside is better than the inside, and the views of the city are great! But you need to hike a lot of steps if you lack a vehicle ....

Adrian Hughes (9 months ago)
Well worth the walk up the hill to the viewing platform overlooking Burgos. The castle is free and you can walk around the ramparts. Nice bar to have a cool drink outside.

Gary Martinez (10 months ago)
It's really more the ruins of a castle. The view of Burgos is very nice from up there

Deborah Hatton (10 months ago)
Interesting place. Good info boards. Recommend downloading QR codes for more information.

Miguelito Cocinero (12 months ago)
Nice view, nice receptionist, free, couldn’t ask for more ! However be careful not to trip in the stairs !

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Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians. The county became a privileged refuge for persecuted Cathars.

The castle, often besieged (notably by Simon de Montfort in 1211 and 1212), resisted assault and was only taken once, in 1486, thanks to treachery during the war between two branches of the Foix family.

From the 14th century, the Counts of Foix spent less and less time in the uncomfortable castle, preferring the Governors' Palace. From 1479, the Counts of Foix became Kings of Navarre and the last of them, made Henri IV of France, annexed his Pyrrenean lands to France.

As seat of the Governor of the Foix region from the 15th century, the castle continued to ensure the defence of the area, notably during the Wars of Religion. Alone of all the castles in the region, it was exempted from the destruction orders of Richelieu (1632-1638).

Until the Revolution, the fortress remained a garrison. Its life was brightened with grand receptions for its governors, including the Count of Tréville, captain of musketeers under Louis XIII and Marshal Philippe Henri de Ségur, one of Louis XVI's ministers. The Round Tower, built in the 15th century, is the most recent, the two square towers having been built before the 11th century. They served as a political and civil prison for four centuries until 1862.

Since 1930, the castle has housed the collections of the Ariège départemental museum. Sections on prehistory, Gallo-Roman and mediaeval archaeology tell the history of Ariège from ancient times. Currently, the museum is rearranging exhibits to concentrate on the history of the castle site so as to recreate the life of Foix at the time of the Counts.

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