Villaviciosa Castle, Villaviciosa, Spain

The Castle of Villaviciosa was built in two different stages. In the 15th century, Nuño González del Águila y Guzmán ordered to build a castle to control the passage from the Amblés Valley to the Sierra de la Paramera. In the 16th century, the execution of the Torre de las Damas was carried out. Currently, Villaviciosa Castle is a hotel.

User Reviews

santiago bettosini (15 months ago)

Manuel Esteban (15 months ago)

Sara Martín Bonilla (16 months ago)

Miguel Angel_61 (2 years ago)
Espectacular. Visita muy recomendable. Rodeado de zonas verdes y senderos naturales

Prado Matamoros (2 years ago)
Es la edificación más antigua de Villaviciosa, de principios del siglo XV, época de los Reyes Católicos. Y también la más querida. Actualmente pertenece al Archivo del Ejército del Aire, pero afortunadamente se está abriendo al público cada vez más para poder visitarlo. También se organizan en su Patio de Armas Conciertos de Música Clásica durante los veranos. Esperamos que se extienda también a más épocas del año.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Dennis Schäffer

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Externsteine Stones

The Externsteine (Extern stones) is a distinctive sandstone rock formation located in the Teutoburg Forest, near the town of Horn-Bad Meinberg. The formation is a tor consisting of several tall, narrow columns of rock which rise abruptly from the surrounding wooded hills. Archaeological excavations have yielded some Upper Paleolithic stone tools dating to about 10,700 BC from 9,600 BC.

In a popular tradition going back to an idea proposed to Hermann Hamelmann in 1564, the Externsteine are identified as a sacred site of the pagan Saxons, and the location of the Irminsul (sacral pillar-like object in German paganism) idol reportedly destroyed by Charlemagne; there is however no archaeological evidence that would confirm the site's use during the relevant period.

The stones were used as the site of a hermitage in the Middle Ages, and by at least the high medieval period were the site of a Christian chapel. The Externsteine relief is a medieval depiction of the Descent from the Cross. It remains controversial whether the site was already used for Christian worship in the 8th to early 10th centuries.

The Externsteine gained prominence when Völkisch and nationalistic scholars took an interest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This interest peaked under the Nazi regime, when the Externsteine became a focus of nazi propaganda. Today, they remain a popular tourist destination and also continue to attract Neo-Pagans and Neo-Nazis.

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Villaviciosa Castle

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