Cuéllar Castle

Cuéllar, Spain

Cuéllar Castle is conserved in good condition, and it has been built in different architectural styles between the 13th and 18th century. Much of the castle in the Gothic and Renaissance styles. The military building was extended and transformed in the 16th century, turning it into the palace of the Duke of Alburquerque. Among its historical owners, stands out Álvaro de Luna and Beltrán de la Cueva, as well as the successive Dukes of Alburquerque. 

The Dukes of Alburquerque lived in this castle for centuries until they moved to Madrid to be close to the court. Thereafter their use of the castle was as leisure and holidays palace, abandoning the building slowly. At the late 19th century the castle was almost completely abandoned, and was victim of robberies. In 1938 was a political prison was settled within the castle, and after was established also a sanatorium for prisoners affected by tuberculosis. It was used as prison till 1966.

In 1972, the Department of Fine Arts carried out an intensive restoration, and made it the home of a Vocational Education school, which continues to this day.

References:

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

Calle Palacio 35, Cuéllar, Spain
See all sites in Cuéllar

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Spain

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Aqueduct of Segovia (53,1 km)
Walls and Alcazar of Segovia (52,3 km)
Plaza Mayor (44 km)
Segovia Cathedral (52,7 km)
Valladolid Cathedral (43,7 km)
Santa María La Antigua (43,8 km)
Iglesia de San Pablo (44,1 km)
Museo Nacional de Escultura (44,1 km)
San Benito el Real (44,2 km)

User Reviews

Patricia Martorell (5 months ago)
Amazing show at the castle, great for kids
J K (6 months ago)
Very well maintained and large walls with great visits during the day and theatre events on the weekend. Should well be a top place to visit in the area. As the Castle is an archive and school as well the place is clean and with lots of activities.
Robert Ward (11 months ago)
Not in the Lonely planet but given its size it should. Fantastic historic areas ,illuminated Castillo,centro/shopping,small Jewish quarter,and quaint Spanish houses,playas,and fantastic feel.Goodfor couple of days.
Dmitry Deev (15 months ago)
Fantastic, well maintained castle with amazing show. Really good actors , very entertaining perfomance. We had a great time even though it looked very long at the first glance. Nice view from the walls.
Dmitry Deev (16 months ago)
Great Castle with an awesome suprise. Theatrical perfomance that accompanies the tour is top class. Acting is very impressive even without any knowledge of Spanish we had a blast
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Best of Middle Rhine Valley, Germany
Photo from Flickr, copyright theaelix

Historic Site of the week

Hochosterwitz Castle

Hochosterwitz Castle is considered to be one of Austria's most impressive medieval castles. The rock castle is one of the state's landmarks and a major tourist attraction.

The site was first mentioned in an 860 deed issued by King Louis the German of East Francia, donating several of his properties in the former Principality of Carantania to the Archdiocese of Salzburg. In the 11th century Archbishop Gebhard of Salzburg ceded the castle to the Dukes of Carinthia from the noble House of Sponheim in return for their support during the Investiture Controversy. The Sponheim dukes bestowed the fiefdom upon the family of Osterwitz, who held the hereditary office of the cup-bearer in 1209.

In the 15th century, the last Carinthian cup-bearer, Georg of Osterwitz was captured in a Turkish invasion and died in 1476 in prison without leaving descendants. So after four centuries, on 30 May 1478, the possession of the castle reverted to Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg.

Over the next 30 years, the castle was badly damaged by numerous Turkish campaigns. On 5 October 1509, Emperor Maximilian I handed the castle as a pledge to Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, then Bishop of Gurk. Bishop Lang undertook a substantial renovation project for the damaged castle.

About 1541, German king Ferdinand I of Habsburg bestowed Hochosterwitz upon the Carinthian governor Christof Khevenhüller. In 1571, Baron George Khevenhüller acquired the citadel by purchase. He fortified to deal with the threat of Turkish invasions of the region, building an armory and 14 gates between 1570 and 1586. Such massive fortification is considered unique in citadel construction.

Since the 16th century, no major changes have been made to Hochosterwitz. It has also remained in the possession of the Khevenhüller family as requested by the original builder, George Khevenhüller. A marble plaque dating from 1576 in the castle yard documents this request.

A specific feature is the access way to the castle passing through a total of 14 gates, which are particularly prominent owing to the castle's situation in the landscape. Tourists are allowed to walk the 620-metre long pathway through the gates up to the castle; each gate has a diagram of the defense mechanism used to seal that particular gate. The castle rooms hold a collection of prehistoric artifacts, paintings, weapons, and armor, including one set of armor 2.4 metres tall, once worn by Burghauptmann Schenk.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2019 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.