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.

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Details

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

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Joaquin Cheto (14 months ago)
Great castle in perfect condition. Actually it is a school so it is very well preserved. The tour, around 45min, is amazing and you can learn about the castle, the history and the life of the village. The tour guide is amazing and his explanations very clear and helpful
Duncan Parsons (17 months ago)
As a castle it is magnificent. But regrettably we only saw it from the outside. It is used as some kind of educational establishment. One can ONLY visit it at specified times in a group with a Spanish speaking guide. How's that for financial lunacy? At the campsite we were staying at there were French, Dutch, English and German tourists. All potential visitors. And within that group English would be the most widely spoken second language . So the provision of an English speaking tour guide makes economic sense. But we did, for 1.5 Euros each get to walk the walls and from there to view the scenery and the town . The town itself has many churches and various other sites of interest. The churches, as is almost always invariably the case, were closed. He/She may have created the world ...so the myth goes...in 7 days but His/Her edifices are usually only available when the faithful are gathered . The Plaza Major was nothing worth seeing. So unless you are proficient in Spanish you will only be able to admire the castle from outside. And the town itself hardly warrants a visit. Postscript...the owner informs me I can book an English speaking guide. At some considerable cost I assume. If one is simply passing through the area and decide to visit the castle on the spur of the moment pre- booking doesn't apply. The simple solution is to employ bilingual guides. We found no reference to the availability of an English speaking guide on the website. Nor were we informed of that provision at the castle information office.
Badger Hawkins (21 months ago)
it was ok. but it appears to be a school/college, so limited access. I couldn't find anyone to get into other parts, if you even can, I don't know
Jacek Marcinkowski (22 months ago)
Castle is being recently renovated. There are some areas near castle that are abandoned unfortunately. Castle itself offers an entrance for some euro and bunch of actors telling you a bit of story of that place, mostly in Spanish unfortunately…
Abian Codesal Sabina (2 years ago)
Beautiful space where you can have a guide visit (probably only in Spanish)
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