Aulencia Castle is located at the top of a little hill where the Aulencia river joins the Guadarrama river. From there, one can see a beautiful landscape, composed of the Aulencia river brook’s vegetation on one side, and the European Space Astronomy Centre on the other.

As it is for the history of this beautiful and original example of a Spanish noble mudejar castle, it is said that the Arabian feudal king who ruled this region resided here, and to him, every near townsperson paid homage and realty in order be allowed to live there. This castle is similar to many others of its time, all which still exist in different areas of Castilla, especially Jadraque (Guadalajara).

In the 14th century, it passed into the hands of García Fernández; and in the 15th century Álvarez de Toledo, a member of the court of John II of Castille, took possession of the castle. At this time, the descendants of Álvarez de Toledo, the Núñez de Toledo, raised walls around the castle in order to prevent possible attacks. During the Spanish Civil War in the 20thcentury, it was used as a fortress in the Battle of Brunete.

The majestic and slender Aulencia Castle is made up of a tower surrounded by a double wall. The exterior part is made up of six cylindrical towers united by a 1.4 m wide and 6 m high wall. The enclosure is rectangular and its longest side is 25 m long. The highest tower is up 20 m high. The territory inside the enclosure was thought to harbour simple rooms without any ornamentation. Nowadays, only ruins remain.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Spain

More Information

www.ayto-villacanada.es

Rating

3.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Victor Fernandez Amor (21 months ago)
Unfortunately, private property has abandoned Spanish heritage... can someone do something to restore it and prevent it from collapsing??? PS be careful with tourists and cyclists the area is unfortunately full of HUNTERS
Julio Sánchez (2 years ago)
It's a shame it's letting itself fall apart. The Community had to show interest and stop the continuous deterioration. It is private and visits are prohibited, but it is not supervised.
Jorge Sanz (2 years ago)
AULENCIA CASTLE - This small castle, with a Castilian plan, owes its name to the course of the Aulencia river that runs nearby and which converges with the Guadarrama river. Although there is not much documentation about its origins that are believed to be Muslims, it seems clear that it was the house of an Arab chief in the area, being from where the surrounding towns would pay tribute. Until the s. XIV there is a gap in its history, being then its owner García Fernández. In the S. XV passed into the hands of Alfonso Álvarez de Toledo who was a nobleman in the service of Juan II of Castilla. Shortly after, it passed to the Núñez de Toledo family, who expanded it by building a second wall around its main nucleus. In 1455 there was already a hamlet at the foot of the fortification and Juan II gave it the name of Villafranca del Castillo, freeing it from taxes (now it is only a wealthy urbanization). Until the s. Its abandonment in the XIX century means that there are hardly any references to the castle and after passing through several wealthy families in 1918, the Ballesteros family will be the owner until today. Basically serving as a refuge for the farm guard. During the civil war, it served as a refuge for a brigade of Soviet soldiers who supported the republicans during the Battle of Brunete, July 1937. As a consequence, the building was bombed by national troops.
Jörge (2 years ago)
Fortress of possible Arab origin, although its current structure comes from the 14th century. Next to it was the now disappeared village of Villafranca del Castillo. The castle has a square floor plan, with circular towers at its corners, except for the one where the keep stands, also with a square floor plan. Remains of a second walled enclosure that protected the access to the castle are preserved. It is built with brick, further sharpening its Mudejar style. It was definitively abandoned in the 19th century, and in the 20th century the castle was already in a state of ruin. During the Civil War it was used by the International Brigades, being bombarded by the rebels, seriously affecting its structure and making its state of ruin more expensive. He is currently on private property, to which his access is prohibited. Nor does it have any type of conservation, so the monument is in serious danger of disappearing
Manury 03 (3 years ago)
The beautiful place, the very beautiful environment but ... The routes run between fenced land full of signs forbidden to enter private property ... The area of ​​the river is very beautiful but when it runs through a private property ... You see it from far ....
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Bengtskär Lighthouse

Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.

German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.

After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.