Ampudia Castle

Ampudia, Spain

First built in the 13th century, but thoroughly altered in the 15th century, Ampudia Castle has a square plan with a gothic central courtyard and 4 towers on each corner. Half of the castle complex is surrounded by a barbican defended by cylindrical towers.

It belonged to different owners such as Juan Alfonso de Alburquerque, Sancho de Rojas and Pedro Garcia Herrera (Marsical of Castille) among others.

In 1521 it was assaulted and occupied by the Comuneros (Castillan independentists who fought against Charles I of Spain) headed by the belicious bishop Acuna. It was later retaken for the Crown by the Duke of Lerma.

Today Ampudia Castle is a private property, but its grounded departments can be visited on a guided tour. Other parts of the castle like the upper levels or the keep are not open for visit.

References:

everycastle.com

Address

Calle Costanilla de Santiago 1, Ampudia, Spain

See all sites in Ampudia

Details

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

More Information

www.everycastle.com
www.turismocastillayleon.com

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Elaine Bailey (13 months ago)
Castle is open 12pm till 2pm. Only the ground floor is accessible but there are lots of interesting and varied things on display. Worth a visit

Tammy Quiles (TamQuil) (2 years ago)
It was so quiet and the town was ghostly so it made for spectacular pictures

ej rideout (3 years ago)
Found this one by accident but worth a visit. Interesting. Not sure about entery

Silver_Lining_Gacha (3 years ago)
Visited in the summer. The guides are lovely and very informative. A hidden treasure!

luis javier martin martin (4 years ago)
Precioso por fuera, muy bien conservado. Por dentro no tuve posibilidad de verlo. Muy bonito. Una joya.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.