Íscar Castle, Íscar, Spain

The first written mention of Íscar was in the year 939 AD in Muslim chronicles. The remaining Christians reconquered Iscar in 1086 AD. Build on the ruins of its ancient fortress, Iscar’s Castle stands majestic looking over the village. The oldest preserved parts of this fortress (probably dating back to the 13th century) are remains of the curtain wall and the inside structure of the tower. To provide a defence against possible attacks from the west side, weak point, the enclosure was re-enforced in the second halfof the fifteenth century for defensive purposes.

At the back of the Main Tower, a large defensive spur, flanked by two turrets transformed the ground floor into the shape of a pentagon.In this side also a new body was added as a defensive barbican, with a small artillery barrier with three circular barrel turrets. And for safety a Moat was dug into the limestone rocks whose access was by a drawbridge.

On one of these turrets appears the shield of Pedro de Zúñiga y Avellaneda and his wife Catalina de Velasco y Mendoza, IICounts of the Miranda del Castañar, which dates this work at between 1478 and 1493.

References:

villadeiscar.es

User Reviews

Poetry Luciano Maldonado Moreno (11 months ago)
Castle built on a high hill with impressive views of the town of Íscar and its surroundings. A catapult is preserved outside, a remote sign of the sieges suffered. It is important to know the visiting hours. In my case, furthermore, I didn't even try it when I went on a trip with my dog.

María Sánchez (12 months ago)
Very impressive, both the views from above and the castle with its enormous tower. It was part of a route we took to castles in the area and without a doubt it should be included on the list. How good it is to invest in preserving these types of places.

Rubén Blázquez (2 years ago)
Recommended visit, good views and you can have a drink inside the castle. Manolo gave us a very enjoyable guided tour!! Thank you!!

Valentin Abad (2 years ago)
My wife and I went with our eight children. Impressive fortress that was already mentioned in writings from the year 900. Very well preserved and renovated. We were guided by Manolo, the "heir" (although he now belongs to the City Council) of such great Castilian lineages that made our history... Enjoyable, fun, culturally accurate and with anecdotes that you remember forever... After the guided tour there was an aperitif option with local wine. Also in July they do small jazz concerts at dusk... Wonderful.

GER FERNÁNDEZ (3 years ago)
You can visit inside. Located at the top it offers good views. Very well preserved.

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Sigmaringen Castle

Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.

The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.

These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.

Íscar Castle

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