In 1324, Infante Don Juan Manuel erected the contemporary Gothic-Mudejar convent, where he was subsequently buried, in what was once a fortress built by Alfonso X, the Wise. This emblematic monument was declared a Heritage of Cultural Interest in 1931 and can currently be visited on a free or guided tour.
This Heritage of Cultural Interest boasts a façade with exuberant brick arches, made in the Gothic-Mudejar style, which contrast radically with the luxurious decoration of the funerary chapel of the Manuel family, which was built two centuries later in the Plateresque style.
The chapel’s centrepiece is a window with Gothic tracery framed by two pilasters and an arch. Two coats of arms representing the chapel owners flank the window. One rests above a semicircular tower, which corresponds inside with a spiral staircase without a centre post. This staircase leads up to a balcony.
Don Juan Manuel de Villena’s funerary chapel, built in a Plateresque style with Gothic reminiscences, is a stunning example of Spanish Renaissance art. It was built in very white limestone, worked meticulously and has been preserved in a very good state. It is one of Peñafiel’s star attractions for lovers of cultural tourism.
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House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.