Villafuerte Castle

Villafuerte, Spain

Villafuerte Castle was erected in the 15th century, forming pat of the defensive line drawn alongside of the river. Its first lord was García Franco, a Jew who later on converted to Christianity. It might have been built in order to control his properties.

Its layout is of the so-called 'tower castle'; an almost square, small enclosure with round towers (with a 3-meter diameter) at 3 corners and the keep at the 4th, much like other castles such as Torrelobatón Castle. The keep which has lost its crenellations, consists of 5 floors; 2 vaulted and 3 wooden ones. All the floors communicate by one narrow, spiral wall staircase. The entrance to the keep is through a doorway, on a height of 7 meters, which could be reached by another spiral staircase from the courtyard and a movable wooden footbridge. The tower has been restored and furnished. Today it houses a museum.

References:

castles.nl

Address

Camino Castrillo 2D, Villafuerte, Spain

See all sites in Villafuerte

Details

Founded: 15th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Spain

More Information

www.castles.nl
www.turismocastillayleon.com

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

ej rideout (3 years ago)
Neat castillo in a small town. Interesting history. Looks like they do cultural/entertainment programs inside

N. Martin (3 years ago)
Lots of history in this strong vila...

james penalver (5 years ago)
Great place of Spanish history and heritage.

Ninidubelca Bello (5 years ago)
It can be accessed without problems, it is small but impressive ... it is really wonderful

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.