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

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Photo from Flickr, copyright discopalace

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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.