According to an inscription in the courtyard, the Vélez-Blanco Castle was built between 1506 and 1515 after Fajardo received the lordship of the town from Ferdinand II and Isabella, took up residence there and was given the title of Marqués (1507) by Ferdinand, who was then regent. The heraldry of the principal areas of the castle, including the coat of arms of his second wife, Mencía de la Cueva, belongs to this period.
The castle is situated on a hill overlooking the town. An important aspect of this castle is its huge tower, Torre del Homenaje, which is over 20 m high, an emblematic element of the castle and a symbol of the power over the dominion. The stone structure, had wooden stairs, which could be removed in case of danger isolating the upper level as a last defense. There is a vast number of decorative elements topping its battlements. The building has been restored in stages during the second half of the 20th century, including the floors of the towers.
The fortified areas of the castle, particularly the defences and the Late Gothic east gallery of the courtyard, are examples of late 15th-century Spanish art.
Střekov Castle (Schreckenstein) is perched atop a cliff above the River Elbe, near the city of Ústí nad Labem. It was built in 1316 for John of Luxembourg, the father of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, to guard an important trade route to Germany. After changing hands several times, the castle was acquired by the Lobkowicz family in 1563. Its strategic importance led to occupations by Imperial Habsburg, Saxon, and Swedish forces during the Thirty Years' War, as well as successive sieges by Austrian and Prussian armies during the Seven Years' War.
Although Střekov Castle was heavily damaged during those conflicts and abandoned as a military installation by the end of the 18th century, the 1800s saw many poets and artists visiting the castle, drawn by a new trend of interest in romantic ruins.