Castles

Castle of the Mendoza family 
It offers a unique experience due to its location, the fact that it is still standing and the possibility of visiting the private rooms of the lords and the permanent exhibition, which shows history and the way of life in the castle. It is also the scene of medieval festivals and other celebrations.

The Statute of Madrid Region was signed in this castle in 1983, being also the best preserved castle in the whole of the Madrid Region.  For its history, heritage and culture, it was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1931.

Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, the first Duke of Infantado, commissioned the building of the new castle and hired the services of the architect of the Catholic Monarchs, the famous Juan Guas. The new castle housed inside a comfortable palace provided with all the necessary spaces for the development of public and private events associated with the stately life of the late Middle Ages, and at the same time, it had the strength and defensive qualities of a fortress:

A journey through history 
Few castles can be explored from top to bottom like this one: from the underground galleries to the ramparts, from the top of its towers to the lower floors by descending a spiral staircase, inside and out, following the path that surrounds the castle and leads to its Renaissance garden where aromatic herbs and flowers are grown, combining beauty and functionality.

Inside the castle you will find an interpretation centre where you can discover, through a pleasant interactive exhibition, the history, construction and current conservation, as well as the customs of the Middle Ages, which was the time of greatest splendour of the fortress. Inside the castle you can enjoy tapestries, paintings, armour and furniture (16th-19th centuries).

If you want a different kind of visit, let yourself be guided by characters in period costume on one of the dramatised visits, in which fiction and history are mixed with anecdotes about life in the castle.

Coracera Castle
At the beginning of the 15th century, Don Álvaro de Luna, a favourite of Juan II, commissioned the building of this castle on the top of a hill. Today, from the top of the keep there are excellent views of the Sierra de Gredos and the surrounding countryside. Its most famous episode is that it served as a residence for Isabella the Catholic when she was proclaimed heiress of Castile.

Inside the building is the Tourist Information Office of San Martín de Valdeiglesias and its region and, around the Patio de Armas, other rooms including the chapel and the wine cellar. There is also a wine cellar which is the headquarters of the Regulatory Council of the Designation of Origin Wines of Madrid, where you can taste some of them.

A  lordly castle
This castle is an archetypal lordly castle, as it reproduces the basic model of the fortified noble residence most widespread in the first half of the 15th century, which consisted of two defensive belts around the main tower or "torre del homenaje" (keep). So called because it contained the rooms where the lord and his retinue stayed, where legal acts such as the pact of loyalty or "homage" of his vassals also took place.

The first belt was the outermost defence and consisted of a lower wall surrounding the enclosure, which in turn was surrounded by a moat. 
The inner belt consisted of a quadrangular-shaped main enclosure with corner towers and an inner courtyard where life was carried out.

Almost the entire castle can be visited and from the keep there are excellent views of the Sierra de Gredos mountain range and the surrounding countryside, where the vineyards planted by the monks of a Benedictine monastery that once stood in the valley stand o

Order of Santiago Fortress  
Only a small part of the original fortress remains today: the keep and the foundations recovered from archaeological excavations. From the tower you can see all the surrounding territory, and at sunset the sunset over the moors of the "alcarrias" of Madrid is quite a spectacle.

Order of Santiago fortifications  
The kings entrusted the military orders, made up of warriors driven by a special religious fervour, with the defence and administration of different conquered regions and fortresses, known as "encomiendas". The Encomienda Mayor de Castilla was left in the hands of the Order of Santiago. Two fortifications located in the southeast of what is now the Community of Madrid belong to it: those of Villarejo de Salvanés and Fuentidueña de Tajo.

The keep
This tower, which was higher than that of the neighbouring fortress of Fuentidueña de Tajo, was the residence of the commander of the Order of Santiago, who was in charge of the government of the fortress and the entire commandery, and occupied one of the corners of the fortified enclosure.

From the keep, the panoramic view of the territory allowed the knights to keep watch over the road for many leagues around, as well as the arrival of enemy troops. Inside, the exhibition on the history of the castle, which occupies three floors, will allow you to discover in detail the administrative and defensive evolution of the fortress.

Fortified town and Buitrago del Lozoya Castle
Its castle or fortress, together with the church of Santa María del Castillo, the Clock Tower and the wall, confer a medieval ambience on this town.

A walk through the Middle Ages
Both the castle and the walls have been preserved almost in their entirety. The walls served as a support for modern houses, while the castle was transformed into a bullring. Today, in fact, the stands in the square still take the space formerly occupied by the castle's rooms, and the courtyard hosts concerts in the summer.

The best way to appreciate the complex is to begin the tour on the Arrabal bridge, from where you can enjoy the widest view of the entire fortified enclosure. This outer area is where the outlying burghs were located, inhabited by the poorest peasants and craftsmen whose workshops, for reasons of hygiene, had to be "outside the walls". Once inside the enclosure, be sure to see the Clock Tower, walk along the walls and visit the Church of Santa María del Castillo.

A unique castle
Thanks to its recent renovation and archaeological excavations, remains of the original barrier and moat have been restored.

One of the most outstanding features of this castle is the coracha, an arm of the wall that reached down to the river to protect the bridge and which, when we observe it, gives us the impression that the castle stretches all the way to the Lozoya. Nowadays, it has an arch under which a street crosses. The bridge, which may be of Roman origin, is not currently exposed as it is under the waters of the reservoir.

Gonzalo Chacón Caslte
Located in the heart of Arroyomolinos, in the middle of a large garden area. Excavations revealed that it was not an isolated keep, but the keep of a curious brick castle, fortified and surrounded by a moat. It is part of the Network of Visitor Sites of the Community of Madrid. But who was Gonzalo Chacón? He was the butler of Isabella the Catholic and lord of Arroyomolinos and Casarrubios (Toledo), lordships granted to him by the Queen in recognition of his faithful services.  

Not all castles are made of stone
In a region where quarries were far away and stone was expensive, brick was also the material used in the construction of other nearby castles such as Batres and Casarrubios. The tower that has survived to the present day has proved to be strong over time, contrary to what one might suspect from its modest brickwork. Proof of its resistance is the little damage caused by the impacts of large bullets that can still be seen on its surface.

A castle, not a keep
For a long time, the keep was the only exposed part of what was originally a castle. Excavations revealed that the remains of an artillery barrier and a large moat were hidden at the foot of the tower, as well as two auxiliary buildings on either side, one for stables and the other for kitchens.

It can be visited freely, following the explanatory panels installed within the framework of the Network of Visitable Sites of the Community of Madrid, or with one of the guided tours organised by Arroyomolinos Town Council.

Laso de Vega family Castle
In the south of Madrid Region, we find Batres, whose castle is one of the most original in the whole of the Madrid Region. Built in terracotta on flint foundations in the 15th and 16th centuries, it is one of the best-preserved castles in the region, and was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1970. Its 25-metre-high keep and its wrought-iron balcony stand out.

It was originally owned by the Lords of Batres, a house with a fascinating history: at the end of the 15th century, the sixth Lady of Batres, Sancha de Guzmán, was pressured by Ferdinand the Catholic himself to marry the valiant Captain Garcilaso de la Vega. This marriage gave birth to the famous poet, also named Garcilaso de la Vega.

Evolution of the castle
The original castle was different from the present one. It was probably limited to the tower surrounded by some defensive devices. The residential building attached to the tower and arranged around a beautiful arcaded courtyard is a later addition. It must have been built in two phases: the first during the reign of Sancha Guzmán and the second during the reign of her son Pedro Laso de Vega (Garcilaso's older brother). While the first work was to have a defensive aspect, the second gave it the current appearance of a Renaissance palace.

The building was reconverted at the end of the 19th century as a tobacco dryer, and in the 1960s it was taken over by a famous Madrid decorator who restored and furnished it. 
It is currently leased to a chain of catering services.

A dwelling place for poets
Two writers are closely associated with the history of this castle: Fernán Pérez de Guzmán and Garcilaso de la Vega. The former was the third lord of Batres and chronicler of King Don II of Castile. He spent 18 years (between 1430 and 1458) exiled in the tower of Batres, where he wrote "Mar de Istorias" and his famous "Generaciones y Semblanzas". Garcilaso de la Vega was one of the greatest Castilian writers, but he never became Lord of Batres as he was not the first-born, although he must have spent some time in the castle.

Although it is not possible to visit the inside part of the building, the best aspect is on the outside of it: its impressive views. In Renaissance style, it was abandoned in the 18th century after being the residence of the Counts of Chinchón for 200 years. Its last use was as a liquor factory.

The castle is now privately owned and is closed to the public as it does not meet the necessary security conditions for visits. However, the most interesting part is outside: admiring its surroundings and enjoying the fantastic views from the hill over the town of Chinchón, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful spots in the  Madrid Region.

Built at the end of the 15th century with stone from Colmenar de Oreja, its layout is reminiscent of contemporary Italian-inspired fortifications: the cushioned façade seems to have been imported from Tuscany. The greater height of the cylindrical towers of this body indicates that it must originally have had two storeys and towered above the rest of the castle.

Inside the castle, the structure is very distorted due to the major modifications it underwent a few decades ago when it was converted into a liquor factory.

It was Diego Fernández de Cabrera y Bobadilla, Marquis of Moya, 3rd Count of Chinchón and Lord of Odón, who decided to rebuild the fortress as a display of splendour and power. His spectacular coat of arms still crowns the entrance to Chinchón Castle today.

It was used as a barracks during the War of the Spanish Succession (1708) and the War of Independence. It ceased to be used in the 18th century.

Surprisingly, although it is called a castle, it is actually a Renaissance palace. Its structure has features in common with a castle: its turrets, its simulated ramparts and its plinth with drawbridge and partial moat. However, the absence of real defensive resources such as gun holes and full moats, together with its construction after the "age of castles", places it in the category of a stately palace with nods to military architecture.

Address: Calle del Castillo (Chinchón)

Count of Barajas Castle
Today this castle it is an open-air museum in the middle of an urban park, where you can admire the main body of the castle, of wich two sides and a tower have been preserved.

The castle was used throughout its history as a prison and as royal housing. On the one hand, in 1621 it was used as a prison for the Duke of Osuna, who had fallen into disgrace. On the other hand, in 1599 it housed Queen Margaret of Austria on her way to the capital after her marriage to Philip III.

The fortified residence of the Count of Barajas had practically sunk into oblivion when it came to light thanks to some excavation works undertook by the Community of Madrid and the City Council and subsequent reconstruction of the building.

Although we do not know the exact date of its construction, we do know that it already existed in 1476 when the then Lord of Barajas, Juan Zapata, took refuge in the fortress after losing the fortress of Segovia during the War of Succession between the supporters of Juana la Beltraneja and those of Isabella the Catholic.

With its rounded corners, the keep was similar to those of Pinto and Arroyomolinos, while the thick outer barrier was designed to defend against artillery attack and also to house its own artillery. 
Of the main body of the castle, two side walls and a tower remain, which stood on the corner opposite the keep. The small size of the building is in contrast to the monumentality of the artillery barrier and its moat.

An open-air museum
An open-air museum has been set up around the fortress and is well worth a visit, as it provides an insight into the history of the site through panels explaining the remains found in the archaeological excavations.

Villaviciosa Castle
It is currently the headquarters of the Air Force Historical Archive and can be visited by prior arrangement. Its history is similar to that of Chinchón, as it was built by the same lord for the greater grandeur of his family, but its aesthetics and state of conservation are completely different.

It is built in granite due to the relative proximity of the quarries at the foot of the sierra. The whole complex is designed as a unit around the courtyard, with numerous rooms to make court life more comfortable. Although it is called a castle, it was in fact a palace, as can be seen by the large windows, the roofs topped with spires and lanterns and the absence of shooting holes.

A bit of history
It was Diego Fernández de Cabrera y Bobadilla, Marquis of Moya, 3rd Count of Chinchón and Lord of Odón who decided to rebuild the fortress as a display of power. It had been badly damaged after the revolt of the comuneros in retaliation for the support of the House of Moya for the king.

During the 18th century it housed members of the Royal Household. In 1738, Felipe V acquired the County of Chinchón with all its possessions for his son Felipe, the future King of Naples. As he left for Italy, the residence in Villaviciosa was occupied by his brother Fernando VI, for whom it was a refuge during his years of retirement after the death of his wife, Bárbara de Braganza.

Later, it was his son the Infante Luis Fernando who took possession of the palace and also built a residence in the town centre, which is now a cultural centre known as the Casa-palacio de Godoy (Godoy's Palace-House). 
It is likely that Godoy - Carlos IV's first minister - was confined to the castle after falling into disgrace for his poor management of dealings with Napoleon.