Peñafiel Castle
The Peñafiel Castle is a castle from the 11th century and is located on a ridge in the Spanish municipality of Peñafiel ( Valladolid province ) above the valley of the Río Duratón , of about two kilometers further north into the River Duero discharges, in turn, for centuries the border between the Muslim-occupied south and the Christian north of the Iberian Peninsula . Peñafiel was around a century until the conquest of Toledo in 1085 by Alfonso VI. and for a number of years beyond that the only large Christian fortress south of the Duero.
history
The ridge was fortified by the Romans in ancient times . The first castle, which is mentioned in a document in 943 , was built in Muslim Al-Andalus . Sancho García , Count of Castile , captured the castle in 1013 and immediately began to repopulate ( repoblación ) the town below the castle. After conquering the castle from the Moors , he is said to have exclaimed with a raised sword: "This is said to be the faithful rock ( span. Peñafiel ) of Castile" .
The present castle was not built until the 14th century by the Infante Don Juan Manuel , who later wrote some of the most important pieces of medieval Spanish literature. The final completion took place in 1466 by Don Pedro Girón , the then head of the Calatrava order . King Alfonso X was a frequent guest at the castle.
architecture
Peñafiel Castle sits on an elongated but narrow ridge; therefore the castle is only 23 meters wide at its widest point, but 210 meters long. The ends of the walls with battlements converge at two points. At their meeting point there is a massive round tower. Each side of the complex has twelve crenellated towers with machicolation . There are also massive battlements along the wall. Two more towers secure the main gate. A wall in its middle divides the complex into an eastern and western area, creating a kennel . Enemies penetrating through the gate could thus be showered with arrows or other projectiles from all sides.
Like the bridge of a ship, the 34 meter high keep ( torre de homenaje ) rises at its widest point . Eight oriel turrets with battlements and machicolation also secure it. As an additional safety measure, the facility is surrounded by a dry trench running around it; the castle could only be reached via a bridge that was easy to defend.
literature
- Chris Gravett: Atlas of Castles. The most beautiful castles and palaces . Tosa, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-85492-470-4 , pp. 106-107.
- Reinhart Wolf: Castillos. Castles in Spain. Schirmer / Mosel, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-88814-127-3 , p. 110.
Web links
- Peñafiel Castle as a 3D model in SketchUp's 3D warehouse
Coordinates: 41 ° 35 '48 " N , 4 ° 6' 51.5" W.