Salamanca Castles
Castle of Alba de Tormes
It contained a palatial area with an Italian gallery and a round
turret, the Torre Blanca.
This is the only turret that has been preserved.
The town was fortified in the 12th century. In 1304 Fernando IV
handed it over to Alfonso de la Cerda.
In 1472 García Alvarez de Toledo obtained the title of
Duke of Alba, and carried out reform works in the castle.
In the late 15th century the old building was thoroughly transformed
and made into a castle-palace with a barrier without turrets.
During the War of Independence the French troops used it as their
headquarters.
The tower and its paintings were restored by the current Duchess
of Alba and the remains of the old castle-palace have been found
recently in the course of an archaeological excavation.
Castle of Ciudad Rodrigo
The artillery barrier that surrounds the castle was built in the
early 16th century.
Its construction may be attributed to the Castilian king Enrique
II. There was a previous castle in this strategic post between
Portugal and Castile.
The Trastámara monarch is believed to have carried out
a reform of the previous building in 1372, followed by several
destructions and reconstructions up till the 16th century.
Ciudad Rodrigo, like Zamora, had been in favour of king Pedro
and after his death asked king Enrique for help.
The Portuguese king handed Ciudad Rodrigo to Enrique II, who immediately
started to rebuild it.
In March of 1927, the town hall requested that the Fortress be
donated so as to create a museum. In 1929 the donation was expanded
so as to establish a Hotel that later on became a Parador Nacional
de Turismo. It remains a Parador to this day.
Castle of Ledesma
The fortress takes up an angle of the walled enclosure which could
be part of the fortress built by Fernando II, of which only the
pointed door has been preserved.
Two D-shaped towers were built in order to separate the castle
from the rest of the walled enclosure.
New reinforcement works were done in the 18th century.
In 1331 Alfonso XI handed the manor of Ledesma to his son Don
Sancho.
In 1476 the Catholic Monarchs confirmed the donation of the village
to Beltrán de la Cueva.
Castle of Miranda del Castañar
The castle, or at least the tower of homage, was probably built
by Pedro de Zúñiga.
By means of a small enclosure that serves as a gate, the tower
is attached to another D-shaped tower and other remains that might
belong to a previous fortress.
The round loopholes are the usual 15th-century artillery loopholes.
In the lower level there is an angel holding the coat of arms
of the Zúñiga family.
Miranda was founded around 1215.
The well preserved wall probably dates from that time.
Prior to the death of Diego de Zúñiga, the fortress
is taken by García Alvarez de Toledo, the Duke of Alba,
who claimed to be entitled to have it.
Castle of Monleón
The tower has five storeys, two of them with woodwork, and has
been restored by the owner.
The most outstanding feature of the castle is its Tower of Homage,
similar to the tower of San Felices de los Gallegos.
It dates from the 13th century,There must have been a previous
14th-century castle, but the present castle was built in the 15th
century.
Monleón belonged to the community of Salamanca and was
walled in after its repopulation in the late 12th century.
In 1477 the wife of mayor Rodrigo Maldonado heroically held out
against the troops of Fernando el Católico (Ferdinand the
Catholic).
In 148 the Catholic Monarchs separate Monleón from Salamanca
turning it into a town.
Castle of Montemayor
Rectangular fortress with rectangular turrets in the corners.
The outside barrier, of which only the cubes with loopholes have
been preserved, must have been built in the second half of the
15th century by the Silva family.
In 1538 Carlos I created the manor of Montemayor and gave it to
don Juan de Silva y Ribera, captain general of Navarra.
Salamanca guide