Torrelobatón Castle is situated in the province of Valladolid in Castile, Spain. Built as an expression of the strength of the influential Enríquez family, whose capital was at Medina de Rioseco, the castle is one of the most important and best-preserved fortresses in Valladolid. In the historical epic film El Cid with Charlton Heston the castle played the role of Vivar, hometown of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar - El Cid.
Construction
The castle was begun in 1406, when Don Alfonso Enríquez, 1st Admiral of Castile, obtained licence from John II to erect a fortress in Torrelobatón; the only fortification there was a modest stone enclosure surrounding the village. The castle was involved in the Revolt of the Comuneros against Charles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V).
Location
The Torrelobaton Castle is situated on the outskirts of the village on almost the same level, as is the case with many 15th-century seigneurial Castilian fortresses. It has a square ground-plan, with circular turrets at three of the corners and the keep set into the fourth, protecting the gate. The castle was surrounded by an enceinte, of which there are some remains, and a ditch, now mostly filled in.
The keep
The entrance to the Torrelobaton Castle courtyard is through a gate with a round-headed arch protected by a portcullis. The keep is the most interesting feature of the fortress. Of considerable height, the upper part is protected by eight turrets supported on accordion brackets, one at each corner and one in the middle of each wall .
Castillan fortresses
The castle, constructed in limestone ashlar, belongs to a large group of Castilian fortresses of which the most outstanding feature is the keep, often reaching monumental proportions. In addition to the defensive function, the keep served to intimidate the population and discourage rebellion, especially if sited, as at Torrelobatón, on the side of the castle nearest the village.
Traditional construction
Torrelobatón Castle otherwise lies in the tradition of seigneurial fortresses that, except in some older castles or in those built on raised ground, have a quadrilateral ground-plan with the keep set into one of the corners. The most unusual features of Torrelobatón are the turrets on the keep and the straight parapet.

Castle of Torrelobatón

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The castle of Urueña was built around the year 1060 by the Castilian monarch Fernando I el Magno (the Great). It is built on the remains of a Roman fort. Overlooking the Tierra de Campos it has always been a strategically important place. Urueña was on the border between the two kingdoms Castilla and León. After many battles the kingdom of Castilla reconquered the castle in the year 1281.
The Queen Doña Urraca lived in this castle. Also Doña María de Padilla, mistress of King Pedro I of Castilla, lived here. Later the castle was used as a prison: Doña Beatriz Princess of Portugal was held here as one of the prisoners. From the 19th century it was used as a cemetery. Today only the exterior walls of the castle remain. The inside of the castle cannot be visited!
https://www.tripadvisor.com/

Castle of Urueña

La muralla de Urueña, correspondiente al siglo XII, está situada en dicho municipio vallisoletano, Castilla y León, (España).
Descripción
La muralla que rodea la ciudad es de los siglos XII y XIII, de mampostería franqueada de trecho en trecho por cubos semicilíndricos. Se conserva el 80% del recinto amurallado, cubriendo una superficie de casi 7 hectáreas, de forma irregular. Se adapta al escarpado borde del páramo donde se asienta la villa. Está toda ella almenada y recorrida por camino de adarve.
Tiene dos puertas. La principal, Puerta del Azogue, se abre al norte, y es la típica puerta construida en codo, para mejor defensa de posibles invasores. La otra puerta está al sur, frontera a la anterior; es el Arco de la Villa, menos protegida desde el punto de vista arquitectónico pues por esa parte el páramo cae de manera abrupta hasta el valle.

Muralla de Urueña

The Castle of Simancas (also known as Simancas Castle) is a fortified complex in Simancas, central Spain. The castle stands in the center of town and houses the current Archivo General de Simancas.
History
The site of the castle was at one time a Moorish fortress. In the 15th century the House of Enríquez constructed a new fortification on top of the existing ruins, restored the Moorish walls, and added a chapel. The new castle was seized by the Spanish Crown during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs and turned into a prison. In 1540 the Archivo General de Simancas was established in the castle, the first official archive of Castile. Felipe II transformed the castle into General Archive of the Kingdom, which housed one of the most important archives in Europe with 35 million documents. The castle was put under the protection of the Spanish government in 1949. In 1952 renovations were enacted to reduce risk to the archives. The castle is now open to tourists and researchers.
Fortification and structure
The castle's foundation, walls, battlements, gates, and bridges all date back to the late 15th century, mostly attributed from 1467 to 1480. The end of the reconquesta in 1492 ended the immediate need for a large defensive fortification, and as such the castle's various reconstructions molded it into an administrative building. Later additions to the castle incorporate aspects of the Herrerian style of architecture. The current archive housed within the castle has been protected with fireproofing measures, and the 15th century chapel built by the Enríquez has been restored.

Castle of Simancas

El castillo de Villagarcía de Campos se encuentra en la población de Villagarcía de Campos, provincia de Valladolid (Castilla y León, España). En la actualidad todavía se pueden ver las ruinas del castillo.
Historia
Los primeros datos históricos sobre este Castillo-Palacio se remontan a 1336. En su tiempo fue una obra de gran envergadura, con altos torreones y puente levadizo. En él fue educado bajo anonimato Jeromín, hijo natural del emperador Carlos I de España, el cual más tarde pasó a ser conocido como Don Juan de Austria. Posteriormente, durante el siglo XIX, el castillo fue asolado por el ejército francés en 1810 durante la Guerra de la Independencia.
Desde 2014 se han efectuado distintas obras para rehabilitar el castillo.

Castillo de Villagarcía de Campos

Tiedra Castle lies, in a village by the same name, in the province of Valladolid in Spain.
Located on a hill, almost on the border of the province of Zamora, and within viewing distance of Villalonso Castle, the primitive Tiedra Castle is already mentioned in the 11th century.
The present castle seems to date from the end of the 13th century and is in a bad state of conservation. It consists of a polygonal enclosure, with a perimeter of 115 meters, equipped with two circular towers. Near one of these there are remains of a ruined wall. This could be a vestige of a second defensive enclosure. There is a dry moat on its western side.
In the center of its courtyard stands a 20 meters high, rectangular keep (14,5 by 11,5 meters). Its walls are 2,5 meters thick.
In the 13th century a Don Alonso Téllez de Meneses was the Lord of Tiedra. In the 14th century the Lord of Tiedra was Don Sancho, Count of Alburquerque and brother of King Enrique II de Trastamara. His daughter Leonor, Countess of Alburquerque and married with Fernando de Antequera, inherited from him, amongst other possessions, Tiedra Castle. His sons Enrique and Juan, the Infants of Aragon, inherited from their father the castles of Medina del Campo and Peñafiel Castle. Both the brothers fought against King Juan II of Castile. Therefore this king confiscated Tiedra Castle and handed it over to his favorite Don Alvaro de Luna. During these wars the king incarcerated several of his enemies in Tiedra Castle; under these prisoners were the Count of Haro, the Lords of Batres and Valdecorneja and the bishop of Palencia. After his defeat, in 1445, in the battle of Olmedo, the enemies of the king, handed the castle to Don Pedro Girón, Master of Calatrava as a reward for his help. This Don Pedro Girón is the same one who would, in later years, received Peñafiel Castle from King Enrique IV.
Until the 19th century the castle belonged to ducal house of Osuna.
Tiedra Castle isn't accessible. It has a grim feel but is on a beautiful location, looking out over the wheat fields and hills that surround it. It's not only close to Villalonso Castle but also to Villavellid Castle. Some years ago it was for sale for some $ 500.000. But I don't know if it was sold and what its use is now.
http://www.castles.nl

Tiedra Castle

Villavellid Castle lies, in the little village by the same name, in the province of Valladolid in Spain.
The castle is located on a little hill next to the village, on a small undulation of the landscape. By its diposition and characteristics it can be dated to the 15th century and it was probably the residence of a nobleman. Its constructor isn't known although in 1452 a Don Francisco de Almazán, Marquess of Alcañices, was mentioned as the Lord of the village and the owner of a "strong house".
Its plan is a square with wide walls of ashlar masonry on the outside. The corners are reinforced by cylindrical towers except one which is reinforced by the square keep which is very reduced at the present time. This all makes the castle in everything very similar to Fuente el Sol Castle. The entrance to the courtyard is by a pointed arced gate, located near the keep. The entrance to the keep is on a higher floor level and would have been accessed by means of a, disappeared, movable wooden footbridge. Inside the tower several wooden floors existed. Also traces of lean-to constructions are observed in the walls around the courtyard.
In the 1990's most of one of the sides of the enclosure and a corner tower collapsed. As with similar castles this one could also have had another outer defensive enclosure although there are traces of such an enclosure.
Villavellid Castle is a nice one to see because of the fact that you can see its foundations and a sort of cut-through view of the walls and courtyard. The fact that the fore mentioned collapse has taken place can have something to do, in my opinion, with the fact that the village garbage dump is located against the foundations of the castle walls. Although it isn't worth the detour on itself it's located just a few minutes by car, north of Tiedra Castle.
http://www.castles.nl

Villavellid Castle

Built in the 15th century by the Vivero family as a noble home. The family became linked to the region's history when the future Catholic Monarchs got married in their castle.
Construction started in the 13th century, but it is not until the 15th century that the structure acquires today's configuration. Inside, the building was shaped as a 'U' around the cortyard, which today has been made into the parliament floor. During the Comunidades war, it was peacefully occupied by the comunero troops. The castle was the General Assembly of Castilla y León.
https://www.turismocastillayleon.com

Castle of Fuensaldaña

Villalonso Castle lies, in the village by the same name, in the province of Zamora in Spain.
Not far from the town of Toro, near the road to Medina de Rioseco, stands the castle of Villalonso, perhaps one of the best conserved in the province of Zamora.
The castle is clear model of the type of stately castles which were built in large numbers in the border provinces of Valladolid and Palencia during the 15th century.
The castle has an almost square groundplan, with walls of ashlar masonry reinforced at the corners with slender towers. The curtain walls are fitted, in the center, with nice turrets, resting on a cylindrical base. Its slender appearance is accentuated by the powerful, square keep, projecting out of the North curtain wall and flanking the entrance gate.
Around the castle are the remains of the outer enclosure and a shallow ditch which used to be the moat.
There's not much known about its history nor a more precise year when it was built.
In 1235 there was an earlier fortification at this site belonging to the Order of Alcántara. During the wars of the Catholic Kings against the King of Portugal, Villalonso Castle, along with other castles in the area, was in the hands of Pedro de Avendaño, in the name of the Portuguese king. At that time the count of Marialba, having fled the town of Toro, sought refuge in the castle shortly before the conquest of this city by the Castilian forces. The castle also played a role, although of small importance, in the War of the Communities.
I find this a very beautiful castle. It is on the outskirts of the little village, surrounded by fields. From here you can see Tiedra Castle on the northern horizon. It has no use as far as I could discover and isn't signposted. The castle isn't accessible. Too bad.
http://www.castles.nl