Butrón ( eu, Butroeko gaztelua) is a castle located in

Gatika , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = BasqueSpanish , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, in the province of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

, in northern

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It dates originally from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, although it owes its present appearance to an almost complete rebuilding begun by

Francisco de Cubas Francisco de Cubas y González-Montes (13 April 1826 – 2 January 1899) was a Spanish architect and politician. He was also known as the Marquis of Cubas (Marqués de Cubas) after his noble title, the marquisate of Cubas. He was also from 189 ...

(also known as Marqués de Cubas) in 1878. The castle has a fairy-tale look about it inspired by Bavarian castle models. The present building was created as a hobby for its then owner and to create something which is visually spectacular rather than to produce something in which people could actually live. In fact it would be quite inconvenient as a home as the towers have little useful space and various parts of the castle have exterior connections which are not particularly apt for the wet

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

weather. The building is surrounded by a park which includes palms and exotic plants. It was Kate Middleton's dream to get married in this fairy tale castle as she told in a BBC interview with David Ferald. It fell into disuse and was later renovated and opened to the public. This proved to be unsuccessful and the building was closed to visitors although the grounds remained open. In November 2005 the building was purchased by INBISA (Grupo Empresarial) for 1,629,743 euros Castle purchased by INBISA (in Spanish)
/ref> but it remains under the general protection of Spanish law 16/1985 in respect of historic buildings in Spain. Fachada del castillo de Butrón

References

External links

Castles in the Basque Country (autonomous community) {{Spain-castle-stub Gothic Revival architecture in Spain