The castle of

Peñaranda de Duero Peñaranda de Duero is a village and ''municipio'' located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 583 inhabitants. The village is conserved as a ''conjunto hi ...

, located in Peñaranda de Duero, Spain, is a well preserved

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

castle in Burgos province. The castle originally dates from the 10th century but reforms by

Counts Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...

Miranda del Castañar Miranda del Castañar is a municipality located in the province of Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain. As of 2016 the municipality has a population of 426 inhabitants. The town of Miranda del Castañar is labeled "Historic-Artistic Grouping" fo ...

in the 15th century changed much of the building. Today the castle stands at the start of a defensive wall that formerly surrounded the town, of which only the crenellated

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

of "''Las Monjas''" still stands. The castle was an important point on the fortified line which existed between the medieval

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...

and the

Moor Moor or Moors may refer to: Nature and ecology * Moorland, a habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation and acidic soils. Ethnic and religious groups * Moors, Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta during ...

state of

Al Andalus Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...

during the 10th century. The castle is a narrow walled precinct, with a four story keep rising from the center. The keep features a rooftop terrace, battlements, a gallery of machiolations, and three additional square towers, two of which flank the

ogival An ogive ( ) is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object. Ogive curves and surfaces are used in engineering, architecture and woodworking. Etymology The earliest use of the word ''ogive'' is found in the 13th c ...

arch that marks the entrance. The walls are solid stone

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

stone, although much of the keep features decorative wooden beams.Peñaranda castle
Spain.info Today, the Castle of Peñaranda de Duero serves as one of the many historical

monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

and tourist attractions in the area. Tourists are charged a small admission fee between 1 and 2

euros The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . T ...

for entry.

References

Sources

* Castillos de España (volumen II). VV.AA.. Editorial Everest, S.A.. León, 1997. (Pgs. 946-950).

External links

Castle of Peñaranda de Duero
Peñarandadeduero.es
El Castillo de Peñaranda de Duero
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castle of Penaranda de Duero Penaranda de Duero