The Castle of the Bishops of Sigüenza (''Castillo de los Obispos de Sigüenza'') is located in

Sigüenza Sigüenza () is a city in the La Serranía, Serranía de Guadalajara Comarcas of Castile-La Mancha, comarca, Province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. History The site of the ancient ''Segontia'' ('dominating over the valley') of the C ...

in the

Province of Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a province of Spain, belonging to the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. As of 2019 it had a population of 258,890 people. The population of the province has grown in the last 10 years. It is located in the centre ...

in central Spain. With foundations dating back to the 5th century, it was extended by the Moors and retaken for the Christians by Bernard of Agen in 1123.

History

The origins of the fortifications in Sigüenza go back to the

Celtiberians The Celtiberians were a group of Celts and Celticized peoples inhabiting an area in the central-northeastern Iberian Peninsula during the final centuries BC. They were explicitly mentioned as being Celts by several classic authors (e.g. Strabo) ...

who inhabited the right bank of the river in the final centuries B.C. The

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

built a small castle in the 5th century above the town. The Moors built a large fortified castle or alcazaba in the early 8th century to defend the area against the Christian kings of Leon and Castile. It was enclosed by a defensive wall providing an area known as the medina. In 1124, the castle was retaken by Bernard of Agen allowing Simón Girón de Cisneros to build an episcopal palace there. In 1298, the castle was taken by the troops of

Alfonso de la Cerda Alfonso de la Cerda, (Valladolid 1270 - Ávila 1333), called "the Disinherited", was the elder son of Ferdinand de la Cerda and his wife Blanche of France, and was a grandson of Alfonso X of Castile. Alfonso and his brother Fernando were ca ...

during the battle against

Ferdinand IV of Castile Ferdinand IV of Castile (6 December 1285 – 7 September 1312) called the Summoned (''el Emplazado''), was King of Castile and King of León, León from 1295 until his death. Ferdinand's upbringing and personal custody was entered to his mother ...

, the boy king, but was defended by the bishop's vassals. In the 15th century, the castle was strengthened by the bishops to protect it from attacks from

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

and

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

. In the late 18th century, Bishop Juan Díaz de la Guerra changed the appearance of the castle from a fortress into an episcopal palace with additional windows, balconies and stables. However, in 1808 during the

War of Spanish Independence The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, it is considered to ...

the castle was taken by the French who seriously damaged it and looted all its riches before it was recaptured by El Empecinado. The episcopal palace was further devastated by fire in the 1830s and had to be abandoned.

Parador

In 1972, the Ministry of Tourism gave the castle the status of a

parador A ''parador'' (), in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries was an establishment where travelers could seek lodging, and usually, food and drink, similar to an inn. In Spain since 1928, a Parador is a state-owned luxury hotel, usually loca ...

or luxury hotel. Restoration of the building began in 1964 and was completed in 1976 by the architect

José Luis Picardo José Luis Picardo Castellón (18 June 1919 – 27 July 2010)Pilar Garcia Sepulveda, "Jose Luis Picardo Castellon", ''Diccionario Biográfico'', Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid, Spain. was a Spanish architect, muralist, Architectural draw ...

. The official inauguration took place in 1978 with the visit of King

King Juan Carlos King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

and

Queen Sofía Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. Decorated with banners and suits of armour, the huge lounge is the castle's original dining room.

References

External links

Parador de Sigüenza, official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castle of Siguenza Paradores Buildings and structures in Sigüenza Castles in Castilla–La Mancha