The Castle of Villaviciosa de Odón is a palace-fortress complex found in the small town of the same name near

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain. It is located on Madrid Avenue. The first construction on the site was built in the 15th century by the

Counts of Chinchón 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. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. On this building, in 1496 the Marquis of Moya, Andrés Cabrera y Beatriz Fernández de Bobadilla, built the first Castle. During the

Revolt of the Comuneros The Revolt of the Comuneros (, "War of the Communities of Castile") was an uprising by citizens of Crown of Castile, Castile against the rule of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles I and his administration between 1520 and 1521. At its hei ...

, the captains Diego de Heredia and Antonio de Mesa, knocked down the castle in 1521. In 1583 don Diego Fernández de Cabrera y Bobadilla, third count of Chinchón, commissioned its reconstruction from the royal architect

Juan de Herrera Juan de Herrera (1530 – 15 January 1597) was a Spanish architect, mathematician and geometrician. One of the most outstanding Spanish architects in the 16th century, Herrera represents the peak of the Renaissance in Spain. His sober style re ...

, who made one of the towers different from the others, giving the castle a more asymmetric profile. Two centuries later, in 1738, the King

Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...

bought the county and granted the title of Count of Chinchón and ownership of the castle to his son the ''infante'' Luis (half-brother of

Ferdinand VI of Spain Ferdinand VI (; 23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759), called the Learned (''el Prudente'') and the Just (''el Justo''), was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death in 1759. He was the third ruler of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. He was the ...

). He, in turn, commissioned

Ventura Rodríguez Ventura Rodríguez Tizón (July 14, 1717 – September 26, 1785) was a Spanish architect and artist. Born at Ciempozuelos, Rodríguez was the son of a bricklayer. In 1727, he collaborated with his father in the work at the Royal Palace of Ar ...

to restore the castle and gave the locality its present name, Villaviciosa de Odón. On August 17, 1758, after the death of his wife

Bárbara de Braganza Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously a ...

, Ferdinand VI moved to the fortress where he died the following year. In 1797 María Teresa de Borbón, Countess of Chinchón, whose portrait was painted by

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

, married the prime minister

Manuel Godoy Manuel de Godoy y Álvarez de Faria Ríos (12 May 1767 – 4 October 1851), 1st ''Prince of the Peace'', 1st ''Duke of Alcudia'', 1st ''Duke of Sueca'', 1st ''Baron of Mascalbó'', was the First Secretary of State of the Kingdom of Spain from ...

, favorite of

Charles IV of Spain Charles IV (; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1788 to 1808. The Spain inherited by Charles IV gave few indications of instability, but during his reign, Spain entered a series of disa ...

. In 1808, having separated from the Countess, Godoy was dismissed after the

Mutiny of Aranjuez The Tumult of Aranjuez (), also known as the Mutiny of Aranjuez, was an uprising led against King Charles IV that took place in the town of Aranjuez, Spain, on 17–19 March 1808. The event, which is celebrated annually in the first week of S ...

, and imprisoned in this castle, which had belonged to his father-in-law.

Forestry school

Spain's first forestry school, the ''Escuela de Especial de Ingenieros de Montes'', was established at the castle in the 1840s. The forestry school relocated to

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...

in 1870, and later to the

Technical University of Madrid The Technical University of Madrid or sometimes called Polytechnic University of Madrid (, UPM) is a public university, located in Madrid, Spain. It was founded in 1971 as the result of merging different Technical Schools of Engineering and Arc ...

Military school and later

Following the forestry school's departure, the Castle of Villaviciosa de Odón became a military school. It was sacked and taken by both sides during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. It now belongs to the government and houses the Archives of the

Spanish Air Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Al ...

References

1583 establishments in Spain Buildings and structures completed in 1583 16th-century fortifications Castles in the Community of Madrid Archives in Spain

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Ferdinand VI Revolt of the Comuneros {{Spain-castle-stub