Manzanares Castle

Castle Manzanares is a well preserved stone castle that is an example of military architecture in Spain. Since the mid 15th century this palace has been located in the town of Manzanares El Real, which is located about 50 km north in the direction of the Spanish capital Madrid. Known also as the castle of Mendoza, the castle of Manzanares is the most preserved monument in the whole area.

The town itself has only about 6, 140 inhabitants, but has thousands of tourists arriving who want to walk across the stone walls of the palace of Mendoza. In 1475 a fortress was erected in the castle and has solidity and elegance of Renaissance residence. In architecture you can notice traces of Gothic style.

This imposing building was built in the time that Madrid had no more than 100 houses and about 350 inhabitants. Mendoza serves as a symbol of one of the most powerful families in the 14th and 15th century. The palace is square and at its four corners rises in a magnificent tower.

Eclectic architectural style, is the first thing to be noticed. The four constructions impacts Mauritanian, Mudejar, Gothic and Renaissance that are merged in a unique way and give the Manzanares its completeness. There have been preserved exhibits from different historical periods.

Three of the towers of the Manzanares are cylindrical in shape, and the fourth, which is also the principal has a square shape. Each of the round towers end in its upper part with a smaller tower and the main watchtower is with a small octagonal tower. Manzanares walls are 30 meters in height and the cylindrical towers reach up to 6, 5 m from the base. The central courtyard inside the Manzanares is surrounded by beautiful corridors with arcades, which are determined in Gothic style with influences from Mudejar.

This well preserved building is accessed through the single entry, which looks towards the west to the beautiful gate of the fortified wall of the Manzanares also around the entrance are two small watchtowers which had been erected.