Castillo de Alba is a Spanish fortress in Quirós,

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensi ...

, Spain, near the village of Faedo.

History

It was founded by first Asturian kings to defend the mountain valley from Muslim attacks. In the 12th century it fell into the hands of the rebel Count

Gonzalo Peláez Gonzalo Peláez (died March 1138) was the ruler of the Asturias from 1110 to 1132, during the reigns of Queen Urraca (1109–26) and her son, Alfonso VII (1126–57). He held high military posts under the latter, but in 1132 he began a five-year ...

, in the reign of

Urraca of León and Castile Urraca (also spelled ''Hurraca'', ''Urracha'' and ''Hurracka'' in medieval Latin) is a female first name. In Spanish, the name means magpie, derived perhaps from Latin ''furax'', meaning "thievish", in reference to the magpie's tendency to collect ...

. It subsequently became part of the Church of

Oviedo Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...

following a donation by

Ferdinand II of León Ferdinand II (c. 1137 – 22 January 1188), was a member of the Castilian cadet branch of the House of Ivrea and King of León and Galicia from 1157 until his death. Life Family Born in Toledo, Castile, Ferdinand was the third but second sur ...

. In 1372 the bishop of Oviedo entrusted the castle to Gonzalo Bernaldo de Quirós, but soon Enrique II of Castile returned it to the bishopric. Today, the castle is in ruins and only several walls, a cistern and the gateway are preserved.

References

Castles in Asturias {{Spain-castle-stub