Castillo de los Duques de Alba is a

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 ...

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

in Alba de Tormes, Salamanca province, western

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is the ancestral seat of the House of Alba. Today, the castle is in ruins and can be visited by the public.

History

The castle dates back to the 12th century when king

Ferdinand II of León Ferdinand II ( 1137 – 22 January 1188), was a member of the Castilian House of Burgundy, Castilian cadet branch of the House of Ivrea and List of Leonese monarchs, King of León and kingdom of Galicia, Galicia from 1157 until his death. Life ...

built a watchtower on a site overlooking the river Tormes. King

Sancho IV of Castile Sancho IV of Castile (12 May 1258 – 25 April 1295) called the Brave (''el Bravo''), was the king of Castile, León and Galicia (now parts of Spain) from 1284 to his death. Following his brother Ferdinand's death, he gained the s ...

converted the tower into a castle, which was destroyed during the reign of king

Henry IV of Castile Henry IV of Castile (Spanish language, Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), nicknamed the Impotent, was King of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingdom of León, León and the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Ca ...

. The House of Alba took possession of the site and

García Álvarez de Toledo, 1st Duke of Alba García Álvarez de Toledo y Carrillo de Toledo, 1st Duke of Alba de Tormes ( – 20 June 1488) was a Spanish nobleman, military leader and politician, whose family had presided over the lands of Alba de Tormes since the year 1369. Biography ...

rebuilt the castle as a fortress and private residence.

Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba (29 October 150711 December 1582), known as the Grand Duke of Alba (, ) in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke () or shortly 'Alva' in the Netherlands, was a Spaniards, Spanish noblema ...

turned the castle into a true

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

palace, where the sober exterior contrasted with the rich interior containing beautiful frescos depicting the

Battle of Mühlberg The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmal ...

, where the duke distinguished himself. During the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

the castle was destroyed; only one tower, which is still owned by the Alba family, remained. Archaeological excavations were made to uncover the former splendour of the castle-palace in 1991

Bibliography

* Carlos Sarrthou Carreres (1991), Castillos de Espana. Espasa-Calpe, Madrid * Manuel Retuerce (1992), “El castillo de Alba de Tormes: primeros resultados arqueológicos” in the Boletín de Amigos del Museo de Salamanca, 2, p. 19-22. (http://www.nrtarqueologos.com/wp-content/uploads/Retuerce-Castillo-Alba-Tormes.pdf)

References

External links

{{Commons category, Castillo de los duques de Alba * http://www.villaalbadetormes.com/ficha1.asp?id=28 Website of the municipality on the castle * http://castillosdelolvido.com/castillo-de-alba-de-tormes/ Website describing the history and also containing a video with a reconstruction of the castle * https://www.rutasconhistoria.es/loc/castillo-de-los-duques-de-alba Another local website on the history of the castle Castles in Castile and León House of Alba