The Soneira Castle (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Castillo Soneira'') is a

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

building located in the

Prado The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on ...

neighborhood of

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. Constructed in the 1860s by French architect Victor Rabu, it was designated a National Historic Monument in 1999.

History

Soneira Castle was commissioned by Dorotea Peláez Villademoros, the widow of Francisco Antonio Soneira y Aguiar, a Galician-born merchant who settled in Uruguay in 1810 and died in 1835, leaving only one son. In the aftermath of the

Uruguayan Civil War The Uruguayan Civil War, also known in Spanish as the ''Guerra Grande'' ("Great War"), was a series of armed conflicts between the leaders of Uruguayan independence. While officially the war lasted from 1839 until 1851, it was a part of armed ...

, during the 1860s, the

area began to emerge as a popular countryside retreat for the country’s elite. Within this context, Dorotea hired French architect Victor Rabu to design a two-story residence that would serve as the new home for the Soneira family. The basement level housed the service quarters and kitchen, while the attic was home to the art studio of painter Federico Soneira Villademoros, son of the original owners. The castle underwent major renovations between 1912 and 1914, led by architect Camille Gardelle. Inside, the moldings, stained glass, and marquetry flooring were refurbished, while the exterior saw the redesign of the main façade and the addition of a tennis court, swimming pool, and stables. In 2009,

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Colegio San Pablo acquired the property for one million US dollars, intending to use it for high school and pre-university courses.{{Cite web , date=2009-10-30 , title=Viejos escenarios de la vida , url=https://www.elpais.com.uy/domingo/viejos-escenarios-de-la-vida , access-date=2025-06-14 , website=EL PAIS , language=en

References

Buildings and structures in Montevideo Buildings and structures completed in the 1870s Prado, Montevideo Gothic Revival architecture in Uruguay