Fuensaldaña Castle () 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 ...

in the Spanish village of

Fuensaldaña Fuensaldaña is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 1,149 inhabitants. See also *Cuisine of the province of Valladolid The ga ...

, situated 6 kilometres from

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

, the largest city of

Castile and León Castile and León is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwestern Spain. Castile and León is the largest autonomous community in Spain by area, covering 94,222 km2. It is, however, sparsely populated, with a pop ...

History

Construction on the site began in the 13th century, but the castle did not take its current form until the mid-15th. Captive

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

were used to build it.

Alonso Pérez de Vivero Alonso is a Spanish name of Germanic origin that is a Castilian variant of ''Adalfuns''. The original Visigothic name ''Alfonso'' suffered the phonetic change of the phoneme /f/ into the mute /h/ in the Early Middle Ages (around 9th Century), w ...

, who ordered its construction, was murdered for conspiring against

Álvaro de Luna Álvaro de Luna y Fernández de Jarava (between 1388 and 13902 June 1453), was a Castilian statesman, favourite of John II of Castile. He served as Constable of Castile and as Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. He earned great influence in ...

, a favourite of

John II of Castile John II of Castile (; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405. Regency John was the son of King Henry ...

. The

Catholic Monarchs of Spain The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile () and King Ferdinand II of Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the '' de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, ...

confiscated the castle from the Vivero family due to their opposition in the War of Castilian Succession; it was returned in 1490. The Catholic Monarchs themselves spent their honeymoon in the castle in 1469, and in 1521 the castle was occupied in 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 ...

. In July 1983

Demetrio Madrid Demetrio Madrid López (born 1 August 1936) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) who served as President of the Junta of Castile and León President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate ...

, the

President of the Junta of Castile and León President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...

, chose the castle to be the seat of the

Cortes of Castile and León The Cortes of Castile and León (Spanish: ''Cortes de Castilla y León'') is the elected unicameral legislature of the Autonomous Communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Castile and León. The tradition of the regional Cortes is traced ba ...

, the regional legislature. In 2007 the legislature moved to a brand new building in the city, in an economic blow to both the castle's owners the

Province of Valladolid Valladolid () is a province of northwest Spain, in the central part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It has a population of 525,398 across a total of 225 municipalities, an area of , meaning a population density of 64.77 people ...

and the people of the village. Renovations started in 2011 ended in late 2012 when the castle was opened to the public as a tourist site, and venue for weddings, conferences and concerts. By 2015, it was safe for tourists to access the roof of the tower.

References

Castles in Castile and León Buildings and structures in the Province of Valladolid Seats of Spanish regional legislatures {{Spain-castle-stub