Visit to Spain

If you plan to visit Spain, you have several options to plan your itinerary. Either you can plan to visit only places of historical importance like castles, or beaches. If you are religious minded, you can visit only churches or cathedrals or if you are a nature lover, you have mountains, vast beaches, parks, etc. If you want a combination of all these, then also you have several places at your disposal.

Interestingly according to official records there were about 10000 castles in Spain but now it is about 2500. Most of these castles were built centuries ago by Moors or Romans or Arabs. Due to passage of time and in some cases due to natural calamities, many of these castles crumbled down. The Government of Spain has made relentless effort to save the remaining castles so that the visitor gets an insight into the history of Spain.

Now let us introduce ourselves to some of the important castles in Spain.

Castillo de los Mendoza:

This castle is located in the famous city of Madrid. This stunningly beautiful castle is believed to have been built in the 15th century. According to history, the castle was built by Mendozas, a powerful family of Madrid. The castle has medieval walls around; there are towers and battlements around. There is a courtyard in the middle and some residential houses. The castle is built in a healthy mixture of Gothic, Romanseque and Mudejar architecture.

It is no surprise that this castle has been the first choice for location shooting of many movies, one of the most popular movies to be shot here is El Old starring Sophia Loren and Charlton Heston. This castle is going strong day by day and although the modern engineers have made efforts to maintain it properly, by and large most of the parts of the castle are still strong.

Castillo de Coca or Castle of Coca:

This is another interesting castle located in the province of Avila. History says that this castle was constructed by the Bishop of Avila. The castle has several towers, dungeon, long moat and turrets. The uniqueness of this castle is its aesthetic beauty and flawless mixture of Gothic and Mudejar architecture.

An elaborate and immaculately planned interior courtyard is another feature where the chief could hold meetings. The castle has two galleries which are constructed of Corinthian Columns. What baffles the architects is the plaster work done for the entire castle. It is so elaborate and immaculate that this plaster has kept the castle strong even to this day.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock  Pixabay