Castle of Manzanares el Real

The new castle of Manzanares el Real,

also known as the palace-fortress of the
Mendoza family, is the best conserved
castle in the Madrid region. It was built in
1475 on a Romanesque-Mudejar shrine
which is still standing. Although there is
another older castle in existence, its
importance is today overshadowed by
the new construction.
This structure has large semicircular
arched windows, a rectangular courtyard and two galleries supported on
octagonal columns. The castle building itself has four turrets at the
corners, crowned with decorative balls in the Isabelline style.
The castle still belongs to the Duke of
Infantado, who has leased it to the Regional
Government of Madrid for a period of sixty
years. As well as being an interesting tourist
destination, it is currently used as a library and
for congresses and cultural activities, etc
The area of Manzanares el Real where the new
castle is situated was the subject of dispute in
the 13th century between the councils of
Segovia and Madrid, due to the exploitation of the abundant forests and
pastures of the upper Manzanares river.
In the 15th century these lands passed into the De la Cerda family, and
then to Leonor de Guzmán, until during the reign of John II of Spain, they
were handed down to Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1365-1404),
Admiral of Castile, who is thought to have been responsible for building
the first castle.
The new castle appears to have
been used as a stately home for a
very short period, which ended
with the fourth Duke of el
Infantado. After his death in 1565,
the castle was definitively
abandoned due to legal
differences between the heirs and
economic problems.
This castle was the site of the
initial negotiations for the creation
of the Regional Government of
Madrid (1981), and the Statute of
Autonomy came into being within
its walls; it was subsequently
passed into law by the Spanish
parliament and senate in 1983.

Paula , Debora and Jonathan