Los Mendoza

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Shortened history of the castle:

The Castle of Los Mendoza (or Manzanares Castle) combines the strong aspect of a large fortress of the low Middle Ages and the elegance of a Renaissance residence.

Manzanares Castle lies 50 kilometers from Madrid on the southern slope of the Guadarrama mountain range. The castle is an impressive example of XV century Castilian military architecture, and one of the last of its kind in Spain. In fact, after initially being user as a fortress, it became a residential Palace of one of the noblest families in Castilla since the Middle Ages: the Mendozas. However, Manzanares Castle is also closely tied in with Madrid's recent history, because the process leading to the autonomy of Comunidad de Madrid (1981) was started there, as was the project for the Statute of Autonomy, which would be approved in Congress and the Senate in 1983.

The Mendozas used this Palace-Castle as a stately home for less than a century. In 1565, feuds between the inheritors resulted in its disuse and a slow process of deterioration until the architect, Vicente Lamperez Romera, took responsibility for the first restoration works in 1914. The castle was declared as s Historical Art Monument in 1931.

The Castle Los Mendoza is also a movie star! If you've ever seen the classic movie El Cid with Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren, then this castle - completed with towers, battlements and surrounded by an impressive medieval wall - is sure to have left a lasting impression.