Manzanares El Real Castle Feel the history From its advantageous position in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, the castle of Manzanares el Real opens up a window to the remote as well as the more recent past. As well as its undeniable medieval and Renaissance significance, it has a markedly symbolic import for the region’s modern history, as it was the stage for the first moves that would eventually lead to what is today the Madrid Region and to the drafting of its Statute of Autonomy. Its interior contains an interesting overview of the monument’s history. Original works of art –17th-century Flemish tapestries, easel paintings or suits of armour- and historicist 19th-century furniture that emulates the styles of the Spanish Renaissance contribute to creating a living stage for the era in which it was built and inhabited. and baskets, and medicinal ones for Manzanares A Walk Trough Museum. We can also contemplate the The Garden of curing diseases and healing wounds; 17th century painting Procession of the there are also crops and foodstuffs El Real Castle The Castle Virgin of Candelaria, in which the old the Senses that are a staple of human and animal (and no longer existing) Atocha Hospital diets, with cereals, vines with grapes for in Madrid is depicted. eating and for producing wine and also, Between knigts and humanists A fortress and a palace In the Infantado Hall, we find more Cultivation assorted fruits and vegetables. And in images of historical figures associated and recreation a nod to the Duke’s beautiful fruit tree The castle was built in the 15th century Diego lived in the new castle until The Manzanares El Real Castle holds with the castle: a copy of the portraits orchard, which perhaps gave its name by the 1st Duke of the Infantado, Diego his final years and died there in 1497. a strategic position overlooking the of the Constable of Castile, Don Álvaro The recent restoration of the landscape to the town, we find the apple (manzana Hurtado de Mendoza. The building However, his son and heir, Íñigo Lopez Segovia Cañada Real (or royal drovers’ de Luna and his wife Juana Pimentel, around the castle has created a space in Spanish) orchard where, along with work was continued by his son Íñigo de Mendoza, decided to move the family road), which was used by the Mesta (the based on the Altarpiece from the Luna reflecting different aspects of 15th the apple trees, pear, cherry and almond López de Mendoza, who enlisted the seat to Guadalajara, where the Mendoza first cattle breeder guild in Europe that chapel in Toledo Cathedral by Sancho century life. All the plants and materials trees also grow. help of the architect Juan Guas, one family’s original houses were located, was operational from the 13th to the de Zamora and Juan de Segovia (ca. used here have been selected based on The landscaped areas were also used of the leading exponents of the Late and where work was already being 19th centuries) to move livestock around 1488). Álvaro de Luna was King John existing historical documentation. as play areas and the scene of tourna- Gothic style in Castile, and architect to started on the new ducal palace, the Spain on a seasonal basis. The whole II’s favourite and a sworn enemy of the There is a garden devoted specifical- ments. The castle’s garden has a maze the Catholic Monarchs. Diego and Íñigo Palace of El Infantado. building is enhanced by the robust cur- Marquis de Santillana and the Mendoza ly to growing medicinal and industrial and an arena, a space in which various were respectively the son and grandson The castle was used by the Mendoza tain walls and wall-walk. An imposing family. However, in 1460, with the plants: aromatic ones for garnishing activities recreating jousts and games of the famous Marquis of Santillana, family for a little under a century, and gatehouse protected by flanking towers marriage of his daughter María to Íñigo meals, textile plants for making cloths from olden times are currently carried out. author of the well-known Serranilla was abandoned from 1530 onwards. The gives way to the interior after crossing López de Mendoza, the 2nd Duke of poems. area gradually deteriorated over time the old moat, which is filled in today. the Infantado, the Mendoza House’s This building is the architectural and was used as a storehouse, stable and The hallway to the main building predominance was confirmed. embodiment of a society straddling even as a cinema and school during the served as initial defence and interior The Ladies’ Room, on a stand, two eras, the chivalric medieval period Spanish Civil War (1936-39). layout. In the bailey, overlooked by the is a recreation of a Spanish women’s Limited capacity Limited Mobility (the defensive elements such as the Mendoza family’s coat of arms, two social meeting room up to the 18th outer wall and turreted gateway), and beautiful arcaded galleries with late century, based around the aesthetics the new Renaissance that we see in the Serranilla VII Gothic-style columns and balustrades of Andalusian palaces. Amongst mats, great halls, the decorated facades and The mountain-maiden of La Finojosa introduce us to the palace area. rugs and cushions, noblewomen and the magnificent vantage points that are A second hallway leads inside, their ladies would spend their days typical of Humanism palaces. From Calatrava as I took my way where the collection of tapestries and embroidering, playing instruments or Although the town already had a At holy Mary’s shrine to kneel and pray, some pictures of the Virgin Mary and reading, surrounded by chests, acting as castle, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza de- And sleep upon my eyelids heavy lay, still-lifes are exhibited. The reproduc- primitive wardrobes, where they’d keep cided to build a new one and abandon There where the ground was very rough and wild, tion of a large safe shows us the way their clothes and costumes. the old one, using its materials for the I lost my path and met a peasant child: in which the House’s administrators A light wooden staircase leads us Information and booking of activities new castle and creating a building in From Finojosa, with the herds around her, deposited income from rents and taxes. up to the most private and intimate 91 853 00 08 / 91 852 86 85 keeping with the important position that There in the fields I found her. Climbing the staircase, in the upper area, the bedroom and dressing room, Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm. the Ducal House was steadily gaining. courtyard we find a spacious living area Upon a meadow green with tender grass, as well as the chapel, all recreated [email protected] With other rustic cowherds, lad and lass, where the masters enjoyed their daily here with furniture and costumes from www.turismomadrid.es So sweet a thing to see I watched her pass: life. theatrical scenes. The first hall houses a series of My eyes could scarce believe her what they found her, At the top, the Juan Guas loggia Opening hours for the Castle and the enclosure There with the herds around her. (…) paintings, notably an anonymous invites us to gaze upon the Santillana re- portrait of King Ferdinand VII of Spain servoir’s calm waters. From the walkway, Ticket office: 10 am to 5 pm. Íñigo López de Mendoza, (1784-1833) and religious works painted we can also see the private chapel and Castle: Tuesdays to Fridays, from 10 am to 5.30 pm. Marquis of Santillana by José Maea (1760-1826), a Valencian what must have been two floors of large Saturdays, Sundays and Bank holidays, from 10 am to 6 pm. Photos: © David Ruiz Polo / Archive of the Directorate-General for Tourism. Madrid Region. Legal Deposit: M-34879-2017. Paper coming from sustainable forests. Madrid Region. Legal Deposit: M-34879-2017. Paper coming from Tourism. for the Directorate-General of / Archive © David Ruiz Polo Photos: (1398-1458) artist who became director of the San windowed halls. Above the reused apse, Garden and enclosure: from 10 am to 7 pm. Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts, a large keep tower was planned. This John Pierrepont Rice (translator). and whose collection is also owned by part of the castle was never completed. During the summer, the ticket office will open one hour before the event start time and will From: Hispanic Anthology: Poems Translated Madrid Regional Government. In the southwest tower, there are remain open until the performance commences. from the Spanish by English and In the Santillana Hall we can see still remains of the original decoration Closed on Mondays and the following days: North American Poets, collected and arranged by a copy of the portrait of the Marquis with granite (probably polychromed) January 1st, May 1st, December 24th, 25th and 31st and local holidays. Thomas Walsh. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1920. of Santillana, Don Íñigo, based on the balls, framed by tracery with sgraffito in Opening hours are subject to changes when special activities are programmed. one included within the Altarpiece of the lime. The tour of the castle culminates Gozos de Santa María (doc. 1455), by Jorge with a walk down the spiral staircase, For more information about the private use of the castle facilities (renting of halls, Inglés, which can be seen in the Prado returning us to the bailey. shootings, photographic reports, etc.), please check www.turismomadrid.es.