Segovia, although just north of Madrid, is a zillion miles away from any of the other historical cities we have visited in Spain.
What a pleasure! What a surprise!
And to top it off, we managed to get an old, traditional hotel in a garden setting - the first time for this trip circumnavigating Spain, as we had been in big, business hotels which are so stifling and lifeless.
So here is our lovely hotel room, complete with tiny balcony and no air-conditioning.
A real desk. A real painting.
And when we looked out of the window
... a real fairytale castle towering above us, and ...
... below us, a real stream, trickling through a real park. Magic!
We had scarcely dropped our bags at the hotel when we were off to the castle, on foot and almost vertically uphill. It was about 4.00 pm but as nothing shuts early, we knew we had plenty of time to find interesting things to see and do. At the castle, even the ticket office was impressive.
Actually, the castle is called the Alcazar of Segovia and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. In Arabian, alcazar means "king's palace". Most alcazars were therefore fortified, to protect the monarch. So this palace has a moat - empty of water now, but still a moat!
The earliest history indicates a Roman fortress on this site, with a moat fed by water from a Roman aqueduct. The photo shows the original water inlet in the moat. And the tourist brochure says there is an aqueduct in the area.
The current building was begun in the 12th century and has been added to many times since. It became one of the favourite residences of the kings of Castille, then became a fortress for control of Castille and is where Isabella the Catholic was proclaimed Queen in 1474. Yes, that's the same Isabella of Christopher Columbus and La Alhambra fame.
King Phillip 11 married Anne of Austria here and then had improvements made including having the roofs retiled with the sharp slate spires, reminiscent of castles in Central Europe. After the court moved to Madrid, the Alcazar was no longer required and became a state prison for over 200 years.
In 1762 King Carlos 111 founded the Royal Artillery School in the Alcazar where it remained until the great fire of 1862 which destroyed all the roofs. Restoration of the building began in 1896 when the Alcazar was handed over to the Ministry of War to be used for the Artillery. In 1898 the General Military Archives were housed here, where they remain to the present day. In 1951 a committee, with links to the military was created to maintain the building as a national monument. And they have done an outstanding job.
In 1762 King Carlos 111 founded the Royal Artillery School in the Alcazar where it remained until the great fire of 1862 which destroyed all the roofs. Restoration of the building began in 1896 when the Alcazar was handed over to the Ministry of War to be used for the Artillery. In 1898 the General Military Archives were housed here, where they remain to the present day. In 1951 a committee, with links to the military was created to maintain the building as a national monument. And they have done an outstanding job.
This was great stuff ....... and in fabulous condition and detail.
Needless to say, we found lots of "knights and castles" stuff for the little grandboys in the gift shop.
Much more to come.
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