Encinas Castle

Encinas Castle, locally known as Castillo de Encinas, lies in the village of Encinas de Esgueva, in the province of Valladolid in Spain.

Encinas Castle is situated in a small depression in the village, so its use was, probably, more residential than military. It is dated back to the 14th century also because its keep doesn't stand out.

The castle consists of a small and square enclosure, with two square towers in two of its corners. One of these served as the keep. In the other two corners the crenelated walls are raised to the same height as the two towers, thus giving the false impression that the castle had four towers. There is a small stone ditch at the feet of the walls, which is provided with a low defensive wall.

In medieval times the castle gate could be reached via a drawbridge over the small ditch. At present this drawbridge is replaced by a concrete ramp.

In the 1950s the ruined castle was acquired by the Ministry of Agriculture. They restored it and turned it into a cereal silo. During these restorations however, they blinded original windows and totally destroyed its medieval interior.

This is a nice-looking castle on the outside. Due to its present use as a cereal silo, its interior can't be visited. But there's nothing to be seen inside but a dusty industrial concrete interior, as I saw when a farmer with his tractor (hence the concrete ramp) drove into the gate. It is located only a couple of kilometers east from Villafuerte Castle.

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