Valdecorneja Castle

Valdecorneja Castle lies, in the village of El Barco de Avila, in the province of Avila in Spain.

The village of El Barco de Avila is situated in the foothills of the Sierra de Gredos mountain range, at the beginning of a valley of the Corneja river. After the conquest of Toledo and the retreat of the Muslim lines to the south bank of the river Tajo, King Alfonso VI donated this valley to his daughter and ordered his son-in-law Ramon de Borgoña to erect a fortification and to repopulate the surrounding area.

There is few documented data of the construction of the present castle, but due to its architectural design it is dated to the end of the 15th century. The castle, built of granite rubblework, is situated on a small hill on the east bank of the Tormes river. Its ground plan, similar to that of other castles on the Castilian plateau, is a square with circular towers on the corners and sentry boxes in three of its curtain walls. The fourth curtain wall contains the rectangular keep.

The entrance to the keep is on a higher floor level, facing the courtyard. Although totally dismantled, you can see traces of two floor levels and columns around a central patio in the walls and floor of the courtyard. Also underground rooms and rain tanks exist beneath the courtyard.

The territory of Valdecorneja is linked to the Alba family since the 14th century when King Enrique II de Trastámara donated it to Don Garci Alvarez de Toledo. It is probably one of the descendants of this first Lord of Valdecorneja who built the present castle.

When I visited the castle was closed. It doesn't seem to be used for touristic purposes but for local cultural activities; such as a seasonal open-air cinema.

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