I take you back to my dear Madrid !! love it !! I like to continue the saga of my dear Madrid with new pictures from my cd rom vault that should be in my blog for you and me, This is again my lost walking trails of wonderful sublime Madrid, Therefore, let me tell you about the Castillo-Fortaleza de Alameda of Madrid !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The best way to reach is to take at Gran Via line 5 metro (my old home line) to end Alameda de Osuna and walk about according to google as never time it 13 minutes or 800 meters walking on Calle Manuel Aguilar Muñoz making left turn onto Calle de Antonio Sancha passing the Panteón de los Fernán Núñez ( mausoleum built in 1879 to house the remains of Isabel Falco y Osorio. The pantheon later served as the burial place for the last members of the Fernán Núñez family;Count of Barajas and the castle Fernán-Núñez , and see Paseo de Fernan Nuñez in the Retiro park) to the castle,
The Castillo-Fortaleza de Alameda aka mistakenly referred to as Barajas Castle or Zapata Castle, is located in the Alameda de Osuna neighborhood within the current Barajas district of Madrid, in the Community of Madrid , and in the kingdom of Spain. It was built in the 15C in the village of La Alameda, a settlement established during the 13C. The Alameda Castle is small in size. Its interior area is approximately 200 m². It has a rectangular floor plan with rounded corners. Only two towers remain standing: one square and one cylindrical. From 1996 onwards, archaeological excavations were carried out on the site and in its immediate vicinity, revealing remains of settlements from the Bronze Age to the Roman period. It is currently partially restored, and its museum has been open to the public since 2010.
A bit of history I like tell us the village of La Alameda arose from this site, and at the end of the 14C, it was granted as a fiefdom to the Mendoza family, which also included the village of Barajas within its domain. It is believed that Diego Hurtado de Mendoza ordered the construction of the castle next to the village to symbolize his control of the area. This palace was built between 1431 and 1476, the latter year being when it served as a refuge for supporters of Juana la Beltraneja after they lost Madrid following the Battle of Toro, according to contemporary documents. Later, it was granted as a dowry by King John II of Castile to Inés de Ayala y Ruiz Sanz Zapata, thus passing into the hands of the Zapata family, linked to the urban patriciate of late medieval Madrid. When the Zapatas became related to the powerful Mendoza family, Francisco Zapata y Cisneros, the chamberlain of Philip II and president of the Council of Castile, was appointed the first Count of Barajas and Lord of the Alameda in 1575. In that same year, the Count commissioned its expansion and renovation to transform it into a Renaissance palace with a splendid garden. The keep was erected, new wings were added to the eastern and southern sides, and larger, brighter windows were created. The moat was also transformed into a garden. Among the historical figures who have passed through the castle, either as a prison for nobles or as lodging, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, Duke of Alba, stands out. He lived there in 1580 upon his return from exile in Uceda. Similarly, after marrying Philip III, Queen Margaret of Austria visited the castle in 1599 on her way to Madrid. The third Duke of Osuna died there after a brief captivity (1622-1624). After his death, his wife, the Countess of Benavente, decided to purchase the adjacent lands, which, over time, became the Alameda de Osuna estate. A fire destroyed the castle in 1697. Also, from 1787 onwards, when construction began on El Capricho Park (see post), owned by Duchess María Josefa Pimentel y Téllez-Girón, materials from the site were used. It suffered further damage during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) when a machine gun nest was installed next to it, forming part of the defensive system of the Republican high command based at El Capricho, a bunker from that period is preserved amidst the elegant landscaped gardens of El Capricho Park The place was in 1937 one of the scenes of the battle of Jarama. It is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Museums of the Madrid City Council, and is attached to the Museum of Origins (see post).
In addition, in the center of the Parque Alameda de Osuna Park there is also a neo-Gothic pantheon built at the end of the 19C by the Marquis of Cubas, the Church of Santa Catalina de Alejandría as the place was in 1937 one of the scenes of the battle of Jarama. An anecdote I like tell us that the castle appears in a painting by Goya, Village Procession. The painter had a close relationship with the Dukes of Osuna, and this work is part of the series he created in the late 18C for their country residence.
The Madrid tourist office on the Alameda castle : https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/castillo-de-la-alameda
There you go folks , another wonderful nostalgic, sentimental trip to my dear Madrid, A love affairs with my Madrid, as do not know when we will be back, but will ,eventually, Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Castillo-Fortaleza de Alameda of Madrid !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
