Construction started 11th century Height 20 m Phone +34 921 14 22 03 | Completed 17th century Province Province of Segovia Renovated 1972 | |
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Alternative names Castle-Palace of the dukes of Albuquerque (Castillo-Palacio de los duques de Alburquerque) Location Cuéllar
Province of Segovia
Castile and León
Spain Current tenants Ministry of Education of Spain
IES Duque de Alburquerque Owner Juan Miguel Osorio y Bertrán de Lis
XIX Duke of Alburquerque
XVI Marquis of Cuéllar Address Calle Palacio, 1, 40200 Cuéllar, Segovia, Spain Hours Open today · 10AM–2PM, 4:30–8PMTuesday10AM–2PM, 4:30–8PMWednesday10AM–2PM, 4:30–8PMThursday10AM–2PM, 4:30–8PMFriday10AM–2PM, 4:30–8PMSaturday10AM–2PM, 4:30–8PMSunday10AM–2PM, 4:30–8PMMonday10AM–2PM Architects Juan Guas, Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, Jan van der Eycken, Juan de Álava, Juan Gil de Hontañón Similar Iglesia de San Esteban, Castillo de Coca, Iglesia de San Martín, Castle of Turégano, Palacio de Pedro I | ||
Cuba santiago de cuba san pedro de la roca castle
Cuéllar Castle or The Castle of the Dukes of Alburquerque is the most emblematic monument in the town of Cuéllar, located in the province of Segovia, autonomous community of Castile and León, in Spain. It was declared Bien de Interés Cultural (Property of Cultural Interest) on 3 June 1931.
The castle is conserved in good condition, and it has been built in different architectural styles between the 13th and 18th century. Much of the castle in the Gothic and Renaissance styles. The military building was extended and transformed in the 16th century, turning it into the palace of the Duke of Alburquerque. During its different building stages, masters such as Juan Guas, Hanequin of Brussels and her son Hanequin de Cuéllar, Juan, Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, and Juan Gil de Hontañón "el mozo" or Juan de Álava have worked on the castle.
Among its historical owners, stands out Álvaro de Luna and Beltrán de la Cueva, as well as the successive Dukes of Alburquerque. Distinguished guests on it were some Castilian monarchs, as Juan I and his wife the Queen Leonor de Aragón y de Sicilia, that died on it, or María de Molina, that took refuge on this castle when her Kingdom was rejecting her. Also stands out figures as the painter Francisco Javier Parcerisa, or the writer José de Espronceda, the generals Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo and Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, who set his garrison barracks in this castle during the Spanish War of Independence.
The Dukes of Alburquerque lived in this castle for centuries until they moved to Madrid to be close to the court. Thereafter their use of the castle was as leisure and holidays palace, abandoning the building slowly. At the late 19th century the castle was almost completely abandoned, and was victim of robberies. In 1938 was a political prison was settled within the castle, and after was established also a sanatorium for prisoners affected by tuberculosis. It was used as prison till 1966.
In 1972, the Department of Fine Arts carried out an intensive restoration, and made it the home of a Vocational Education school, which continues to this day.