Step back in time at the Castle of Ponferrada, one of the most impressive Templar fortresses in Spain, on this guided tour through its towers, ramparts, and halls. With 12 towers, said by some to represent the constellations of the zodiac, it's also known as the castle of the stars.
Tour Details
At the designated time, we'll meet at the castle to begin our visit. During the tour, we'll explore the full castle, hidden little corners included, uncovering the history of the knights who once held it.
We'll begin at the castle front, taking in the barbican and the Tower of Snails before crossing the bailey. Much of what we see here was built in the 15th century by Pedro Álvarez Osorio, Count of Lemos, the most significant figure in the castle's history and the man responsible for most of its current structures.
From there, we'll walk the lower wall walk, passing the Tower of Cabrera, the Tower of Badneighbour, the Tower of Malpica, and the Tower of the Catholic Monarchs, until we reach the old castle. This is where the story really begins: the Templars were granted these old Visigothic walls by King Ferdinand II of León in 1178, and by 1211 they were lords of the town of Ponferrada itself. Their reign ended in 1312, when the order was persecuted and dissolved across Europe.
We'll continue to the new keep, the Tower of the Duke of Arjona, and the old keep, and talk about the lords who held the fortress after the Templars departed, from the Castro lineage under Pedro Fernández de Castro to the Duke of Arjona himself.
Returning through the main courtyard, we'll follow the river wall walk past the Cave of the Moorish Woman, a spot wrapped in local legend, and up to the Tower of Moclín. From here, we'll continue along the upper wall walk and finish in the new palace, where the palace courtyard, the Templar library, the old room, the palace hall, the Templar chapel, and the extraordinary Templum Libri library await.
After a total of 2 hours, we'll bring the tour to an end in the new palace
