User:Nvvchar/Castle of Pambre

The Castle of Pambre or Castelo de Pambre is a well-preserved castle that was constructed in the 14th century. It is located in the Pambre parish in the municipality of Palas de Rei, Galicia, Spain. It was built in Galician medieval military architectural style. The Irmandiño Wars that were fought at the castle are mentioned in the book Los Pazoa de Ulloa (The House of Ulloa) authored by Emilia Pardo of Galicia. The castle is about 9 km away from Palas do Rei on the road that passes through the Leboreiro mountain range. Called as the "most complete and spectacular castle", it is on the route to Camino de Santiago, which is both a UNESCO World Heritage site and a pilgrimage site for Christians of the Catholic faith.

The castle is enclosed within a high wall with four towers at the four corners of uneven height. These in turn enclose the main central tower. The castle houses a barn, many patios, a residential complex and a Roman Catholic chapel.

The castle has beige coloured stone walls and is well maintained except for some growth of plants on its battlements and the square shaped towers.

History
The Pambre castle, built around 1375 AD, is credited to Gonzalo Ozores de Ulloa. It was built over a rocky cliff on the bank of Pambre River. The river has acted as a natural barrier to the castle which was attacked in the 15th century during Irmandiño Wars or "uprisings" by peasants against the privileged ruling class. In 1895, the Duke of Alba bought the castle for 27,000 pesetas from Don Jose Soto. Later it was owned by the family of Moreira Blanco and then by Don Manuel Taboada Fernandez, the count of Borrazeiros. After the death of Don Manuel, a religious institution took possession before then selling it on to the Xunta.

Architectural features
The layout of the castle is rectangular in plan but the walls enclosing the castle are built to match the ground contours and hence are irregular in size. These walls have been built with stone masonry and granite ashlars. At the centre of the castle there is a large square shaped tower called the "Tower of Homage" built in square shape, which is encircled by four smaller towers of uneven height with an interlinking wall. The central tower is 11 m square and is three storied with the first floor being a "blind floor". The second floor is 5 m above the ground level and has remnants of a bridge linked to its wall through a door which has an arch opening embossed with Ulloa’s coat of arms. The third floor has a big window with lancet arches. The main tower and the four subsidiary towers have crenelations on its eaves with sharp triangle-shaped battlements. There is also an approach to an inner courtyard of the castle through a big trabeated door. The thickness of the wall is about 2 to 2.5 m but adjacent to the courtyard door the wall is 5 m in thickness. This door is decorated with a wedge-shaped stone depicting the Ulloa’s coat of arms. The Roman Catholic chapel of St. Peter, which was built in the later part of the 12th century, is also located here and is accessed from a door next to the main large door. Within the castle, there is a barn, many patios and a residential complex.