Basque Country castles and towers - Basque Country monuments and places of interest

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Basque Country Information: TOWER-HOUSES AND CASTLES

Tall towers with thick walls and slender windows. That's what the houses of the medieval lords looked like. Although many of these tower-houses no longer exist, the visitor will discover from a distance the slender stone outline of so me of these typically medieval constructions, not to mention other highly attractive castles and palaces.

The tower-houses still standing in the Basque Country recall a series of conflicts, known as the guerras banderizas, which spread through the country in the Middle Ages. The territory was fragmented around several feudal lords, or parientes mayores, and the fighters were split into two basic factions, the Oñacinos and the Gamboínos, enemies to the death. Tower-houses were therefore as much defensive constructions as they were economic and organisational units, and the guerras banderizas subsequently led to Enrique IV forbidding their construction. Those still standing are tall and thick-walled, with a square or rectangular ground plan. Some of the most beautifu I tower- houses still surviving today are the:

CASA-TORRE DE MENDOZA, near Vitoria- Gasteiz. The Oñacino Mendozas lived in thistall, impregnable tower surrounded by a wall bearing angle turrets. Later used as a prison, this building presently houses the Museo de Heraldica.

PALACIO FUERTE DEAYALA, in Quejana(Alava). This fortified palace of the Ayala family, a lineage whichwent on to give its name to the entire valley, is well worth the visit. Particularly outstandingis the turret containing the chapel of the Virgen del Cabello, with its authentic alabaster sepulchres and replica of the altarpiece. The original is on display in Chicago.

CASTILLO DE MUÑATONES, in Muskiz (Bizkaia). Now being restored, this castle has everything you'd expect to find in a medieval castle, including a moat and double walls.

CASTILLO DE BUTRON, in Gatika (Bizkaia). The 19th century restoration of a 14th century tower-house gave rise to an imposing 45-metre high construction with a multitude of little turrets giving the visitor the feeling of having been spirited back to the Middle Ages.

TORRE DE ERCILLA, in Bermeo (Bizkaia). Ancestral home of Alonso de Erci Ila and presently of the Museo del Pescador, this tower has pointed openings and a turreted cornice.

CASTILLO DE GAUTEGIZ ARTEAGA (Bizkaia). Empress Eugenia de Montijo had this castle built in the 19th century according to the contemporary fashion of recovering styles of the past.

TORRE DE MUNTSARATZ, in Abadiño (Bizkaia). An extremely beautiful tower to which Renaissance windows were later added.

TORRE LUZEA, in Zarautz (Gipuzkoa). Standing in the centre of the Kale Nagusia or main street of Zarautz, th is is the best conserved tower- house in Gipuzkoa. In addition to its beautiful exterior aspect is a lovely interior staircase.

The Basque Country contains a number of towers symbolising fragmentation and others evoking the combination of forces. This is the case of the CASA DE JUNTAS DE ABELLANEDA in Sopuerta (Bizkaia), a tower-house at which the Juntas Generales meetings were held between the ten republics making up the Encartaciones region. Although this ensemble of medieval constructions has experienced a number of modifications over the centuries, it nevertheless continues to maintain its symbolic value. It is likewise home of the attractive M useo de las Encartaciones.

Better known is the CASA DE JUNTAS DE GERNIKA where the Junta members from the entire Bizkaian feudal estate would meet. Although th is is a 19th century Neo-classical building, it was constructed over the medieval church of Santa Maria de la Antigua. Headquarters of the re- established Juntas Generales de Bizkaia, both the building itself and the historic Gernika oak tree can be visited.

	More Basque Country Information
Basque Country History Iron to Titanium ages Basque Country monuments More history Santiago de Compostela route Fiestas and traditions A country with its own personality More Basque fiestas Culture Basque Country gastronomy More about gastronomy Top class food and drink Nature For the extremely active Nature Reserves All roads lead to this little country Biscay beaches

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