Tema: Castles in Spain

Castle of Coca

The castle of Coca was built in the late fifteenth century by Don Alonso de Fonseca, one of the most magnificent and luxury-loving magnates of Castile. It lies in the province of Segovia but is close to the border of Valladolid. Cuellar, Arevalo, Olmedo, and Coca formed a square of great strategic importance.

Built in a sandy, wooded land, poor in stone but rich in mudejar masons, it was naturally built of brick, as were the castles of Arevalo and Medina del Campo, and a multitude of churches in the area. But despite its brick construction, it is not Islamic in plan or disposition. In this respect it is completely Christian. The outer enclosure, with polygonal towers at the corners and semicircular ones on the walls, emerges from a huge moat with views of the artillery defenses. Behind it rise the extremely strong walls of the main part of the castle, which repeat the polygonal and round towers of the outer enclosure. These polygonal forms are especially suited to brick construction.

Coca