Manzanares el Real Castle

The fortress was founded by the first Marquis of Santillana, Íñigo López de Mendoza. Constructed on the site of a former Romanesque and Mudejar hermitage, the remains of which have been preserved inside. The building has a square floor plan. It also features round towers at the corners and a polygonal castle keep. The castle consists of a courtyard, a basement and six floors. The first floor is home to a Gothic gallery, considered one of the most beautiful. It is surrounded by a barbican, the arrow slits of which bear the sculpted cross of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.