Mota Castle

Medina del Campo was founded in the 11th century on the speck where the castle stands today. Although this area is currently on the outskirts of the town, it was originally the center of the town.

The construction of the castle was commissioned in the mid-15th century by Kings Juan II and Enrique IV of Castile, and the Catholic Monarchs (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) completed the great work of the artillery barrier in 1483.

The main function of the castle since its creation was defensive, but in addition to being a strategic military place, its rooms housed archive functions (where part of the documents of the crown were kept) and a prison for prisoners as illustrious as Hernando Pizarro or Cesar Borgia. It was one of the objectives of the imperial troops of Charles V during the revolt of the Comuneros in 1520.

The floor plan of the fortress is trapezoidal in shape with two strong walls (the inner one and the outer barrier or barbican). The main access is through two bridges (only the second was drawbridge) through a large arch crowned with the coat of arms of the Catholic Monarchs from the year 1483, the date on which the construction of the castle was completed.

Around the barrier is the deep moat and at an underground level the shooting galleries for the artillery with casemates. The inner enclosure of the fortress is made up of five towers and the parade ground. The largest of these is the keep, which is 40 meters high and has five floors (the two upper levels are from the 15th century).

After the Spanish Civil War, in the 1940s, the interior building was rebuilt to house the Command School of the Women's Section.

On the ground floor, you can visit the Juan de la Cosa room and the Santa María del Castillo chapel, where a 17th-century Philippine ivory crucifix and a late-15th-century Flemish triptych stand out.