Castle of Puebla de Sanabria (Zamora)

Eastern view of the castle from the bank of the Tera River

The Castle of the Counts of Benavente was built in the mid-15th century (1455-1499) on the site of a High Medieval fortress by Rodrigo Alonso Pimentel, the 4th Count of Benavente. It occupies a privileged position on the promontory where the city's old town is located. Built on a quadrangular plan, it is guarded by semi-cylindrical towers that are unevenly distributed, a drawbridge, and all dominated by the large, freestanding homage tower, popularly known as the Macho. It actively participated in the wars with Portugal, and by 1710 it was in a considerable state of disrepair, so it was decided to build a new fort to protect the border with Portugal. In 1887 it became the property of the City Council, which has since used it for various purposes.

Main west facade of the castle

Entrance gate to the indoor of the castle

Space between the indoor of the north wall and the homage tower of the castle

Access to the Governor's House inside the north wall of the castle

Space between the indoor of the west wall and the homage tower of the castle

Basis of the south side of the homage tower on natural stone

Indoor of the west wall of the castle

Well located next to the indoor of the south wall of the castle

Space between the indoor of the south wall and the homage tower of the castle

Staircase leading to the indoor of the first floor of the east wall of the castle

Indoor space on the first floor of the east wall of the castle,

currently an Exhibition Hall

Staircase leading to the patrol path above the north wall of the castle

Access to the south-east tower of the castle

Battlements on the south-east tower

View of the south-east tower terrace from the castle homage tower

The patrol path along the south wall of the castle

Side view of the terrace of the central tower of the south wall

Detail of the access staircase to the terrace of the two towers joined 

in the south-west corner of the castle