Castle of Olmillos de Sasamón (Burgos)

South-west view of the castle

The Cartagena castle is a fortress built in 1446 by Pedro de Cartagena, alderman of Burgos in the town of Olmillos de Sasamón. It was built as a stately palace, consisting of a rectangular floor plan with circular towers at the corners, perfectly maintaining circular machicolations crowning the cubes and gyratories. On its walls you can distinguish blazons with the fleur-de-lis of the coat of arms of the Cartagena family, the most powerful Jewish-convert family in late medieval Spain. Ownership of the castle has passed through the hands of various families and owners (the Valoria lineage, the ducal house of the Gor, the Arteche family). Around 1989 the San José family bought the castle and after restoring it they used it as a hotel.

Olmillos de Sasamón

View of the town from the terrace of one of the castle towers

Olmillos de Sasamón is a town belonging to the municipality of Sasamón, in the province of Burgos in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León, located in the region of Odra-Pisguerga. In Olmillos there are Celtiberian archaeological sites on the nearby hill of Castarreño, with vestiges of the ancient Segisama turmoga. Around the year 880 a repopulation took place after the Reconquista, almost at the same time as in nearby Castrojeriz and already during the Middle Ages it was one of the fundamental points on the Camino de Santiago, with two pilgrim hospitals.

Castle of Zumel (Burgos)

South-west view of the castle

The castle of Zumel was built in the mid-15th century, although its origin may have been earlier, by Pedro Yáñez de Ulloa, chief chancellor of King Juan II. Inside the castle, the homage tower stands out, which stands in the northwest corner of the parade ground. More than a defensive fortress, it served as a tower-palace, demonstrating the high economic position of its owners. In 1516 it passed into the hands of the Bernuy family of converted Jewish origin from Burgos, important and influential in European trade in the 16th century, which extended commercially to North Africa, America and the Azores Islands.

Zumel

Zumel administrative board

Zumel is a town belonging to the municipality of Valle de Santibáñez, in the province of Burgos in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León, it belongs to the region of Alfoz de Burgos. It is located on the banks of the Urbel River, and is documented in a manuscript from the Oña monastery, from the first years of the 11th century, when the place appeared repopulated by Basque immigrants, who gave it the name Zumel (wicker tree), although its origin may be be previous.

Castle of Frías (Burgos)

Facade of the castle

The castle of the Dukes of Frias or the Velasco crown hill of the Muela achieving a strategic location over the valley and the passage of the Ebro river.

Frías

Frías

Frías is a municipality in the province of Burgos. This province belongs to the autonomous community of Castilla y León (Spain).