Castle of Coca

Castle of Coca or Castillo de Coca is considered to be one of the best castles in Spain. The castle is located in the city of Coca (Roman "Cauca"; birthplace of Roman Emperor Theodosius) in the province of Segovia, which lies in flat and wooded lands of the center of Spain, in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon. 

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It is an excellent example of the Gothic and Mudéjar styles. It's made up of two square baileys separated by a passageway. Both show polygonal towers at the corners. The castle is surrounded by a fortress double wall of width of 2.5 meters with lots of corridors and doors, as well as a deep dry moat. It is considered to be the highest example of brick military architecture with Mudejar filigree work.

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Name: Castle of Coca Country: Spain Community of Castile and Leon Province: Segovia Style:    Gothic and Mudéjar Material: Brick  Start of construction: 1453 Condition:  opened to the public Website:  www.castillodecoca.com

Castle of Coca was built in the 15th century with the help of the powerful Archbishop of Seville Alonso de Fonseca I, who in 1453 received permission to King Henry IV of Castile on the construction of the castle. He appointed a successor Alonso de Fonseca y Acevedo, who built the castle between 1473 and 1493 and made a stately home, where he gave a big celebration. In these celebrations attended various celebrities, including French Cardinal Jean Jouffroy, who came to Castile to propose marriage between the Infanta Isabella (which prevailed at the time) and the Duke of Guyenne Berry, brother of Louis XI of France. Beatriz de Bobadilla, Marchioness Moya, also visited the castle. 

In 1504 it became the property of Antonio de Fonseca, who expanded the defensive elements of the castle. It helped to repel the attack Marquis de Cenete, who tried to capture his bride Marie de Fonseca. In 1521, the castle was attacked by forces comuneros in retaliation for the burning of Medina del Campo. They could not get to the castle, but they destroyed the fortress Alaejos.

In the 17th century, was imprisoned in the castle of Gaspar Perez de Guzman, Duke of Medina Sidonia, who was convicted on charges of proclaiming himself King of Andalusia. December 2, 1808 the city was taken by Napoleon's troops. Small garrison of the castle of 25 people could not oppose the army and artillery. Many residents fled to the forests. The castle was partially destroyed and finally abandoned by the French army only in 1812.

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In the 20th century. Alba House passed the castle as a gift to the State on the condition that its full recovery. In 1931, Castle of Coca was declared a National Historic Site. In 1954 it was transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture for 100 years without a single day. From 1956 to 1958, the castle was renovated and now serves as a training center for foresters. Their school is situated in the inner bailey. In 1994, was the scene of one of the main arenas of television contest called "Night of the castles".

 In the preparation of this article, were partially used materials of websites: www.wikipedia.org, www.liveinternet.ru/users/4099413/post143832642/, www.castillodecoca.com  and  www.castles.nl.