Logbook · 7 places

Castle of Benal

Riello, La Montaña de Luna, León

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 2 Nature · 1 Activities · 1 Historical milestones

Spain › Castile and León › León › La Montaña de Luna › Riello › Castle of Benal

Castle of Benal

Monument · Riello, La Montaña de Luna, León

Fortress of the Omaña area built on an old Roman castro to watch over the gold workings of the Omaña, in the village of El Castillo, in the municipality of Riello. Already documented in 1366 as the castro de Benal, when Henry II of Trastámara granted it to Juan González Bazán, it passed nine years later to Diego Fernández Quiñones, for which reason it is considered the first hereditary fortress of the house of Quiñones. It was rebuilt in the 15th century by Diego Fernández de Quiñones, first count of Luna, and served as a prison between 1486 and 1492 and again in the 19th century. Triangular in plan, the keep and some walls survive of the castle today; at the end of the 19th century the rest was destroyed, its materials used to pave the nearby road.

Photo: David Perez (CC BY 3.0)

What to see and do in Riello