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The palace of the Zúñiga family

Béjar, Sierra de Béjar, Salamanca

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The palace of the Zúñiga family

Monument · Béjar, Sierra de Béjar, Salamanca

The Palace of the Zúñiga, or Ducal Palace of Béjar, stands in Béjar, in the Sierra de Béjar (Salamanca). It originated as a rectangular castle built during the medieval Christian resettlement, which in the 16th century was transformed into a palace under Francisco de Zúñiga y Sotomayor, at the same time as the Renaissance garden of El Bosque was created. It preserves a Renaissance courtyard with the fountain known as Venera and the coats of arms of Francisco and Guiomar, who rebuilt it; one of its towers was destroyed in the 18th century by a fire caused by a lightning strike. It was declared a national historic-artistic monument on 3 June 1931. Cervantes dedicated the first part of Don Quixote to one of the Dukes of Béjar.

Photo: rafaelpemu@gmail.com (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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