Logbook · 15 places

Castle of Fornelos

Crecente, Paradanta, Pontevedra

1 Villages · 7 Monuments · 4 Nature · 2 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

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Castle of Fornelos

Monument · Crecente, Paradanta, Pontevedra

Image of Crecente, not of the place itself.

The castelo de Fornelos, in the parish of Crecente, stands on a rise beside the Ribadil river, facing the Portuguese castle of Melgaço; the first documentary records date from 1158, although there had already been an earlier construction, in Roman times. It was the scene of the battles between Alfonso VII of Galicia and his cousin Alfonso Enríquez of Portugal, and Sancho I of Portugal gave it to doña Aldonza Vázquez de Fornelos and her husband Fernán Pérez de Castro. It suffered the irmandiño attack of 1467 but, defended by only fifteen men, withstood the siege of the bishop of Tui, Diego de Muros, whom Pedro Madruga had held prisoner there. In the 20th century it was almost completely dismantled to reuse its stone, and only the keep survives, rectangular, nineteen metres tall and three storeys.

Photo: José Antonio Gil Martínez from Vigo, Spain (CC BY 2.0)

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