Castle of Coca

Coca Castle looks less like a fortress than a piece of brick embroidery. Built almost entirely of fired brick on the edge of a plain above a bend of the Voltoya River, it bristles with towers, turrets and projecting crested battlements in which ornament and defence are one and the same. It is regarded as one of the finest examples of Gothic-Mudéjar architecture in Spain, the hybrid style in which Christian Castile built with the techniques and geometric taste of Islamic craftsmen. Unlike most Spanish castles it does not crown a hill; instead it relies on a wide, deep moat.

The town of Coca passed in 1451 to Alonso de Fonseca y Ulloa, bishop of Ávila and later archbishop of Seville, who in 1453 received royal permission from Juan II of Castile to build a castle here. Work began some years later, and most of it was carried out by his nephew Alonso de Fonseca y Avellaneda, who had the fortress essentially complete by 1493 and used it as a palatial residence for lavish receptions. In 1512 master builders from Seville worked on the castle and may be responsible for much of its decoration. The castle stood firm when Comunero troops attacked it in 1521. Later centuries brought a slow decline: French troops occupied it from 1808 to 1812, and in 1828 columns, marble and other fittings were stripped and sold. Declared a national monument in 1926, it was restored between 1954 and 1958 under the architect Miguel de los Santos and became a training school for foresters.

The plan is rectangular, with a ruined outer wall and a better-preserved inner enclosure flanked by corner towers. The largest is the keep, the Torre del Homenaje, about 25 metres high, threaded by a narrow brick spiral stair; the armoury inside is covered by a Gothic rib vault patterned with multicoloured geometric designs, and from the top the castles of Cuéllar and Íscar can be seen. White limestone is reserved for details such as arrow slits and the columns of the parade ground. Coca itself is an ancient place: as Roman Cauca it was the birthplace of the emperor Theodosius I.

Getting there

The castle stands on the outskirts of the town of Coca, in the province of Segovia, about 34 km from Medina del Campo. The nearest airport is Valladolid Airport (VLL), about 61 km away.