At the highest point of the city, the imposing Alcazar towers above Toledo. The origin of the building dates back to the presence of a Roman camp in the IIIrd century. The Muslims built there a keep transformed later by Alfonso VI and Alfonso X, which was the first Alcazar. It is a square-shaped structure with a tower in each of the corners. In 1535, the emperor Charles I gave the architect Alonso de Covarrubias the responsibility of planning the transformation of the palace. The stronghold was also refurbished during Philip II's reign. Francisco Villalpando, one of the court's artists, and Juan de Herrera, one of the best architects of his era, took part in the project. The eclecticism in the construction of the building expresses itself in the four façades, each one having a different style. One is a reminiscence of its medieval past. The western façade has a Renaissance style. The northern façade made by Covarrubias correponds to a "plateresque" style and the southern one made by Juan de Herrera to a "churrigueresque" style. As soon as it was no longer a royal residence, the Alcazar lived a series of difficult events. In the XVIIth century, the building became a state prison. In 1710, during the Sucession War, a fire occured. Another fire occured a hundred years later during the Independance War. A third fire broke up in 1887. The coup de grâce happened during the Civil War during which the Alcazar was totally destroyed. Finally, it was built again in the 1950's in accordance with the original plans of Covarrubias and Herrera. Nowadays, the Alcazar houses the Army Museum and the Castilla-La Mancha library.
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Alcazar Toledo Address: Cuesta de Carlos V, Toledo, Spain 