Castile fortress with underground brick stables

The Castillo de Castronuevo, also known as the Castillo de Rivilla de Barajas, is a 15th-century military fortification in the province of Ávila. It was built by Gil de Vivero before 1481 and later remodeled by his son. In 1489, the building was sold to the House of Alba for 6,200,000 maravedíes. The structure exhibits both Gothic and Mudéjar architectural elements, featuring three circular towers and two rectangular towers surrounded by a moat.

The castle's design includes a low outer wall that acts as a barbacana to protect the main palace. This perimeter contains angular cylindrical towers with gun loops for manual firearms. Inside this outer circuit, the building contains large vaulted underground brick halls used as stables. These rooms feature niches on both sides and skylights in the ceiling, and they are considered the best-preserved underground vaults in Europe.

The central core is a rectangular palace made of stone, featuring a series of rooms with chimneys opening onto a courtyard through a gallery of Mudéjar arches. A two-story staircase connects the levels, featuring a stone lion carved into the wall, though it is currently in a poor state of preservation. While the building belongs to the House of Alba, it lacks heraldic shields, a detail for which there is no documentation.

Today, the fortification is in a state of deterioration and is at risk of collapse. Due to its condition, it was included on Hispania Nostra's Red List of Heritage in April 2023. The site remains a significant example of Spanish military architecture, despite the loss of much of its original decorative woodwork.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons