CASTLES OF THE WORLD - GUADAMURID92930061
The Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre presents a new series of collector coins dedicated to the "Castles of the World". It has been difficult to make the selection, taking into account that in Spain alone there are more than 10,000 castles registered, so we have had the collaboration of the Spanish Association of Friends of the Castles for an appropriate choice of castles to represent.
The collection is made up of sixteen coins, which can be purchased individually, as a complete collection and in sets of four coins each.
The obverse shows a colourful image of the castle of Guadamur, located in the municipality of the same name in Toledo. It was built by Don Pedro López de Ayala, Count of Fuensalida, who erected it on the site of a Muslim fortress. It was used by French troops during the War of Independence and burnt down.
On the reverse (common to all the coins), within a central circular area, the value of the coin 1.5 EURO appears; to its right, the mint mark; at the bottom, the legend CASTLES OF THE WORLD. An allegory of the structure of the castles surrounds the legends in the central area.
| Series | Castles Of The World |
| Year | 2023 |
| Colour | Yes |
| Diameter (mm) | 33 |
| Face Value (Euro) | 1.5 |
| Metal | Cupronickel |
| Weight (g) | 15 |
| Maximum Mintage (units) | 5,000 |
Guadamur Castle
A beautiful example of the Toledan Gothic style with Italian influences, combining the military and the palatial, Guadamur Castle stands on a plain in the vicinity of the imperial city of Toledo, on the low hill of Cerro del Castillo, in the municipality of Guadamur.
It was built on the site of an old Moorish fortress by Pedro López de Ayala, the Count of Fuensalida, with the approval of King Henry IV of Castile in 1468. His grandson, the third Count of Fuensalida, had it extensively refurbished in the 16th century.
This fortified palace served as the residence and lodging of several of the kings and high ranking dignitaries of the time. Joanna the Mad and Philip the Handsome stayed there after their royal wedding in 1502; Emperor Charles V retired there after the death of his wife Isabella; and it was also visited by Cardinal Cisneros. During the reign of Philip II of Spain, the Princess of Eboli was imprisoned here for the murder of her royal secretary, Escobedo.
For more than 300 years, it belonged to the Houses of Osuna and Frías, before ownership was transferred to the Dukes of Uceda in the 19th century. It was used as a barracks by French troops during the Peninsular War, and after being ravaged and plundered, it was burnt down in 1812. Subsequently restored, it was again burnt down during the Carlist Wars. It was later bought by neighbours and then sold to the Count of Asalto, Carlos Morenes, who restored and decorated it. After being ransacked once again during the Spanish Civil War, it was finally restored and lavishly furnished by the Marquis of Aguilar del Campoo.
It forms a roughly square walled enclosure topped with a parapet. Access to this enclosure was via a drawbridge; which no longer exists, and its main gate is flanked by twin turrets and defended by machicolations; a moat with scarp and counter-scarp banks surrounds the entire building.
The keep, at a height of 30 metres, has a square floor plan and two differentiated and superimposed bodies, and it dominates the rest of the rooms and buildings, which it doubles in height. It has six defensive turrets, two of which are centred on walls and the rest on the corners, plus a cornice of ornate machicolations without battlements.
Declared a Historic-Artistic Monument in 1964, Guadamur Castle is one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Spain, which has earned it a place in numerous films and television series. As it is currently privately owned, some of its interior spaces are open for visiting only under certain conditions and on certain days.