El Alcazar

Not a new post, just an edited version!

For the second Friday in Spain my only class started at 4:30. We go on a “walking tour” each week to see some of Segovia’s main attractions. This first week we went to the Alcazar.

The Alcazar is famous for several reasons. Some people claim its architectural style inspired Walt Disney’s castle. What I can say for sure is that several famous Spaniards have lived in the castle. Queen Isabella’s favorite place to live was Segovia, or so we were told. Her grandmother, Katherine of Lancaster, also loved to live in the Alcazar. She decorated the castle in the mudejar style. Essentially, we were told, this style imitates Arabic style on a Christian-held building. So, there are no people or animals depicted and words written on the walls are Bible verses or prayers in Latin.

The Alcazar has also served as an artillery school as well. When the citizens of Segovia supported Isabella of Castile for the crown and she won, Segovia retained prominence. However, under Isabella and Fernando’s grandson Carlos I (Holy Roman Emperor Carlos V) Segovia lost favor. (They didn’t support Carlos’ bid for the Castilian throne.) Nevertheless, the Alcazar has been around since 1120(ish).

This photo is of the throne room. Tanto Monta was the motto (if you will) of Fernando y Isabel. Their symbols also are included: fletched arrows;  a yoke (used for field animals); and their initials F and Y.

This painting is not an origial.

As I mentioned earlier, Segovia supported Isabel's bid for the crown of Castile. When she won, she was crowned in Segovia.

The Alcazar has also served as an artillery school as well. There were several rooms full of armor and artillery. All of the knights were different sizes. The woman in the following photo is my art professor.

The Alcazar's chapel was gorgeous. The retablo (altarscreen) has Santa Barbara in the center because the chapel is dedicated to her; she's the patroness of soldiers or warriors.

Also in the chapel were several other paintings. Saint James the Moorslayer (Santiago el matamoro) is the man with a sword riding on a white horse. His cross also has a sword in it and on his helmet is a seashell, the symbol of his pilgrimage (El Camino de Santiago).

San Sebastian was shot with arrows in the upper left-hand corner. And Santa Agueda (St. Agatha) cut off her breasts. Her feast day is celebrated in early February in Segovia and nearby towns by honoring all women. Apparently this also recalls times when matriarchal clans lived in the area.

This painting IS an original, but my lousy photography skills cut off the signature.

The building we walked around in is not the original; fire gutted the castle in 1862. Still, the replication is very good (I assume).

Funny story. The bedroom was not located where it currently is (people would have had to walk through it to get between the throne room and chapel). But last week, a woman disregarded the velvet ropes surrounding the bed and decided to take a nap in it. Someone found her there when they were closing up the building.

After touring the lower levels, we paid the extra price to go up the stairs of death to look out from the top of the Alcazar. We got lucky and the weather was perfect for pictures. I kid you not though, those stairs were a death trap. Single file twisting steps with deep impressions from the many visitors who preceeded us up to the top. While no one counted, we agreed that the stairs seemed never ending. When you can't see more than the back of the person in front of you, there's no option but to go with the flow. Some people pushed a bit harder than others...

On the way back down, some other tourists were heading up. It was a bit of a squeeze but we managed. Thankfully no one took a tumble.

Ultimately though, the views were worth the treacherous stair climb.

This last photo is of the actual tower we climbed. Hopefully the photos give you a better sense of the beauty of the (recreated) Alcazar Segovia boasts.

¡Eso es!