Counts' Castle, from Outside

The Counts' Castle rises on an embankment on the edge of the old town, on the opposite side from the Plaza Mayor. It is private property and cannot be visited inside, but it is worth the walk for two reasons: its history, which sums up that of Chinchón, and the view it gives of the town and its crops, which the town council itself counts among the finest in the town.

Three castles on the same spot

It stands on an earlier fortress, seat of the lordship of Chinchón, which had been in the hands of the Cabrera family since the time of Henry IV. In 1480 the Catholic Monarchs ceded the lordship to the Marquises of Moya, the marriage of the Cabreras with Beatriz de Bobadilla. The fifteenth-century building was demolished in a Comunero attack in 1520, in the middle of the War of the Communities.

The present castle was completed in 1598 by the 3rd Count of Chinchón, Diego Fernández de Cabrera y Bobadilla, in the service of Philip II, on the foundations of the previous one. It was well preserved until 1705, when it suffered the consequences of the War of the Spanish Succession. In 1808, during the three days of siege by French troops, it was plundered and burned. Afterwards, part of its stones were used to repair roads, fences and houses, and its last use was as a liquor factory. The municipal route reminds visitors that it is missing two blocks: what you see is what remained.

What you see from outside

You walk round it along Calle del Castillo as far as the moat. From here the town is seen from the side, with the square hidden among rooftops and the olive groves and crops around. There is no ticket desk, no opening hours and no visits inside, and it is best not to climb fences: it is a private estate. Wear comfortable shoes, because the streets that climb are steep and cobbled, and bring some water in summer, when there is no shade up here.

How it fits into the walk

The town council's route of traditions and customs begins right here. From the castle you go down Calle del Convento to the Casa de la Cadena, a Baroque house of the late seventeenth century where Philip V slept on the night of 25 February 1706; the chain hung in front of it, a sign that a king had spent the night there, gives it its name. From there you reach the Plaza Mayor and then climb to the Clock Tower and the church of the Asunción.

It is a free walk, suitable for dogs on a lead and for children who walk, although the slopes are hard going with a pushchair. If afterwards you want to try the town's wine, the Bodega del Nero holds tastings at weekends in the old town.