Segovia, Spain

Segovia is Spain and Castille at its best - twisting alleyways, the highest concentration of Romanesque churches in all of Europe, pedestrian streets where no cars are allowed, the aroma of roast suckling pig around every corner - all surrounded by the city's medieval wall which itself is bordered by two rivers and an extensive greenbelt park with miles of shaded walks. 


On the Northwest wing of the city's medieval wall is the famous Alcazar Castle, source of inspiration to Walt Disney, and where Queen Isabel promised Columbus the financial backing he needed to discover America. On the Southwest wing is the world renowned Roman Aqueduct, the largest and best preserved of its kind anywhere, which served as the mintmark on all coins struck in the city from 1455 to 1864. The tallest building in Segovia is still the 16th-century Cathedral, a prominent landmark as one approaches from any direction.

Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castille and Leon. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train or one hour by car. The city has approximately 55,500 inhabitants. Segovia was first recorded as a Celtic possession, with control eventually transferring into the hands of the Romans. The city is a possible site of the battle in 75 BCE where Metellus was victorius over the general of Sertorius, Hirtuleius. Hirtuleius died in the fighting.

During the Roman period the settlement belonged to one of numerous contemporary Latin convents. It is believed that the city was abandoned after the Islamic invasion of Spain centuries later. After the conquest of Toledo by Alfonso VI of Leon and Castille, the son of King Alfonso VI, Segovia began restocking with Christians from the north of the peninsula and beyond the Pyrenees, providing it with a significant sphere of influence whose boundaries crossed the Sierra de Guadarrama and the Tagus.

This Alcazar, a castle-palace, lies in the walled city of Segovia in the province of Segovia in Spain. It's one of the most famous castles in Spain due to the fact that a lot of Spanish kings resided here and because of its beautiful exterior. The Alcazar was built on top of a rock shaped by the Eresma River and Clamores River. 

The construction of this majestic castle-palace probably began in the last quarter of the 11th century, by King Alfonso VI, following the Reconquest, on a site fortified by the Romans, Visigoths and Moors successively. The great keep, with its dozen semicircular sentry boxes, next to the entrance of the Alcazar over the artificial moat (seen left), was the last to be built. A lot of royals resided here, such as; King Ferdinand III, King Alfonso X, King Juan II and King Enrique IV, who all altered the buildings to their likings.

In 1474, in this palace, Isabel was proclaimed Queen of Castile, and Carlos III erected the Royal Artillery College. King Philip II, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, established the capital of his kingdom in Madrid but reformed the Alcazar. He altered the roofs, replacing them with the conical slate-covered ones like which he'd seen in Flanders, Belgium.

In 1862 however the Alcazar was devastated by fire. In 1882, it was rebuilt using old sketches of the interior before the fire. So all we see inside today is a 19th century remake. After completion the Alcazar firstly became the Military Archives and later an Artillery Academy and Museum. In the mid-20th century this use also ended and the Alcazar is now used for cultural activities and as a museum. It's state-owned. You can climb the keep for some great views!

The Segovia Cathedral is located in the main square of the city, the Plaza Mayor, and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The Cathedral is in late Gothic style and replaced a building damaged in the Revolt of the Comuneroa.  It was built between 1525 and 1577 by Trasmeran mason Juan Gil de Hontanon, and the work was continued by his son Rodrigo Gil de Hontanon.

The building has a structure in three tall vaults and ambulatory, with fine tracery windows set, and numerous stained glass. The interior is characterized by unity of style (late Gothic), except for the dome, built around 1630 by Pedro de Brizuela. Gothic vaults rise to 33 meters high and measures 50 meters wide and 105 long. The bell tower reaches almost 90 meters. The current stone spire crowning the tower, dating from 1614, was erected after a major fire caused by a thunderstorm. The original spire, entirely Gothic, was built of american mahogany had pyramidal structure, and was the tallest tower in Spain.

Segovia's position on nomadic trading routes made it an important center of trade in wool and textiles. The end of the Middle Ages saw something of a golden age for Segovia, with a growing Jewish population and the creation of a foundation for a powerful cloth industry. Several splendid works of Gothic architecture were also completed during this period. Notably, Isabell I was proclaimed queen of Castile in the church of San Miguel de Segovia on December 13, 1474.

The Aqueduct of Segovia (or more precisely, the aqueduct bridge), located in the emblematic Plaza del Azoguejo, is a Roman aqueduct and one of the most significant and best-preserved ancient monuments left on the Iberian Peninsula. It was constructed around the end of the First Century with approximately 25,000 granite blocks without the use of mortar, a length of 818 meters and a maximum height of 29 meters. 

It is the foremost symbol of  Segovia, as evidenced by its presence on the city's coat of arms. The aqueduct transports waters from Fuente Fria  river, situated in the nearby mountains, some 17 km (11 mi) from the city in a region known as La Acebeda. It runs another 15 km (9.3 mi) before arriving in the city.

In 1985 the old city of Segovia and its Aqueduct were declared World Heritage by Unesco. Within the environment of the old city, stand diversity of historic buildings both civil and religious, not just Catholics but also Jews, like the district that served this minority, which commemorates the different cultures in the city. One of the best examples of this cultural diversity is represented by the former synagogue, now the church of Corpus, and the Jewish cemetery located in "El Pinarillo" with its interpretation center in the most important Jewish palace of the Spanish  Aljamas, the chief accountant Meir Melamed, son-in-law and successor of Abraham Senior, chief rabbi of the Kingdom of Castile, Melamed after converting to Christianity under the name of Fernán Núñez Coronel, was alderman of the city and occupied important positions in the kingdom.