All language subtitles for Castelos - Segredos, Mistérios e Lendas - S01E03 - Spain

Fortress.

Prisons. (Gate clangs)

Towers.

The castles have witnessed
our history for centuries.

In Europe, over 100,000 are still
standing, a thousand years later.

Let's visit the most spectacular
and most mysterious castles.

We will discover the secrets
that are hidden behind their walls.

(Thud)

And we will relive
their long-lasting legends.

We are looking at the best-preserved
Romanesque castle in Europe.

From the 11th century
until the present,

Loarre has remained one of
the most spectacular fortresses

we can still see today,
both because of its location...

overlooking the Hoya de Huesca
Valley in northeastern Spain,

and because of
its robust construction,

sitting on top of
a rocky limestone outcrop

that prevented attacks
from underground.

It was a defensive bastion
used by King Sancho III, the Great,

to halt the advance of Islam.

Dating from that time is the central
core of the military complex,

which was later extended,
to even include a church,

which was difficult and complicated
to locate: St Peter of Loarre.

Loarre was constructed
using the rocky formations,

turning any extension work
into a challenge.

(Woman sings lyrical chant)

The church is on two floors,

and is accessed
via a steep staircase.

And its interior contains
some very audacious elements,

considering that it was built
a thousand years ago.

The whole of the complex is
a succession of twists and turns

on different levels:

intelligent solutions to overcome
the problem of height.

Loarre had both a military
and religious purpose.

It was not a castle
designed for luxury.

For years it was home
to a community of Augustine monks,

whose rules of behaviour

also initially followed
the Order of the Templars.

One of Loarre's oldest legends

stems from that military
and religious character,

associated with Christianity
and the Holy War:

the legend of Saint Demetrius
of Thessalonica.

He was a high-ranking soldier
in the Roman Empire

whose position led to him
being executed by his guards,

who ran him through
with their lances.

It is said that
hundreds of years later

his remains performed miracles,

and so the Christian community
decided to move them.

The legend goes that the clerics
following the mule,

upon witnessing
this sign,

decided to deposit the remains
in the castle,

leading to the construction of
the Church of Saint Peter.

But Loarre also has its
mysterious and ghostly aspects.

One of the legends has it that
on the night of St John, in June,

the figure of a woman appears,

looking out from the balcony
known as "the Queen's balcony".

She is waiting for her love,
her own cousin,

to return from France, where
he has gone to recruit troops.

She is Dona Violante, niece of
the Pope Luna, Benedict XIII.

This happened in 1413, and Loarre,
which had held out against the army,

had to surrender to King Ferdinand.

Dona Violante was imprisoned
in the castle dungeons

and nothing more
was heard of her.

This is Spain's most visited castle

and, without doubt,
the most familiar in the world:

the Alcazar, or Fortress,

of Segovia,

100 kilometres from Madrid.

But hardly anyone knows that
this marvel of architecture

owes part of its appearance
to a bolt of lightning.

The term 'Alcazar',
which comes from Arabic,

means 'fortified royal residence'.

But there can be no doubt

that the king who left
an indelible mark on the Alcazar

was Alfonso X the Wise,

so named because of his love of
culture, knowledge of the sciences,

astronomy and writing.

He was an innovator who laid
the foundation stones

for democratisation
of the Crown,

and who saw Segovia

as an important venue to carry out
his modernisation plans.

The reign of Alfonso X

saw the beginnings of the majestic
castle we can admire today.

For this reason, he began
the construction of the keep.

The legend of the Alcazar, however,

tells that the renovations
had a divine beginning.

Alfonso X apologised to the clergy,

but took advantage of the fire to
renovate the palace to his liking.

The castle has a number of rooms
intended for royal audiences

and celebrations,
the work of successive monarchs.

One of them experienced
a tragic event

that become a historical legend.

The youngest son of Henry II,
King of Castile,

fell to his death
from a window in the palace.

The child's grave
is in Segovia Cathedral,

very close to the castle.

It was always said that he was
around twelve years old,

but recent investigations into
the contents of the tomb

place his age
at just under a year old.

What really happened?

Perhaps the legend is a true
reflection of the reality.

As the centuries went by,

the Alcazar changed
from being a royal residence

to a prison for noblemen,

and in the 20th century
it was converted

into a military artillery academy.

But it continues to delight
anyone who comes to see it,

or who admires its outline
from far away.

The history of Peniscola Castle

is inevitably linked with
the Order of the Templars

and a mythical figure:

Pope Benedict XIII,
the so-called Pope Luna,

the man at the centre
of the Catholic Church's

most turbulent episode
of the Middle Ages.

Peniscola Castle is
on the Mediterranean coast

of the province of Castellon
de la Plana, in eastern Spain.

It was a small Islamic fortification

which was reconquered
by the Christians

at the end of the 13th century.

The castle became an imposing
bastion on the Mediterranean coast,

considered a key location
in the Crusades.

A few years after construction
of the castle was completed,

the Knights Templar were
forced to hand over Peniscola

to the King of Aragon.

Peniscola remained in the hands
of the Crown of Aragon.

But soon afterwards,
it took on huge importance again

when it became the headquarters
of the Pope Luna, Benedict XIII,

who was forced to flee from France

because of the so-called
Western Schism.

Who was the Pope Luna?
His name was Pedro Luna.

He was elected Pope in France,
on the death of Clement VII,

when Urban IV also occupied
the position of Pope in Rome.

The Christian faith now had
two popes at the same time,

and a problem.

With the French option defeated,
Pope Luna took refuge in Peniscola.

The legends about the Pope Luna

draw their inspiration
from his fierce character.

It is said that he had
supernatural powers,

perhaps based on the level of
his knowledge in many fields.

There were stories
of how he was very familiar

with the properties
of numerous herbs,

leading to him being
considered an esoteric man.

The Pope Luna died at the age of 94.

And despite being declared
the Anti-pope and a heretic,

it is said that he continued to be
Pope until the end of his days.

Welcome to Coca Castle,
in Segovia, central Spain.

An effusion of warlike
and technological imagination

constructed by a master architect
of Muslim origin called Ali Caro.

Commissioning Ali Caro to build
a castle had another objective:

to save costs, given that
the Mudejar master architects

were experts in the use of materials
such as bricks and mortar,

eliminating the use of stone.

Coca is a sunken castle.

It wasn't built on a hill,

but rather rose up from
below the surface of the land.

The idea was to make it
less vulnerable to artillery,

which at that time was beginning
to wreak havoc in sieges.

Brick was also better
at absorbing impacts.

The huge moat never contained water.

The idea was to keep the enemy
at a distance

and force it to descend
to that height

if it wanted to attack
the castle.

What's more, the walls
were faceted for two reasons:

to cause artillery projectiles
to bounce off them,

and at the same time
prevent the enemy

from climbing the walls,
using ladders.

Coca has numerous technical details
that continue to provoke admiration

because of the intelligence of
the person who designed it.

Or because of
his malicious way of thinking.

This is not a normal vault.
This was the dungeon.

There was no other opening
into the room.

Prisoners were thrown down
through the hole in the top.

The fall from six metres
usually broke a number of bones...

but they received no attention.

One part of the circular wall
was made of brick

with the mortar sloping downwards
to prevent any attempt to climb up,

quite a useless endeavour.

In a place like this,
with no points of spatial reference,

prisoners went out of
their minds.

They were taken out after
four months, completely mad.

The castle has an underground tank
for water emerging from a spring,

the entrance to which
is at the base of this battlement.

It is said that

to test whether the water
was permanently drinkable,

they kept a single freshwater fish
in the tank.

If it died, the water
could be poisoned.

And they only kept one fish there,
to prevent it reproducing.

A most curious system
to warn of poisoning.

The water galleries
were also used

to detect possible incursions
through the tunnels,

as the water could transmit
the vibrations of the excavations.

In those meetings,

the historic legend of
the love between Maria Fonseca,

the daughter of Antonio de Fonseca,
captain of the Catholic monarchs,

and the Marquis of Cenete,
was forged.

The captain, who had
other plans for his daughter,

rejected this relationship
and married her to another.

The Marquis, in a crazed attempt
to rescue his loved one,

attacked the castle
with his small army,

and was severely burnt
by the boiling oil

poured through the machicolations
in the battlements.

Maria was widowed soon afterwards.

When he heard the news,

the Marquis of Cenete
kidnapped Maria

and married her
a short time later.

He was sent to prison for his pains
by Queen Isabella,

and was released
upon the sovereign's death.

In a castle designed for war,

but which has no ghosts, spectres
or impossible legends,

this love story with a happy ending

gives these magnificent towers
and walls a human feel.

A German traveller wrote
in the 15th century:

"No king has a more beautiful
palace and castle,

"with so many gilded rooms."

He was talking about this one,

Olite Castle in Navarre,
northern Spain,

and on his travels around Europe

he had seen nothing
to compare with it.

The castle was built as an absolute
expression of power and elegance.

Charles III, the monarch of
the then Kingdom of Navarre,

known as Charles the Noble,

ordered the construction
of a fortified residence

that would be a symbol in response
to the political ambitions

of other Spanish
and European nobles.

Olite is notable for its innovation
and a certain extravagance.

This perception of luxury
prompted Charles III

to bring numerous exotic animals
from different parts of the world.

The royal cage was in this
courtyard, and covered with a net

that prevented the birds
from flying off.

You have the impression
of still being able to hear

the singing of
some tropical birds here,

where the walls
still have the holes

that supported the bars
on which they slept.

It is said that there were
also camels, ostriches

and even a lion, the protagonist
of one of the most curious legends.

(Lion roars)

It is said
that the lion's roaring

can sometimes be heard
from the nearby hotel,

in the converted outside portion
of the Palace-Castle.

The zoo was perhaps the most
extravagant part of the palace.

It is said that
it also had hanging gardens

covering a large part
of the facades,

which were the admiration
of its visitors.

The secret to keeping the enormous
tropical and climbing plants fresh

was none other than
an innovative irrigation system

using lead pipes that circulated
around the inside of the walls.

Quite extraordinary.

Also worthy of note is
this oval-shaped construction:

a huge refrigerator.

They would fill it with snow
and use it both for preserving foods

and for medicinal purposes,

to treat bruising
or to reduce fever.

But so much luxury and the pressure
involved in maintaining it

affected the king, who it was said
went out of his mind

and began hearing voices
and laments.

It is claimed they can
still be heard today.

(Unearthly musical tones)

A portrait of Charles III
nearing the end of his life

shows us a terrified man, staring
at what looks like a diabolical mask

reflected in the painting.

In 1813, Olite was burnt down by
the Spanish general Francisco Espoz

to prevent it falling
into the hands of Napoleon.

It was rebuilt in 1937.

But you can still hear whispers,
laments, and the roaring of a lion.

(Lion roars and growls)

One of Spain's most original
castles is this one,

the Castle-Palace of Belmonte,

in the southwest
of the province of Cuenca,

in central Spain.

Despite being a genuine
defensive fortification,

it was designed more
as a palace for nobles.

During its almost eight
centuries of history,

it has been a royal residence,
a palace of retreat,

a monastery.

Its two major protagonists are
two women with great personality:

Joanna la Beltraneja
and the empress Eugenia de Montijo.

The history of Belmonte
is closely associated

with the tremendous confusion

surrounding the succession to the
Spanish throne in the 15th century,

which finally ended up in the hands
of the Catholic monarchs.

To cut a long story short,
Joanna and her supporters

became involved in a civil war,

supported by
the King of Portugal.

Although never clearly defeated,

her army gradually withdrew
in favour of her cousin,

Isabella of Castile,
the Catholic queen.

On her withdrawal,

Joanna la Beltraneja
was held in Belmonte Castle

for a period of time.

It is not clear whether she
remained in the castle as a guest

or whether she was
actually imprisoned.

Joanna la Beltraneja
fled from Belmonte,

and it is not clear
whether she did so with help

or whether she had to use
her own wits to escape.

Back then, prisoners were subjected
to cruel forms of torture.

At Belmonte there are records,
as in other castles,

of the use of Chinese
water torture,

which is sometimes erroneously
confused with the "Malay boot".

The decoration in the current
Belmonte Castle

is reminiscent of
some French palaces.

This is because the person
responsible for the restoration

was none other than an empress:

the Spanish empress
Eugenia de Montijo...

married to Napoleon III,

emperor and last King of France.

More recently,
Belmonte has been the setting

for a number of film shoots.

One such case was
the 1961 filming of 'El Cid',

starring Charlton Heston.

One day, when the actor
was leaving his caravan,

he claimed to have seen
the ghost of a woman

looking out of a window
in the keep.

It was never discovered
whether this was true

or just a product of
the palace's power of suggestion.

On the ruins of a Roman settlement,

the Arabs who conquered
the Iberian Peninsula

understood the importance
of this hill

and built this spectacular fortress:

Almodovar Castle.

It stands in a strategic location,

dominating the course
of the River Guadalquivir

as it flows south towards Seville,
in southern Spain.

The importance of this spot
was also understood

by the Christian nobles
in their slow but steady task

of reconquering
captured territory.

We are talking about
the 11th century,

when King Felipe VI,
who had just conquered Toledo,

was now looking towards
Cordoba and Seville.

The Muslim King of Cordoba

gave his wife a safe haven
in Almodovar Castle.

Her name was Zaida,

and she is the protagonist
of the legend

that still endures today
in the fortress.

The legend has various versions.

Some say that Zaida, who had
no news of her husband's death,

could sense him from far away,

and from that moment on
began to wander around the castle,

refusing to eat and drink,
dying of starvation.

This is the legend of 'La Encanta',
the Charmed One.

The more historical version has it
that Zaida asked for protection

from King Philip VI,
who fell in love with her.

Some write that she was his lover.

Others say that she converted
to Christianity, married the king

and gave him his first male child,
the heir to the throne.

The reality is that ill-fortune
pursued this beautiful princess,

who lived out her days
in the court at Toledo.

However, numerous employees

working on the reconstruction
of the castle eight centuries later

claim to have been surprised
by the sight of the ghost of a woman

dressed in white,
with a sad appearance,

appearing within the walls
of Almodovar.

In the 14th century,
it was for a long time

the residence of King Peter I
of Castile, nicknamed The Cruel.

Let's look at one of the reasons
why he got his nickname.

Peter the Cruel
would lock his prisoners

in the dungeons at Almodovar.

Below them
was the death cell...

a common feature
of several castles.

Prisoners were thrown down
into a spherical, door-less cell

from a great height.

It was impossible
to escape from there,

and the prisoners
died of starvation.

This cell gives rise
to the legend.

Seeing that it was a place
that no one could escape from,

Peter the Cruel had the idea
of keeping his treasure there,

and installed a chain
that could be used to descend

and retrieve it if necessary.

And then, so the legend goes,

he invented a macabre
security system.

He brought in a trainer
of venomous spiders,

so that the most lethal spider
was permanently on the chain.

And the spider learnt that,
if the chain moved,

it had to crawl down immediately

to attack whoever
was hanging from it.

A malicious and twisted system,
of that there is no doubt.

But Peter the Cruel
was even more malicious.

He asked the trainer to train
the spider to obey him as well.

And when he achieved his aim,
he beheaded the spider trainer.

The king didn't want anyone else

to be able to reach the treasure
at Almodovar del Rio.

This charming castle,
50 kilometres from Madrid,

is the castle of Manzanares el Real,

the fruit of a royal donation

and the brilliant historical period
of the Mendoza family,

the Marquises of Santillana.

And like other elegant nobles

who feature in romantic legends
and stories,

the story of this castle

is centred on an heir
of the Mendoza family

and a young local shepherdess.

So, what happened?

In fact, Manzanares Castle
is actually two castles.

700 metres away from
the site of this one

is where the old one stood,

the first to be built
by the Mendoza family.

King John of Castile
had donated these lands

to Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza,

the fifth son of the first
Marquis of Santillana.

His son Diego
built the first castle,

of which
only these remains are left.

It appears that the first castle was
not worthy of the family's nobility.

However, it is said
that there was a tunnel

that originally connected
the two castles.

Nowadays, this watercourse
has given way to a reservoir

that bears the name of Santillana,

in an area surrounded
by mountains of granite rock.

A material that was used
to construct the castle,

and which would have made digging a
secret passageway very complicated.

The supposed passageway
forms part of the legend

known as
the Maricantina Legend.

It would appear that one of
the Marquises of Santillana

fell in love with a young
goat-herder from the village...

who they called Maricantina.

The story goes that they both used
this passageway to meet in secret.

However, the family
forced the young man

to marry someone
of his noble rank.

Until just a few years ago,

the village children would not
venture near the castle,

where people claim to have seen,
on a number of occasions,

the ghost of Maricantina
wandering the battlements,

bemoaning her sad fate.

The legend of Manzanares el Real
is an excellent example

of the extreme social differences

that existed in the society
of the Middle Ages.

This enormous
brick construction,

built just as
we see it today

in the 15th century,

was a luxury prison in a story
that has become a royal legend.

The legend of Joanna,
nicknamed "Joanna the Mad",

the Queen of Spain
who never reigned

and whom everyone claimed
had a mental disorder.

Mota Castle also signified
a huge step forward

in fortress defence.

The first thing
the Mudejar builders did

was sink the castle
in an enormous moat,

which was not created
to be filled with water,

but to prevent explosions
from undermining the base.

It was also done like this

to provide three levels
for shooting.

Those 100 cannons
were arranged in galleries

measuring almost a kilometre long

on the different levels
of the outer wall.

With so much noise
from the cannon fire,

it was difficult
to make yourself heard.

This is why the builders
created distribution areas

from which the officers gave orders
that reached the wall clearly

thanks to the carefully
studied architectural design.

Designs such as
the right-angled entrance

to prevent direct attacks
on the main door,

and which culminated in a bastion

designed to prevent the artillery
from being effective,

with the addition of round towers
which repelled projectiles better.

This was where Hernando Pizarro,

brother of the Conquistador
Francisco Pizarro, was imprisoned.

His penchant for killing
other illustrious soldiers

earned him a 20-year stay
in the prison at Mota.

And then there was Cesar Borgia,

a Spanish nobleman
and nephew of Pope Alexander VI,

taken prisoner in Naples
in the war against Spain.

As an exemplary punishment,
he was incarcerated in Mota.

However, undoubtedly the most
well-known prisoner in the castle

was Joanna,
daughter of Queen Isabella,

who has always gone by
the name of Joanna the Mad.

Joanna never showed
the slightest interest

in matters relating to religion
or the Crown.

By all accounts, she was a very
sensitive and introverted woman.

Her wedding to Philip the Handsome,

the incumbent Spanish emperor
in Flanders,

gave him six children, but she was
always very jealous of her husband.

She was held captive for two years
in Mota Castle

on her mother's orders.

It is said that she would sit
in her boudoir for hours,

gazing out of the window.

The death of her husband,
with whom she was deeply in love,

sank her into a depression
that bordered on dementia,

or so it was
classified at the time.

The historical legend of Joanna
has been revised in recent years

in an attempt to show
that she was never mad,

but rather a shy
and insecure person,

who was forced to suffer
in the imposing Mota Castle

because of the queen mother's
strong personality.

In this bed, just a few metres
from the castle,

Isabella the Catholic
dictated her will,

in which she recorded that the queen
should be her daughter Joanna.

The queen who never got to reign.