Segovia - Alcázar de Segovia

A Celtic castle existed here, from which resistance against the Romans originated. The city was nevertheless taken. Afterward, it began to be built as a Roman city and became an important Roman military base.

In the second half of the 5th century, Segovia became part of the Visigoth Empire. From the 8th to the 11th centuries, Segovia was under Moorish possession. In 1085 Alfonso VI conquered the city. From the 13th to the 15th century it was a royal residence.
The Alcázar of Segovia was built on a narrow ridge between the Eresma and Clamores rivers.

The castle started off as a Roman castrum. On the ruins of that castrum, the alcázar was then built by the Berber Almoravid dynasty. The first reference to this castle was in 1120, around 32 years after Segovia was conquered by the Christians. In 1258 an intense thunderstorm caused a fire. The destruction led to centuries-long reconstruction during the reigns of various kings.

It is not known what the shape and form of the Alcázar were before the reign of King Alfonso VIII (1155–1214). Alfonso VIII and his wife, Eleanor of England (sister of Richard Lionheart), made the alcázar their principal residence.

The Alcázar of Segovia was one of the favorite royal residences starting in the 13th century that in turn, led to secular patronage to the city of Segovia.

Isabella I (aka "Isabella the Catholic") rode from there to the Plaza Mayor on December 13, 1474, to be proclaimed the rightful Queen of Castile.