Sancho de Estrada Castle is

from the XII th century, it is located in a small

town called Villaviciosa de Solosancho, and it is

fifteen minutes from Avila and an hour from

Madrid ( Spain ).

It has got 30 double rooms with bathroom

integrated,four living-rooms, cafeteria, kitchen and

20 parking spaces. The Castle is fully renovated

and ready to live.

The total area is 5.200 m2 and has a retail price of

3.000.000 €.

More information:

amh@hotelesmayoral.com

The Castle of Villaviciosa, originally built as a watch tower of the Roman road, to guard the passage from the Amblés Valley

to the mountains of Paramera. Historical data which have been found and that mention this castle leave from 1085 to the

present. Next some reviews are mentioned that have helped us learn a little of its history.

1085. On May 25th King Alfonso VI of Leon and Castile (nicknamed The Brave) conquered the city of Toledo to the Muslims

and start to send his friends to repopulate the city of Avila, practically depopulated due to successive raids and clashes

between Christians and Muslims.

1088. King Alfonso VI sends his son-in-law the French Earl Don Raimundo of Borgoña married his daughter, the Infanta

Doña Urraca, to the land of Ávila to repopulate them again and protect from the invasion of Muslims. Also Don Fernán

López Trillo and Don Sancho de Estrada came to these lands from the North, the latter one was descendant of governors of

Asturias and Roman emperors.

1090. On July 22th Don Sancho de Estrada and Don Fernán López Trillo, in a battle that takes place in the Avila town of

Navahonda (currently called Navarredonda) kills the Moorish leader Galafrón Alhamar, also at least 400 Moors die at the

hands of Don Sancho de Estrada and Don Fernán López Trillo.

The first name of Sancho de Estrada was Fernán Sánchez de Estrada, he used the name of Sancho by his father (Sancho

Bermúdez) and Estrada by his mother (Sandoval Estrada). As recorded in the book 'Comments of the disabused of himself'

written by Diego, Duke of Estrada, Sancho de Estrada was a lineal descendant of the Dukes of Gueldres and of the Dukes of

Estralén.

As the story goes, Don Sancho de Estrada was married in 1080 to Doña Urraca Flores, the daughter of Aldonza Flores and

the sister of Don Fernán López Trillo (Governor of Avila) married this one to Doña Ximena Blázquez.

The wedding of Sancho de Estrada and Doña Urraca Flores - she was a lady of the Infanta - was hold in Avila and the best

man and woman were the Infanta Doña Urraca, the daughter of King Alfonso VI, and his husband the Earl Don Raimundo

de Borgoña. The ceremony was celebrated by the Bishop Don Pedro Sánchez Zurraquines. In the celebration ceremony was

hold one of the first bullfights in Spain, which took place in the bullring of the church of San Vicente de Avila.

Sancho de Estrada, who was captain of the Earl Don Raimundo de Borgoña, received from this one the Castle of Villaviciosa

and other properties for his brave deeds in these lands of Avila defending and guarding the city from Muslim invasions.

The firstborn son of Sancho de Estrada and Urraca Flores was Gonzalo Fernández de Estrada, whom in 1188 was granted by

the Emperor Frederick of Germany the coat of arms already used by his father having attended the marriage contract of

Conrado, son of Frederick with Doña Berenguela, daughter of King Alfonso VIII from Castile. This coat of arms consisted of

a crowned eagle on a gold sabre.

The burial of Sancho de Estrada is in the cemetery San Vicente. In Avila.

The Primitive Coat of Arms

Coat of Arms 569 - Heraldic and

Genealogic Encyclopedia.

Estrada coat of arms.

Nowadays, a plateresque window flanked by the coat of arms of Nuño González del Aguila y Guzmán and of his wife Teresa

Velasco y Guevara can be seen in the semicircular tower of Villaviciosa Castle, and above the whole, the coat of arms of the

family Estrada-Aguila.

1596. Captain Don Esteban de Aguila, witness of the Roman burial in which the bulls and Julius Caesar's coins were found

according to a fragment of the book of Fray Luis Ariz, 'History and Grandeur of the city of Avila'.

1668. Marquis of Villaviciosa, Don Diego Gabriel de Aguila.

The Marquis of Villaviciosa was granted on 24.02.1668 to Diego Gabriel del Aguila y Manuel, Lord of Villaviciosa, by Carlos

III.

The families of Aguila and Dávila are direct descendants of Estrada, according to comments of Luis Ariz in his book 'Stories of

Greatness of Avila'.

The last inhabitant of the castle was the Marquis of La Roca.

After that, the castle became the property of the City Council of Solosancho (Avila) by donation of the Institute of Colonization,

with the number 3.580 deed on December 25th of 1967, executed by the Notary from Avila Mr Luis Sánchez Ferrero.

The City Council of Solosancho (Avila) held a public auction of the castle to the highest bidder on June 12th of 1963, awarding

it company HERCAS, S. A. being the Chairman of the Board Mr Nicolás Castrejón y Paz Pardo. It is registered on public record

on behalf of the tenderer on August 18th of 1969 before the Notary Mr Luis Sánchez Ferrero with protocol number 2300.

On September 1969 the works to clear debris and part of the restoration of the castle are begun by the company

CONSTRUCCIONES MAYORAL, for three years.

Being approved the restoration project by the General Directorate of Fine Arts on February 17th of 1971, and drafted the

project by the conservator architect of Spanish castles, Mr José Manuel González-Valcárcel, the restoration of the castle was

carried out by the company CONSTRUCCIONES MAYORAL. These works will last till 1975.

On April 25th of 1983, Apolonio Mayoral Hernández, acquired the castle by deed of sale number 419 held in Toledo and

executed by the Notary Mr Jerónimo Rodríguez-Arias Sánchez. Apolonio Mayoral Hernández ended the works of the complete

restoration of the castle and in 1992 it is opened as a Restaurant-Hotel with the trade name 'HOSTAL RESTAURANTE

SANCHO DE ESTRADA'.

When the ancient city of Avila was destroyed, on the banks of the river Erguila (Kingdom of Tunis), many inhabitants

went to settle to the banks of the river La Mosa, of the confines of the Duchy of Bravante y Cleves and Archbishopric of

Brega, province of Vesalia, taking the title of Dukes is Estralén the most major and powerful, and being very rich, they

were Dukes of Gueldres and Earls of Zusten, using as banner in their homes an eagle as coat of arms, together with a lion.

It is true that those who left the ancient city of Aguila passed through Spain and established their homes in the mountains

of San Vicente, where they retained the term Estralén. These knights used as coat of arms the Black Eagle in a golden

field.

And many Infanzones Knights came to settle this town and one of them was Sancho de Estrada, whom the Earl Don

Ramón named captain and warlord of 200 horsemen in order to save and defend the city of Avila from the Moors, and truly

I tell you that this Sancho de Estrada was a good ploy large bony man and a strong warlord and in addition to this high

guise, this and his ancestors inhabited for a long time in Asturias and they were descendants from the Roman Emperors,

and for that purpose, they hanged on their standard an eagle.

And it seems that when the named Sancho de Estrada came to settle Avila and he was given the position of Captain of the

Knights, he used on his standard the eagle signal.

And still more ancient history says, because knowing the Earl Don Ramón the courage of Sancho de Estrada, he married

him, through the Bishop Don Pedro Sánchez Zurraquines, to Doña Urraca Flores, and doing mercy to the villagers he gave

them inheritance, and so the ancient and strength Villaviciosa Tower was given to Sancho de Estrada in order to being

warlords and powerful they defended the city and land from the Moors. These Knights Estrada have their old burial in the

cemetery of San Vicente.

It is believed for a long time that this house and strength tower, in a rough site, was a property of one of the tribunes of

the Trajan court and Roman Emperors. The establishment of stone bulls that in the district of Villaviciosa have been

found, support this opinion, and they are proud of having been Romans and that unforgettable events happened in this

land, because he also found between his inheritance stone bulls similar to which is in front of his front door, which was

found nine or ten years ago (1596 - 1597) when a tenant farmer of this house of Villaviciosa, was working next to it and

every year he was running into the plowshare in a rock and trying to take it off or to break it, he finally realized that it

was a bull and he didn't mistreated it just in case it went to the Tower where Captain Don Esteban de Aguila was. The

knight called his servants and when they were digging around, they found two bulls, one above the other, and between

both bellies there was a beautiful clay jar, worked in mosaic, covered and full of ashes inside, they also found three coins

with the figure and the name of Julius Caesar. The bull was carried to his home and tower, and the other was in the farm.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CASTLE