Alcazar Fortress, Toledo (must see)

Jose Moscardo Ituarte, Military governor of the province of Toledo, was on the phone. It was July 23d, 1936. Moscardo's command post, the Alcazar Fortress, was under siege by Republican forces. He was talking to his son, Luis, a prisoner of the Republicans. The besieging enemy would spare Luis' life if Alcazar surrendered.

"Commend your soul to God." He told his son, "shouting 'Long live Christ, King!' and 'Long live Spain!'" The Alcazar held out, and Luis was killed. The siege ended with the arrival of Nationalist relief forces on September 27th. The merciless Civil War made Alcazar a symbol of Spanish Nationalism. Heavily damaged, the fortress was rebuilt.

"Alcazar" is derived from the Arabic word for castle. Originally a Roman Palace in the 3rd century, it was restored in the 1540s by Charles I and his son, Philip II of Spain. Today it is home to the Castilla-La Mancha Regional Library and the Museum of the Army ("Museo del Ejercito").

The fortress sits firmly on the highest elevation in the city, dominating all around it. Its facades are Renaissance in style. It is rectangular, four-sided, with crenelated defense walls and turreted towers at each corner, according to a preliminary design by Alonso de Covarrubias, subsequently completed by Juan de Herrera.

The fortress is open from 11 am to 5 pm every day.