Puebla de Sanabria

Arriving in Puebla de Sanabria, you understand at a glance why a stronghold was built here. The old town sits on a rocky spur shaped over the centuries by the Ferrera stream and the Tera and Castro rivers, a site with natural defences which, together with its proximity to Portugal, turned the town into a coveted walled enclave. That past of military, ecclesiastical and political power left behind a rich heritage that earned it historic site status in 1994, and since 2017 it has been a member of the Most Beautiful Villages in Spain association.

The undisputed star is its castle. It already existed in 1132, when it was governed by tenants such as Count Ponce Fernandizi, but it was Alfonso IX of León who rebuilt and improved it along with the walls. Its layout dates from that period: quadrangular, with round towers at the corners, an almost unheard-of solution before the Late Middle Ages and one that deserves a closer look today.

The town's history goes back a long way. The name Sanabria appears at the Council of Lugo in the year 509, although it may have referred to the whole district, and in the 7th century it is recorded as a Suebi parish and a Visigothic mint under the name Senapria. By the 10th century, documents from the monastery of San Martín de Castañeda were already referring to an Urbs Senabrie within the Kingdom of León.

Its rise as the head of the district came under Alfonso VII, and in 1195 Alfonso IX organised its political, economic and military life to make it a bulwark against Portugal. In 1220 he granted it a settlement charter inspired by the Fuero de Benavente, which Alfonso X the Wise would confirm and amend in 1273.

On top of all this, the town is surrounded by beautifully preserved countryside, similar in character to the nearby Lago de Sanabria Natural Park, which invites you to extend your visit beyond the walls.