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Monterrey Castle (Monterrei in Galician), is located at the top of the Monterrey Valley (Orense) and is one of the best preserved in Galicia, Spain. Not only is it a castle, but it is a walled enclosure that forms a small city. The construction is mainly due to Don Sancho Sánchez de Ulloa, first Count of Monterrey in the times of the Catholic Monarchs. This fortress-palace is listed as an Asset of Cultural Interest and Historical Heritage of Spain. Built between the 10th and 12th centuries.
Throughout its history, some of the most powerful lineages such as the Ulloa, the Zúñiga, the Biedma, the Fonseca, the Acevedo and the Dukes of Alba settled in its strategic complex. In 1506, Philip the Fair and Cardinal Cisneros met in this place.
It consists of three walled enclosures on a long hill. In the first and furthest from the central core is currently the Parador Nacional de Verín, and between it and the core a 17th century transept is preserved. The second enclosure is accessed through a door flanked by two guard rooms with openings, reinforcing the rest of the enclosure with several bastions.
The last enclosure is accessed through a door with a pointed arch formed by large voussoirs, being the best preserved in the complex. Above it is the shield of Monterrey, which consists of four barracks with the arms of the Acevedo, Ulloa, Viedma and Zúñiga, and above them the shield of the Fonseca.
