Torre de Mogrovejo, Medieval fortified tower in Mogrovejo, Cantabria, Spain.
Torre de Mogrovejo is a square stone tower from the late medieval period, rising about 21 meters high with crenellations and twin windows that retain their original shutters. It stands within a surrounding wall and is surrounded by ruined structures, including a manor house and a small square chapel from the 17th century.
The Lords of Mogrovejo, already a distinguished family in 1248 when King Sancho granted them the monastery of San Martín de Mogrovejo, built the tower at the end of the 13th century. Their power was such that they could hand-pick the mayors of all the villages in the Valdebaró valley. At the end of the 14th century the family intermarried with the Lasso de la Vega of Torrelavega, and through an 18th-century union the tower passed to the Álvarez de Miranda family of Benllera, who still own it.
The tower preserves carved inscriptions; one of them led the historian Pinelo to claim that a knight of the House of Mogrovejo carried the standard of Don Pelayo at the Battle of Covadonga. He added that the shaft kept in the village church, later lost in a fire, belonged to that banner.
The interior of the structure is empty with no floor divisions, preserving its original character as a defensive work. Visitors should be aware that surrounding buildings are partially ruined and require careful attention when exploring the site.
The 15th-century funerary monument of the Counts of Mogrovejo came from this tower and is now owned by the National Museum of Sculpture in Valladolid. The tower itself stands empty inside, with no floor divisions, so its full 21-metre height is visible from the base.
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