Butrón Castle is located in
Gatika, in the province of Biscay, in northern Spain. The castle dates back to the Middle Ages and
began as a typical medieval tower, built on top of house Butrón. In the 14th
century, the tower was remodeled into a castle.
For more than 300 hundred years, battles were fought here between
clans. By the 16th century,
the castle was abandoned and fell into ruins.
The castle was purchased and completely rebuilt in 1878 by Francisco de
Cubas, who transformed it into what it looks like today. Only the ground floor and some of the
defensive towers were preserved from the original. Following the Neo-gothic style, the castle
has the whimsical appearance that I love.
Cubas wanted to create something that inspired when looked upon, and he
succeeded in creating something visually spectacular, unfortunately the castle
wasn’t really built to live in. At one
time it was open to the public, and it does have heat, electric, an elevator,
and a few meeting rooms, but it is currently closed and is under the protection
of Spanish law as a historic building.
