Torreón de los Guzmán

The Torreón de los Guzmán is a medieval defensive tower linked to the old fortified system of Caleruega, in Burgos, today integrated in the complex of the convent of Santo Domingo. It is a heritage resource of tower/wall typology, considered one of the few preserved examples of medieval fortification in the Ribera del Duero. It is located in the historic center of the municipality, at the coordinates indicated for its location in the convent environment. The sources place its construction in the 12th century, although for a long time it was traditionally associated with the Guzmán family and the defense of the place in older times. It has a rectangular floor plan, about 17 meters high and walls of great thickness, around 2 meters, with an internal organization of several floors. Its profile is clearly defensive and responds to the medieval military architecture. Among its most outstanding patrimonial elements are the access doorway with a semicircular arch, the coats of arms of the Aza and Guzmán families and a Mozarabic arched window on the second floor, a feature that shows evidence of pre-Romanesque or Mozarabic roots. It also preserves arrow slits and a crenellated finial, although the latter was incorporated in a modern intervention in the middle of the 20th century. The building was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest in 1949. It is now an exhibition space and houses the Museum of Santo Domingo, which reinforces its historical value and its relationship with the memory of Santo Domingo de Guzmán and with the medieval and modern evolution of the conventual complex of Caleruega.