A large house which, despite being called a castle, does not look like a fortress or even a palace, but rather more of a large, fortified farmhouse. The name Vilamaniscle Castle is likely due to its enormous proportions and its pre-eminent location in the town centre. It has a rectangular-shaped floor plan and has a ground floor and two upper floors with a gabled roof. Above the keystone of the arch on the main façade is an emblem embossed with baroque decoration and an inscription which reads: “NADA SIN DIOS” (Nothing without God). At the top of the façade and the north-facing wall, two large corbels are preserved which must have supported a defensive machicolation. Similarly, there were some crenel apertures which have since been blocked in. On the west wall there are arrowslits and the interior of the house is in very poor condition.
View of the village of Vilamaniscle from a photograph taken in 1888 by the photographer Josep Maria Cañellas. A general view of the village with Alberes just behind it. A building stands out which is the house known as Vilamaniscle Castle. A large three-storey house with a voussoir door entrance. A gabled roof and remnants of the original plaster work can still be perceived, hiding the stones that shape the body of the building. It’s interesting to note that its distinguished position on a hill, gives the house importance in comparison with the other buildings of the town. The image forms part of the Rubaudonadeu Collection which is preserved in the Fages de Climent Library in Figueres.
Location
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Gr11 2, 17781 Vilamaniscle, Provincia de Gerona, España
Category
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