Templar Castle of Ponferrada

The Templar castle is located in what was probably originally a Celtic castro, in a position similar to that of others in El Bierzo. Later it is believed that it was a Roman and Visigoth site.
It is Romanesque in style.
More at bigjoe.es/etapa-1-de-nuestro-camino-de-santiago-ponferrada-herrerias

Parts of the old Templar castle, which used to offer protection to pilgrims, are still very well preserved and can be visited. The old Templar library is also impressive; she has also exhibited Gutenberg Bibles.

Declared a National Historic-Artistic Monument in 1924
Construction period: s. XI - XV
When Ponferrada became dependent on the Order of the Temple in 1178 by donation from the kings of León, the Templars found a small fortress that was originally a castro and later a Roman citadel.
They extend and improve it as a defense of the Camino de Santiago, which is completed in 1282.
The castle we know today is the result of a long series of expansions.
The reforms and additions vary from the first plan near the square of the early twelfth century to the last areas built in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
Subsequent additions, such as the stables in 1848 and the numerous reforms carried out since the early twentieth century, have contributed to the complexity of the complex as we know it today.
The shields and coats of arms of those who occupied it and contributed to its construction are evidence of its various stages.
ponferrada.org/turismo/es/monumentos/castillo-templarios