Templar Castle of Ponferrada
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Attribution: By Davidh820 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 es (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/es/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons
The Templar castle of Ponferrada stands on a hill at the confluence of the Boeza and Sil rivers. It was built on a site that was originally a Celtic castro, and later a Roman and Visigothic establishment.
By 1178 Fernando II of Leon allows the Templars to establish an encomienda in the present Ponferrada. During the reign of Fernando IV, the trial against the Templars in France, led to the dissolution of the Order. To avoid the subsequent confiscation of Ponferrada, the Castilian master of the Temple, Rodrigo Yanez, gave the town to the infant Don Felipe, brother of the king.
By 1178 Fernando II of Leon allows the Templars to establish an encomienda in the present Ponferrada. During the reign of Fernando IV, the trial against the Templars in France, led to the dissolution of the Order. To avoid the subsequent confiscation of Ponferrada, the Castilian master of the Temple, Rodrigo Yanez, gave the town to the infant Don Felipe, brother of the king.
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