The Castillo de San Servando (Spanish: Castle of San Servando) is a medieval castle in Toledo, Spain

Toledo, Spain

Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...

, next the Tagus River. It was begun as a monastery in 1088, three years after the city was conquered by the Christian army of Alfonso VI of Castile

Alfonso VI of Castile

Alfonso VI , nicknamed the Brave or the Valiant, was King of León from 1065, King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, and self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain". After the conquest of Toledo he was also self-proclaimed victoriosissimo rege in Toleto, et in Hispania et Gallecia...

. Later it was converted into a fortress to protect the puente de Alcántara against a possible Muslim attack. With the disappearance of the Muslim threat, the fortress lost its importance and was neglected. The fortress was depicted in El Greco

El Greco

El Greco was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος .El Greco was born on Crete, which was at...

's View of Toledo

View of Toledo

View of Toledo, is one of the two surviving landscapes painted by El Greco. The other, called View and Plan of Toledo lies at Museo Del Greco, Toledo, Spain....

.

In 1874 it was named a national monument.