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The Duke's Palace (Béjar, Castile).

Góngora was sponsored by the fourth Duke of Béjar to write his Soledades. Most of the castle still exists but is not open to the public (except a camara-oscura exhibition in the right tower, which does not offer any view of the castle inside).

On my third visit I managed to get into the Palace, helped by a local person.

The Patio.

Fountain.

Béjar today.

The people of Béjar seem to pronounce the town as Bejar (with the accent on the a). It is very likely that Góngora entered the town from the other side of the castle (not restored). The gates were there, on the road to Baños de Montemayor, Plasencia and Trujillo.

Picture taken in Béjar by Jack de Groot

The other side of the castle.

Why the Palace remains closed is not clear. The town has nothing else to offer. Maybe the underground part of the Palace is too dangerous to enter. I lot more research could be done, but: by whom?

    It seems that a "Requiem por un campesino mentality" still dominates this part of Spain, also in Salamanca. People call this area "The Forgotten Spain".

N.B. Pictures of Góngora are published on the Internet. Three or four are real, the rest: fake. (Usually it's Calderón de la Barca.)

Students ask me to translate the Solitudes to English. This will be for ever impossible. Some lecturers simplify Góngora's poetry to please the students.: a waste of time, unless they intend to bring the swine to the pearls.