Pambre Castle is located in Palas de Rey, very close to the Camino Frances. It is one of the best preserved fortresses in Spain and undoubtedly the best example of medieval military architecture in Galicia. The fortress was built in the 14th century by the Ulloa family, specifically at the behest of Gonzalo Ozores de Ulloa, and dates from around 1375. Already in the 15th century, the castle came to belong to the Monterrey family and fulfilled the military functions of custody and protection of the nearby Camino de Santiago, surviving the famous Irmandiña Revolt of 1467.

It is an extraordinary example of late medieval military architecture, consisting of a central complex with a quadrangular floor plan and a walled exterior enclosure. The central complex has a large central tower -the homage tower- and another four smaller ones located at the vertices and connected to the central one through walls or walled fragments. Both the central tower and the four secondary towers were constructed with pointed or triangular battlements. The outer wall has a more irregular perimeter, as it has to accommodate the steep slope on which the fortress stands, and its walls are enormously thick, between 2 and 2.5 meters. All the buildings -the central complex and the walled perimeter- are built with a combination of granite masonry and well squared ashlars of the same material.

Of the architecture, the central tower stands out as being the most impressive. It is a large quadrangular master tower: whose walls are 11 meters wide and is three storeys high. Despite being generally well preserved, some important elements have been lost, such as an interior bridge that was supposed to connect the central floor with the exterior wall, but although it is missing there still remain vestiges of its access door : a large opening with a pointed arch and a coat of arms of the Ulloa dynasty. Among the elements of style that have been preserved, there is an imposing Gothic window on the third floor, which is very large with pointed arches.

Inside the walled enclosure, in addition to the towers, there is a large barn –an hórreo- and a chapel dedicated to San Pedro, a chapel built before the castle, which can be dated as belonging to the end of the 12th century.

Currently the Pambre castle can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday between 11:00 a.m. – 7 p.m.