Around the castles villages would develop -when there was any danger, people would take refuge in them- and in its interior small busy towns were established. These fortresses became the most important social centres in the Middle Ages. Society at that time was basically rural: the land was the prevailing economic element. Most of the manpower was devoted to the land. Many times these peasants had to rise up in arms in order to defend the possessions of their masters. Castles served as a catalyst for all social,agricultural, guild and military activities.

Citadels were also connected with the consolidation and extension of the recovered feuds. Castles were usually a reward for the services to a feudal lord during the war. They became the centre of a newly established prosperous rural estate. Castles were also the first victims of popular uprisings that took place over these centuries.

Pilgrims made their way to Compostela under the protection of these magnificent constructions that rose on high hills scanning the horizon. Along their way, pilgrims could contemplate the castles of Javier in Navarre and of Temple in Ponferrada; the Castle-Palace of Villafranca del Bierzo in León, just to mention a few.