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GPS 39.363863970835084, -9.156996603092031

Óbidos Castle is located in the parish of Santa Maria, São Pedro and Sobral da Lagoa, town and municipality of Óbidos, in the district of Leiria, in Portugal.

Óbidos Castle has been classified as a National Monument since 1910.

History

Background

It is believed that the primitive human occupation of the site goes back to prehistoric times. Due to its proximity to the Atlantic coast, it aroused the interest of invading peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, having been successively occupied by Lusitanians (4th century BC), Romans (1st century), Visigoths (5th to 6th centuries) and Muslims (8th century), attributing The latter are responsible for the fortification of the village, as can be seen by observing certain sections of the wall, with Moorish features.

The medieval castle

In the context of the Christian Reconquest of the Peninsula, the forces of King D. Afonso Henriques (1112-85), after the conquests of Santarém and Lisbon (1147), encountered strong resistance to conquer the town and its castle, which finally happened through of a ruse (January 10, 1148). The castle is mentioned in documents since 1153.

Reconquered definitively in the reign of D. Sancho I (1185-1211), works were carried out in the castle (according to the epigraphic inscription in the Torre do Facho), when the town received its charter (1195).

His son and successor, D. Afonso II (1211-23), donated the town and its castle to D. Urraca, his wife (1210).

The town and its castle remained faithful to D. Sancho II (1223-48), during the crisis of his deposition, successfully resisting, in 1246, the assaults by the forces of the Count of Bologna, future king D. Afonso III (1248). -1279). This resistance earned the village the epithet of very noble and always loyal, which still appears in its coat of arms.

Donated as a wedding gift by D. Dinis (1279-1325) to Queen Santa Isabel during the nuptials there, the village became part of the dowry of all queens of Portugal until 1834. This monarch had the Homage (c. 1325).

Under the reign of D. Fernando (1367-1383), an epigraphic inscription marks the erection, in 1375, of a tower, considered by some to be a donjon, although it lacks the characteristics of the massive base with the entrance at the level of the raised floor, present in that of D. Dinis.

During the context of the 1383-1385 crisis, its mayor, against the will of the residents, sided with João I of Castile and Dna. Beatriz, having resisted the forces of the Mestre de Avis. Óbidos and its castle were handed over to João I of Portugal, elected in the Cortes of Coimbra, by Vasco Gonçalves Teixeira after the death in combat of his father and mayor of the castle, João Gonçalves, in the battle of Aljubarrota (1385).

Under the reign of D. João II (1481-1495), Queen Dna. Leonor chose the village and its castle to reside after the accidental death of her only son, Prince D. Afonso, opting (1494) for the thermal waters of the region to treat the illness that would come to victimize that monarch.

His successor, Manuel I of Portugal donated a new charter to Óbidos (1513), carrying out important improvements in the town and its castle. It is from this phase, in the 16th century, that the Mayor's Palace was reconstructed by D. João de Noronha.

From the 18th century to our days

The 1755 earthquake caused serious damage to the structure, for lack of money it could not be rebuilt. In the context of the Peninsular War, the fortification of Óbidos fired the first artillery shots in the battle of Roliça (1808), the first defeat of Napoleon's troops. Subsequently, there was the adaptation of the albarrã tower to the Clock Tower (1842) and the construction of an external access staircase to the Tower of D. Fernando (1869).

The castle and the entire urban complex of Óbidos are classified as a national monument.

From 1932, the complex underwent the first interventions of consolidation, reconstruction and restoration by the Directorate-General for National Buildings and Monuments, which extended over the following decades to the present day, with the castelejo space being reclassified as Pousada do Castelo. (1948-1950).

Characteristics

The castle stands at an elevation of 79 meters above sea level, with an irregular rectangular plan (organic), mixing elements from the Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline and Baroque styles, spread over two main areas: the castelejo (current Pousada do Castelo, or Pousada de Óbidos) and the neighborhood within the walls.

The perimeter of the walls, reinforced by square and cylindrical towers, reaches 1,565 meters, completely traversed by a battlement defended by a crenellated parapet. In some stretches, the walls rise to 13 meters in height.

The eastern section of the wall constitutes the nucleus of the wider wall that surrounds the castle and the town, and which, extending on both sides towards the south for 500 meters, closes the perimeter at a point, in the so-called Torre do Facho.

Access is via four doors and two shutters, the most notable being the Porta da Vila or Porta de Nossa Senhora da Piedade, surmounted by an inscription, placed there by King D.João IV (1640-1656), which reads: The Virgin Our Lady was conceived without original sin. Inside there is a chapel with a balcony, covered in tiles from the 18th century.