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GPS 39.82534024198203, -7.496530766480498

Castelo Branco Castle, also known locally as Templar Castle, is located in the city, parish, municipality and District of Castelo Branco, in Portugal.

It was a strategic Iberian castle and was part of the so-called Linha da Raia or Tagus Line in the Middle Ages. Severely damaged over the centuries, the Templar castle remains the city's most important military-historical record.

The Medieval Castle

Construction

As soon as the Templars took possession of Moncarche, in 1209, they soon made plans to build the castle. Castelo Branco castle dates back to that time, with the oldest news of its existence dating back to 1230.

Characteristics

The castle had a compact overall appearance, closed in on itself and prepared for autonomous defense. Analyzing the plan, in Duarte de Armas' Book of Fortresses, it seems evident that when it was built, from a military point of view, it was self-sufficient. It had the shape of a more or less regular quadrangle defended peripherally by seven turrets, with total command over the horizon. The turrets seem to follow a certain symmetry with the obvious exception of the keep.

Although it has almost entirely disappeared, it is possible to verify that the castle of Castelo Branco was a paradigm of the strategic Iberian castle. It had three courtyards with different access: a first with free access; that of the palace and that of the keep. It became part of, together with the Castle of Almourol, the Castle of Monsanto, the Castle of Pombal, the Castle of Tomar and the Castle of Zêzere, a line of defense known as the Tagus Line.

Gateway

The entrance to the citadel was through a Romanesque arch (similar to the bishop's arch. In a symmetrical position there was a false door, which we sometimes see called the door of betrayal

Palace of Mayors and Commanders

It was a building made up of three distinct bodies: the main one had a first floor with a colonnaded balcony. The palace was accessed by a staircase.

Keep

The keep was taller than the others and had greater volume so as to create a break with the other turrets. Its shape was exagonal, an extremely rare shape in Portuguese fortresses. The prismatic shape corresponded to an evolutionary stage in that the more faces the tower had, the better surveillance was carried out, because blind spots were reduced. The keep, clearly linked to the Romanesque tradition, was eccentric in relation to the entrance and was frankly linked to surveillance occupations for the opposite side.

Church of Santa Maria do Castelo

Inside the castle, separating the first and third courtyards, is the Church of Santa Maria do Castelo. It was a Romanesque church without any bell tower and had the bells on the wall, next to the entrance. The temple's invocation of Santa Maria do Castelo was a characteristic of the Templars.

Decadence

At the time of the Restoration War, it suffered damage from the Spanish offensive in 1648 and from them, again, in the context of the War of the Spanish Succession (22 May 1704), when it lost part of its walls. During the Seven Years' War, the town and its castle were invaded and looted by Franco-Spanish troops (1762), being restored only by virtue of the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1763). Later, during the Peninsular War, the French offensive led by Jean-Andoche Junot (1807) caused severe damage to the castle.

In the face of the destruction caused by Napoleonic troops, from 1821 onwards, stones were removed from the castle by the inhabitants to build their homes. Through ordinances, the public authorities authorized, in:

June 17, 1835, the demolition of the wall arches to use their stones in public works. On that occasion, the Porta da Vila, the Porta do Relógio and the Porta do Espírito Santo were demolished, with the stones being reused in the construction of the Ponte da Granja; 1839, one authorizing the sale of part of the stones in the castle walls, tiles and woodwork of the Palace (9th March), and another, authorizing the sale of the tiles and woodwork (20th March). With the structure weakened, a violent storm that hit the region caused some of the walls of the fortress and ramparts to collapse (15 November 1852). Still in the second half of the 19th century, due to the initiative of Civil Governor Guilhermino de Barros, some sections of walls and some of the Palace's structures were reconstructed. In 1862, however, Porta do Postiguinho was demolished.

The process of decay continued in the 20th century, with the collapse, in 1930, of the last tower of the wall (of the castle/fence?), which was followed, in March 1936, by that of the tower in the northeast angle, also due to a storm. That same year, the General Directorate of National Buildings and Monuments (DGEMN) was asked to inspect the site, which carried out the reconstruction of the tower (1940), recreating some structures, such as the neo-Manueline windows. New interventions followed, in 1977 (archaeological prospecting and cleaning, consolidation and reconstruction of the section of the collapsed wall at the height of Rua Vaz Preto, expropriation and demolition by the City Council of properties attached to the wall), between 1980 and 1982 (improvement of the section of walls at the height of the same street). In 2000, part of the medieval wall was discovered, particularly one of the turrets, during demolition work on two buildings on the same Rua Vaz Preto. In 2002, it was planned to restore the section of the wall to the east, which connected the fortress tower and the keep of the former Commanders' Palace.

The interest aroused in recent years by this heritage led to the definition of the first legal protection for the complex, which is now in the process of being classified. The church was classified by IPPAR as a Property of Public Interest in 1978.

Current affairs

Some elements remain from the Templar castle, although few are original. Inside the castle grounds there is a church of Santa Maria but it has nothing to do with the one designed by Duarte de Armas.

Romanesque Tower

This turret is of the oldest type, its thick paqredes have front and side embrasures showing a practical defense intention in coordination with the other turrets. This turret is perhaps the oldest piece of architecture in Castelo Branco. Although its surroundings have had several reconstructions, it is still the original tower, as evidenced by the embrasures.

Gothic tower

The tower that is normally called the Gothic tower or the Templar tower was nothing more than the facade of the palace of the mayors and commanders. At the time Duarte e Armas designed it, it was still of the same structure as the other towers. Nowadays, it is wider than the Romanesque Tower: the successive changes it underwent enlarged its size, and there are signs of this enlargement. The current windows with 16th century lintels have little to do with the originals, even with a first Gothic alteration. This torte is the ex-libris of Castelo Branco.

Church of Santa Maria do Castelo

Little or nothing remains of the primitive temple. Successive reconstructions made it featureless and without great artistic value.

Bow

It's the original. This arch was the door that separated the public access courtyard and the palace courtyard. Originally the two courtyards would have been at the same level, which is supposed to have been lower than the current one.

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