Location: Vila Nova de Barquinha parish Map
Constructed: 1171
Open: daily during daylight
Info: Largo 1 Dezemoro, Barquinha
Tel. 249 720 358
Almourol Castle or Castelo de Almourol is located in the parish of
Praia do Ribatejo, municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha, district
of Santarém, Centro region (Beiras Region), in Portugal, although
its location is often attributed to Tancos, as it is the nearest
village and where you can see it better.
Built on a granite
outcrop 18 meters above water level, on a small island measuring 310
meters long and 75 meters wide, in the middle course of the Tagus
River, a little below its confluence with the Zêzere River, at the
time of the Reconquest. it was part of the so-called Tagus Line,
current Templar Tourism Region. It is one of the most representative
examples of military architecture of the time, simultaneously
evoking the beginnings of the kingdom of Portugal and the Order of
the Templars, an association that reinforces its aura of mystery and
romanticism.
With the extinction of the Order of the Temple,
the castle of Almourol becomes part of the heritage of the Order of
Christ (which was the successor in Portugal of the Order of the
Templars).
Almourol Castle has been classified as a National
Monument since 1910.
Background and toponymy
Although the authors are not unanimous
about the primitive human occupation of this site, believing that it
dates back to a prehistoric fort, archaeological research has brought to
light testimonies from the Roman period (1st century BC coins) and the
medieval period (medals). Some authors also identify, in some sections
at the base of the walls, examples of the Roman-type constructive
apparatus.
From the 3rd century onwards, the site was occupied by
other groups, namely the Alans, the Visigoths and the Muslims, the
latter from the 8th century onwards. In the 13th century, the
fortification already existed, called by them as Al-morolan (high
stone).
It is not possible to specify the origin of its name, as
it is difficult to clarify the meaning and the spelling of which
variations are known: Almoriol, Almorol, Almourel, Almuriel. Other
authors establish a connection with the term Moron, which Strabo would
have referred to as a city located on the banks of the Tagus, or with
the term Muriella, which appears in the description of the delimitation
of the Bishopric of Egitânia and Corretânea.
the medieval castle
At the time of the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, when
this region was occupied by Portuguese forces, Almourol was conquered in
1129 by D. Afonso Henriques (1112-1185). The sovereign handed it over to
the Knights of the Knights Templar, who were then in charge of
populating the territory between the Mondego and Tagus rivers, and of
defending the then capital of Portugal, Coimbra.
At this stage,
the castle was rebuilt, having acquired, in general terms, its current
features, characteristics of Templar architecture: quadrangular spaces,
high walls, reinforced by addorsed towers. east has a Templar cross.
Dominated by a keep. An epigraphic plaque, placed over the main gate,
shows that his works were completed in 1171, two years after the
completion of the Castle of Tomar, built by order of Gualdim Pais, son
of Paio Ramires. The same architectural features are also present in the
Castle of Idanha, Monsanto, Pombal, Tomar and Zêzere, his
contemporaries.
Under the care of the Order, constituted in the
seat of a Command, the castle became a nerve center in the Tagus area,
controlling the trade in olive oil, wheat, pork, fruit and wood between
the different regions of the territory and Lisbon. It is also believed
that there was a village associated with the castle, on one or both
banks of the river, since, in 1170, a charter was granted to its
residents.
With the advance of the reconquest to the south and
the extinction of the Order of the Templars in 1311 by Pope Clement V
during the reign of D. Dinis (1279-1325), the structure passed to the
Order of Christ, later losing importance, having underwent several
changes.
From the 18th century to the present day
Victim of
the 1755 earthquake, the structure was damaged and underwent further
alterations during the 19th century romanticism. At this stage, and in
line with the then current philosophy of valuing the works of the past
in the light of an ideal poetic vision, the castle was subject to
adulterations of a decorative nature, including the uniform crowning of
the walls by battlements and merlons.
The castle was handed over
to the Portuguese Army in the second half of the 19th century, under the
responsibility of the commander of the Escola Prática de Engenharia de
Tancos, to which it is attached to this day.
In the 20th century
it was classified as a National Monument of Portugal by Decree of June
16, 1910. At the time of the Portuguese Estado Novo, the complex was
adapted as the Official Residence of the Portuguese Republic, where some
important official events took place. To this end, new interventions
were promoted in the 1940s and 1950s, reinforcing aspects of an ideology
of nationality cultivated by the regime at the time.
At the
beginning of June 2006, two new piers were opened for tourist boats: one
on the right bank of the Tagus River and the other on the south side of
the island.
In September 2013, work began to improve the walls
and work on the keep of the Castle of Almourol to create a museum space.
The works, which will last for six months and involve an investment
of around 500,000 euros, will focus on different areas of disaggregation
of the walls and towers, with their waterproofing, water drainage and
improvement of the walls.
The intervention in the keep will focus
on the replacement of the current terrace, on the placement of a
metallic staircase with vertical circulation and on the installation of
an exhibition system of contents referring to the Templars, aiming to
preserve and protect the monument and allowing it better conditions of
accessibility and circulation.
It is currently possible to visit
the Castle of Almourol and take tours on the Tagus River, adding value
and interest to visits to the Monument. From Tancos, Arripiado and Vila
Nova da Barquinha.
The construction, in granite stonework and mortared masonry, has an
irregular (organic) plan, reflecting the irregularity of the terrain,
and has a division demarcated into two levels, a lower exterior and a
higher interior.
The first level is accessed through the main
entrance where there are tombstones that make reference to the
intervention by Gualdim Pais and where the name of the worker and the
year in which the intervention took place are mentioned. In this space,
the walls feature nine tall circular towers (four equidistant to the
west, and five to the east) and here you can also find the betrayal gate
and vestiges of what would have been a well.
Going up some steps and
going through another door, you enter the second level, the highest
interior area where the quadrangular keep, a characteristic element of
the Templars, built in the 12th century, stands. This three-storey
structure now features only the shoes as an original element (where the
wooden framework would be supported) and a patesque cross above the
window, a symbol adopted by the Templars. Here the curtain walls crowned
by merlons and loopholes feature staircases that give access to the top
of the wall and the path that runs through it, the adarve. Communication
between the different parts of the castle can be done through several
stonework passages.
Through the islet, other paths were built,
allowing not only the path that embraces the castle, but also the
possibility of glimpsing the surrounding landscape from various
perspectives.
The epigraphic question
On the main door of the
castle, an epigraphic inscription dating from the era of 1209 (1171),
mentions, in addition to Gualdim Pais from Braga and his military action
against Muslims in Egypt and Syria, his rise to the leadership of the
Order of the Temple in Portugal and subsequent construction of the
castles of Pombal, Tomar, Zêzere, Cardiga and Almourol (…factus domus
Templi Portugalis procurator, hoc construxit castrum Palumbare, Tomar,
Ozezar, Cardig, et hoc ad Almourol), showing that, in that year, the
Almourol castle was, like the others indicated, already built. However,
a second inscription, on the inner door, informs that it was in the 1209
era that Gualdim Pais built the Castle of Almourol. A third inscription,
on the door of the sacristy of the church of the Convent of Tomar, also
dated from 1209, similar to the first, except for the enumeration of the
castles, which also includes those of Idanha and Monsanto, which shows
that this third one was later than the first, since these last two
castles were built after 1171.
Legends
There have been several
popular stories exacerbating the romanticism associated with the Templar
castle, among which are:
In the early days of the Reconquista, D.
Ramiro, a Christian knight, was returning proud of fighting the Muslims
when he found two Moorish women, mother and daughter. He was bringing
the young woman a pitcher of water, which, frightened, she dropped when
he asked her rudely to drink the knight. Enraged, he had just taken the
lives of the two women when a young Moor appeared, son and brother of
the victims, soon imprisoned. D. Ramiro took the captive to his castle,
where he lived with his own wife and daughter, whom the Moorish prisoner
soon planned to murder in reprisal. However, if he began to administer a
slow-acting poison to his mother, he ended up falling in love with his
daughter, whom the father planned to marry a knight of his faith.
Corresponded by the young woman, who in the meantime had become aware of
her father's plans, the lovers left the castle and disappeared forever.
Legend has it that, on Saint John's nights, the couple can be seen
hugging at the top of the keep and, at their feet, begging forgiveness,
the cruel D. Ramiro. (in: PINHO LEAL, Augusto Soares d'Azevedo Barbosa
de. Ancient and modern Portugal: geographic, statistical, chorographic,
heraldic, archeological, historical, biographical and etymological
dictionary of all the cities, towns and parishes of Portugal and of a
large number of villages… (12 vols.). Lisbon: 1872 et seq.)
An Arab
lord of Almourol was betrayed by the Christian knight with whom his
daughter fell in love, and to whom she revealed the secrets of entering
the castle. The knight used the information to ambush and the emir and
his daughter preferred to jump from the walls to the river rather than
be held captive.
The heroic knight Palmeirim de Palmeirim de England was hit by a great storm that forced the ship in which he was traveling, from England to Constantinople, to dock on the Portuguese coast, anchoring in the Douro River. Landing in the city of Porto, the knight became aware of the adventures of some knights who had fought the giant Almourol, who in his castle in the middle of the Tagus river guarded the beautiful princess Miraguarda and her ladies. In search of adventures, the Palmeirim moves south, where, on the banks of the Tagus, in the distance, the Castle of Almourol can be seen. Approaching, he sees the end of the fight between two knights in a square next to the castle, recognizing in the victor the Sad Knight, with whom he had already dueled. As a sign of victory, the Sorrowful Knight joins his shield to that of others, who had also obtained it. On this shield was portrayed his lady, the beautiful princess Miraguarda, with whom the Palmeirim is enamored. As the battle between Palmeirim and Cavaleiro Triste ensues, night falls, ending the fight without a winner. The Sorrowful Knight is taken to the castle to tend to his wounds, while the Palmeirim goes to a nearby village for help. Neither one nor the other, however, wins favor with the princess, who advises the former to withdraw and give up further fighting for a year, while the Palmeirim resumes its way to Constantinople. After this feat, the giant Almourol was attacked and defeated by another giant, Dramusiando, under whose protection the beautiful princess and her court are henceforth.