Almourol - Castelo de Almourol I

September 11, 2010

Almourol - Almourol Castle

Description: situated in the small Almourol island, a rocky island, in the middle of the Tejo river, in Praia do Ribatejo, a parish in Vila Nova da Barquinha, Central Portugal. The castle was a Knights Templar stronghold used during the "Reconquista".

The site has been occupied since the antiquity. It is believed it was a primitive lusitanian redoubt and was populated from Roman times until the late Middle Ages. It is certain that in 1129, when Portuguese troops conquered the land, the castle already existed and was called Almorolan. 

The site was given to the Knights Templar, who built a settlement between the Mondego and the Tejo rivers. At the time, they were responsible for the defence of the capital, then Coimbra. The castle has been rebuilt, but it is assumed the architectural characteristics remain largely the same today.

Through an epigraph, placed on the main gate, we know that the reconstruction ended in 1171, two years after the building of the Castle of Tomar. The two castles have several characteristics in common, both built in the same style of military Templar architecture. Both opted for a quadrangular disposal of the spaces. The high walls are protected by nine circular towers, with a jail-tower at the center of the structure.

These last characteristics constitute two of the innovative elements which the Knights Templar brought to military architecture in Portugal. The jail, which appeared first in the 11th century in Tomar, the main Templar defensive redoubt in Portugal, is unusual in pre-Romanic castles. The jail tower of the castle of Almourol had three levels and was significantly modified over time, while it still retains important features. The design of walls with equally placed towers along the walls, was brought to the western Iberian peninsula by the knights.

References: Wikipedia - The free Encyclopedia