In the municipality of Abrantes, a beautiful territory located on a large hillside that breathes history and dazzles with its religious monuments, there are many places to discover. The Abrantes Castle, one of the most important elements of military architecture, can be found in the city of Abrantes.
| county | Abrantes |
| Parish | Saint John and Saint Vincent |
| Style | Romanesque / Gothic |
Some authors think that a castro has been there since prehistoric times. The Roman consul Decimus Junius Brutus took it over during the Roman invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 130 BC. The Visigoths and Muslims later lived there because it was a crossroads of land routes, which made it a good place for a military garrison. Other authors, on the other hand, think that the middle course of the Tagus River wasn’t really connected to the major peninsular powers until the 12th century.
The town was taken from the Moors by the soldiers of D. Afonso Henriques (1112-1185), who also mandated the repair of the defences, during the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 1118 or 1148. When the Order of the Templars built an amazing defensive line along the middle course of the river, where it was registered, the defence requirements of the so-called Linha do Tejo added significance to the site. He thus fought the Almohad Caliphate’s armies under the command of Aben Jacob, who had to retreat after incurring significant losses. He received his charter from the sovereign as compensation for this brave act (1179).
Later, D. Afonso III (1248–1279), with a focus on the keep and the development of the walls, made significant defence modifications, which began in 1250 and were completed between 1300 and 1303, already during the reign of D. Dinis (1279–1325). The settlement was left to the king’s wife, D. Isabel de Arago, and from that point forward, it was inherited by the Portuguese queens.
He supported the soldiers of the Master of Avis during the 1383–1385 crisis, adhering to the myth that the choice to battle Castilian forces at Aljubarrota was made in this fortress.
D. Manuel’s (1495–1521) rule brought the Foral Novo to the town (1510).
In the second half of the 1600s, especially during the Philippine Dynasty, Abrantes Castle began to fall apart.
During the Portuguese Independence Restoration War (1667–1706), D. Pedro II (1667–1706) oversaw its renovation. He turned the town and its mediaeval fortress into a modern bastioned stronghold (Praca-forte de Abrantes) in the style of Vauban.
As a result of the mediaeval walls being lowered and strengthened, two half-bulwarks were added in 1704.
It was known as “the key to the Province of Estremadura” at the time.
In the 18th century, when a regiment of the Royal Cavalry moved in, the castle buildings were changed into barracks.
Between 1792 and 1799, the Marquis of Alorna led a legion that made these buildings bigger and used them.
19th century to the present
The village helped the movement of Napoleonic soldiers twice at the start of the 19th century during the Peninsular War:
It was taken over by soldiers led by General Jean-Andoche Junot on November 22, 1807; he was given the title of Duke of Abrantes in March 1808; and after Marshal André Masséna’s men were routed in the Lines of Torres, it was retaken in October 1810.
Later, the buildings of the castle were changed from barracks to a military jail, which changed how they were built.
In July 1957, a law said that the complex was a property of public interest. This was in the middle of the 20th century. Work on the castle walls to make them stronger and fix them up started at the end of the 1960s and went on until the 1970s. The ancient keep was partially rebuilt during this time. A recent effort to intervene and improve the complex was developed, beginning in 2002.
Features
- The Torre de Menagem, with a quadrangular plan and unusually located in the centre of the main square, originally consisted of three floors, the two upper floors having been damaged by the 1531 earthquake.
- In the old main square, on the west side, stand the ruins of the old Paço dos Condes de Abrantes, started around 1530 by the Mayor of the Village, Diogo Fernandes de Almeida, who demolished that section of walls to erect it.
- This building was substantially modified in the 18th century on the initiative of the 1st Marquis of Abrantes, D. Rodrigo Anes de Meneses.
- The Paço dos Marqueses de Abrantes is distinguished by the grandeur of its Baroque architectural elements, particularly the loggia, an archway with eleven spans and a perfect turn flanked symmetrically by two cylindrical turrets.
- Still inside the walled enclosure stands the Gothic-style Church of Santa Maria do Castelo, converted into a historic museum, where you can see collections of Roman sculpture, tomb sculpture from the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as panels of Sevillian tiles and other works of art.
