Castelo de Castro Laboreiro is a Portuguese castle in the civil parish of Castro Laboreiro in the municipality of Melgaco. It is the remains of a Romanesque castle with a cistern-equipped central keep surrounded by a ring of walls.
| Style | Romanesque/Gothic |
In Melgaço, there is a long tradition of tales about witches, enchanted moors, and Swabian princesses; Minho heroines like the legend of Inês Negra; and even tales and fables about fantastical beings like argans and other beings with magical abilities, which are similar to the sculptures of monsters and dragons made by Professor Paulo de Souza Pinto and discovered in Monte de Prado, on the riverside slope, and People have been telling each other about this popular culture for decades, but it is quickly dying out.
The mountainous region, specifically Castro Laboreiro, also has a distinctive human and cultural character that is of Celtic origin and has its own customs and habits. The local transhumance culture is distinct in the country for its mild and inverneiras, language, and local dress customs (castrejo costume).
The Castro Laboreiro dog, or “black mouth,” is an indigenous breed of dog that is one of the oldest on the Iberian Peninsula. It is of the mastinated type and makes a great guard dog and cattle guide.
The Peneda-Gerês National Park in Lamas de Mouro protects the municipality’s natural fauna and flora. The county is also home to many Roman bridges, Celtic (instead of Portos) megalithic monuments and alignments, mediaeval fortifications like Melgaco Castle and Castro Laboreiro Castle, as well as manor houses, Romanesque churches, the Peso thermal bath, museums, and walking or cycling trails.
Megalithic stones show that people have lived in the area since prehistoric times. These stones are on a plateau northeast of Castro Laboreiro.
Even though there isn’t much history about this place, it seems that people lived here because of how the Roman roads crossed the area’s rivers (Breiro de Barreiro, the river Laboreiro, the river Cainheiras, the river of Porto Seco, and others) with bridges.
During the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, Afonso III de Leo (848–910) gave the territory of Castro Laboreiro to Count D. Hermenegildo, the grandfather of São Rosendo, in exchange for defeating Vitiza, a local chief who had revolted.
During the count’s administration, the existing castro (which gave it its name) would have been converted into a castle before reverting to Muslim control.
| Coordinates | 42°1′22.55″N 8°9′29.69″W |
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In 1141, D. Afonso Henriques (1112-1185) seized Castro Laboreiro and fortified its defences (1145), which formed a part of Portugal’s frontier line.
According to the epigraphic inscription, this defence would have been finished during the reign of D. Sancho I, although its specifics are unknown (1185–1211).
Beginning with the reign of King Afonso III, forces from the kingdom of León invaded and badly devastated the castle (1212).
Castro Laboreiro was the town and county headquarters of the Barcelos region, which was part of the Barcelos county until 1834, as well as a commendation of the Order of Christ from 1319 to 1855. In the 1290s, during the reign of D. Dinis (1279–1325), its defences were reconstructed and assumed their modern configuration. At this time, the Gomes de Abreu family of Merufe was responsible for both the mayors of Castro Laboreiro and Melgaco. Later, during the reign of D. Fernando (1367–1383), the king granted Estevo Anes Marinho the position of mayor.
After the capture of Melgaco in the 14th century, D. João I (1385–1433) used Castro Laboreiro as a base to repel Castilian invaders from Galicia.
Martim de Castro lost his job as mayor in 1441 because of the protests of the peasants.
In his book Livro das Fortalezas, which was published in 1509, Duarte de Armas shows the castle with five square towers built into the walls to protect them.
The keep, which is likewise square in plan, is located in the centre, preceded by another building, with the cistern to the north. The village is located at a lower elevation and is secluded.
The castle has been a national monument since 1944, but the first projects to maintain and repair it did not begin until 1979.These projects included repaving the roads and getting rid of plants and landscaping, which went on for the rest of the year. In 2005, the town council improved the castle’s accessibility.
Architecture
The castle is situated on a secluded mountaintop 1,033 metres above the confluence of the Minho and Lima rivers. It features an oval layout, aligned north-south, with the ruins of walls built over cliffs and crags, often in a zigzag pattern that matched the ancient towers.
Located in the north is the “traitors’ gate,” the Gate of the Frog (Portuguese: Porta do Sapo), and to the east is the “Gate of the Sun” (Portuguese: Porta do Sol). The east-west courtyard is closed and only accessible by a footbridge that was used to round up livestock and property during invasions. Around these walls are all that remains of the ancient cistern’s ruins.
