page_title: Castle of Óbidos
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Castle of Óbidos / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: PousadaDoCasteloObidosGarten
context_page_description: The Castle of Óbidos is a well-preserved medieval castle located in the civil parish of Santa Maria, São Pedro e Sobral da Lagoa, in the municipality of Óbidos, Oeste portuguese region.
context_section_description: The trapezoidal castle oriented to the southeast rises 79 metres (259 ft) above sea level and is situated on the extreme northwest of the walled fortifications. It is reinforced in the north by three semi-circular and rectangular corbels; in the east and west of the wall by rectangular corbels, known as the towers of D. Dinis and D. Fernando; to the south by two semi-circular corbels, one with machillitions; and a barbican in the north and west. Along the wall dividing the two courtyards is a gentle, rectangular arch, known as the tower of Albarrã. The castle's architecture shows elements of Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Manueline influences spread over two main areas: the Castelejo (current Inn Castle, or Pousada de Obidos) and the intramural district.
  The enclosed courtyard in the form of an irregular triangle plan, encircled by square merlons with sills and battlements. The perimeter of the walls, reinforced by square and cylindrical plant towers, extends 1,565 metres (5,135 ft) and completely covered by a battlement defended by crenellated parapet. To the west, is a line of walls that accompanies the mountainous cliffs, reinforced by large, rectangular towers. This line of walls is broken by the Cerca Gate, Talhada Gate and the watchtower of Jogo da Bola, terminating in the southwest by the Facho Tower. From here the walls are irregularly adapted to the relief of the land along the northeast, inflecting towards the north and east, and reinforced by semi-circular corbels and the minarets of the castle. In some places, the walls tower 13 metres (43 ft) high.
  Built by Queen Catherine of Austria, wife of King John III (1521–1557), a 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) aqueduct was constructed to carry water from the mountains of Usseira to Óbidos, supplying the fountains of the town.
  Within the citadel, along the north face of the old wall, is the Paço dos Alcaides (Palace of the Alcaldes), whose access to the enclosure is affected by a high wall, reinforced by turrets, one of which is topped by a counter with boulders. The building is designed in a "U" plan covered in tile roof, with the western wing shorter than the opposite wing. The central wing is three-stories high, with the two floors in the east over the cliffs. The doors of the palace on the first floor are surmounted by Gothic arches, on the second by rectangular friezes, with two windows with double, polycentric arches and twin panel, with iron balcony. At the top of the second floor staircase is an arched doorway surmounted by flanked armillary spheres and central coat-of-arms; the staircase connects the doorway to the eastern, second floor and the door of the 3rd central floor. The northern facade is coincident with the exterior wall, reinforced with corbels and marked by friezes and rectangular windows on the third floor, while the eastern face includes Manueline windows, similar to the southern facade.
  The first floor is the service floor, the second the reception area, and a bar in the eastern corp, while the remaining wings are taken-up by bedrooms. In the third floor is the formal dining and living rooms, with the kitchen and bedrooms. The two towers that flank the southern facade, of various dimensions and heights, are finished in pentagonal merlons (the tower of D. Fernando) and pyramids (the tower of D. Dinis), and were adapted into rooms. Over the door that connects the two courtyards is a passageway that connects the palace and the Church of Santiago.
caption: A view of the Manueline-esque double windows on the third floor
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