Castle of Almourol

The **Castle of Almourol** is a medieval castle, located on a small islet in the middle of the Tagus River, in the civil parish of Praia do Ribatejo, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the municipal seat of Vila Nova da Barquinha, in the Portuguese Centre Region. The castle was part of the defensive line controlled by the Knights Templar, and a stronghold used during the Portuguese Reconquista.

## History:

It is believed that the castle was constructed on the site of a primitive Lusitanian castro that was later conquered by the Romans during the 1st century B.C.E. It was later remodelled by successive invading forces, including the Alans, Visigoths and Moors, although it is unclear when the actual castle was established.
 In excavations carried out in the interior and exterior enclosures,
various vestiges of Roman occupation were discovered, that included
coins, millennium markers and Roman foundations, while medieval remnants
 such as medallions and two marble columns were also discovered in the
castle's vicinity.

The castle of Almourol is one of the more emblematic and cenographic medieval military monuments of the Reconquista, and best representation of the influence of the Knights Templar in Portugal. When it was conquered in 1129, by forces loyal to the Portuguese nobility, it was then known as *Almorolan*, and placed in the trust of Gualdim Pais, the master of the Knights Templar in Portugal, who rebuilt the structure.
 The structure was reconstructed, starting in 1171 (from an inscription
over the principal gate) and restored during the subsequent reigns.

Losing its strategic place, it was abandoned resulting in its fall
into ruins. In the 19th century, it was "reinvented" by idealistic
romantics, which eventually led to interventions in the 1940s and 1950s,
 and its adaption as *Official Residence* of the Portuguese Republic.
 During this period, restorations had proceeded, transforming the
physical appearance of the structure, including the addition of crenellations and bartizans.

The *DGMEN - Direcção-Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais* (*Directorate-General of Buildings and National Monuments*), the forerunner of the IGESPAR first intervened on the site in 1939, through the construction of the chemin de ronde in masonry, including reinforced concrete; desmantlement and reconstruction of the corner of the keep;
 repair and consolidation of the battlements, including the demolition
of the tower's allure, reconstruction of a brick vault under the
existing; and reconstruction of the pavement in small stone.

Around 1940-1950, the spaces were adapted for its use as an official residence of the Portuguese Republic. At the end of this short term, the building's furniture was acquired by the Commission for Furniture Acquisition (Portuguese: *Comissão para a Aquisição de Mobiliário*) in 1955, while an electrical grid was installed.

Between 1958 and 1959, there was some consolidation of the keep with
concrete straps, a project to diminish the permeability of the courtyard
 and reconstruction of the interior walls of the tower by the *Escola Prática de Engenharia* (*Practical School of Engineering*), as well as the reconstruction of a door that included doorposts and lintels.
 In subsequent years, other projects occurred: in 1959, the repair of
the façade of one section of wall; in 1960, with the conclusion of the
repairs to the exterior walls, the pavement and road access was improved
 by the *Direcção da Arma de Engenharia de Tancos* (*Tancos Directorate for the Engineering Arm*).
 But, this roadway was improved with the reconstruction of a road that
skirted the islet from the quay to the southern end of the castle, by
the*Serviços de Engenharia do Estado Maior do Exército* (*Army General Staff Engineering Services*).

By 1996, the walls were repaired, sections of the keep were preserved and the pavement in the castle restored.

Owing to water infiltration, the castle began to show some signs of degradation by 2004, including a few of the exterior walls.

## Architecture:

The castle rises over a granite outcropping 18 metres (59 ft), it is
approximately 310 metres (1,020 ft) long and 75 metres (246 ft) wide, in
 the middle of the Tagus River waterway, a few metres below its confluence with the Zêzere River in front of the town of Tancos. Although access to the Portuguese National Monument
 and fluvial islet is free, visitors to the structure must pay an
inexpensive boat-ride across the river (which is the only way for
visitors to reach the castle).

It is an irregular rectangular plan consisting of two enclosures: the
 exterior, lower level faces upstream with a traitors' gate, and walls
reinforced by nine tall circular towers; and the interior enclosure,
located in a higher elevation, whose walls are accessible by main gate
to the main keep. The keep is three-stories tall and includes the original pads that supported the main truss. The remaining sentry towers are irregular, owing to the irregular terrain. The keep is actually an innovation at this castle, appearing in the 12th century after the Castle of Tomar, the principal defensive redoubt of the Templars in Portugal. Similarly, the watchtowers were innovations brought into western part of the Iberian peninsula by the Order, and applied in Almourol.

The interior is bisected by several masonry doorways that link the different parts of the castle. Two inscription stones mark the castle's history and its re-edification
 by Gualdim Pais (over the main gate), as well as its Christian history (from the cross carved into the space above an open window in the keep).