The ''Castle of Sesimbra'', also known as ''Castle of the Moors'', is a castle located in the town of

Sesimbra Sesimbra () is a municipality of Portugal, in the Setúbal District, lying at the foothills of the ''Serra da Arrábida'', a mountain range between Setúbal and Sesimbra. Due to its particular position at the Península de Setúbal, Setúbal Bay, ...

, in the

Setúbal District The District of Setúbal ( ) is a district located in the south-west of Portugal. It is named for its capital, the city of Setúbal. Geography It is delimited by Lisbon District and Santarém District on the north, Évora District on the eas ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. It was classified as a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

on 16 June 1910.

History

The medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

stands in a dominant position on a

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of Rock (geology), rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. ...

, over a

cove A cove is a small bay or coastal inlet. They usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creek (tidal), creeks, or recesses in a coast ...

which constitutes a natural harbour in the

Setúbal peninsula The Setúbal Peninsula ( Portuguese: ) is a peninsula in the Lisbon Region of Portugal. The peninsula is named after one of its larger cities, Setúbal, and is bordered by three bodies of water, the Atlantic Ocean in the west and southwest, the T ...

between the

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

river and the Sado river, a few miles from Cape Espichel. It was built on a site occupied in

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

times. In the 9th century it was a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

settlement during the period of Muslim occupation of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

, when it was known as Alcáçova. In 1165 it was conquered by D. Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal. In 1191 it was occupied by the

Almohads The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

, Moroccan

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

, who almost entirely destroyed it in the process. The final reconquest took place in 1199, under King Sancho I, with the help of

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

. Given its strategic importance, numerous enlargements to the castle were carried out immediately after the reconquest and throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. In 1323 a second reinforcement of the walls was made and the West Tower was built, this being needed as a lookout to identify

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

. In 1384 the castle served as a refuge for John of Avis and his troops during the war with Castile (1383–85). From the fifteenth century, the population gradually began to move down from the hills to settle by the bay and pursue fishing and boatbuilding activities. By 1516 there were already signs of abandonment. The ramparts were reinforced in 1693 and other improvements made and, in 1721, the Church of Santa Maria do Castelo, which was built by Afonso I, was restored. However, the castle was already in a bad condition when it was effectively ruined by the earthquake of 1755. In 1875, part of the grounds was converted into a cemetery. The advanced state of ruin of the castle was not addressed until between 1933 and 1945, when conservation work was carried out by the ''Direção-Geral dos Edifícios e Monumentos Nacionais'' (DGEMN-General Directorate of Buildings and National Monuments). Further restoration was carried out in 1998. The Castle of Sesimbra is now under the management of the Municipality of Sesimbra. The walls can be easily explored on foot and there are also two permanent exhibitions on its history, a shop and a cafeteria. Castelo de Sesimbra, muralha e adarve (44799940261).jpg SesimbraCastle1.jpg Sesimbra fortress ramparts.jpg, Battlements Castelo de Sesimbra by Juntas 2.jpg Castelo de Sesimbra.jpg, Inside view Castelo de Sesimbra - Portugal (2631327325).jpg Castillo de Sesimbra, Portugal, 2012-08-18, DD 02.JPG, Exterior view from Northwest File:Sesimbra - Portugal (50956907502).jpg, Exterior view from Southeast Castelo de Sesimbra - vista exterior.JPG, The keep

References

{{Authority control Castles in Portugal Castle Sesimbra Buildings and structures in Setúbal District

History

See also

References