The Castle of Castelo Rodrigo () is a 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 ...

in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Castelo Rodrigo in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo () is a municipality in the District of Guarda (district), Guarda in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 5,150, in an area of 508.57 km2. Located in the Riba Coa (near the River Coa), just like other municipalities ...

, district of Guarda in Portugal. Castillo de Castelo Rodrigo interior

History

It is believed that the castle was founded in the 6th century based on legends. After the village was conquered by

Alfonso IX of León Alfonso IX (15 August 117123 or 24 September 1230) was King of León from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death. He took steps towards modernizing and democratizing his dominion and founded the University of Salaman ...

in the late 11th/early 12th century, he ordered to build the castle and reinforce the defensive line. The name of the village, as well as the castle comes from the name of the Count Rodrigo Gonzalez de Girón who was responsible for the defense of the castle. The Castelo Rodrigo was incorporated into the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...

in 1297 with the

Treaty of Alcañices The Treaty of Alcañices or Treaty of Alcanizes (; ) was made in Alcañices between King Denis of Portugal and King Fernando IV of Castile in 1297. Denis was the grandson of King Alfonso X of Castile and essentially an administrator and not a ...

between King Denis of Portugal and King Fernando IV of Castile. The fortress and walled fence were rebuilt, and 13

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

s, Menagem Tower (

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

), a

barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

and

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

s were constructed by D.Denis in the 14th century. It has been listed 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 ...

since 1922.

Architecture

The configuration of the castle surrounding the village is oval. Existing sections of wall have attached constructions, with the exception in North and East sides. In the West and South sides of the castle there are towers or turrets in circular shape of which 4 are still standing with their collapsed tops. On the East there is a quadrangular ledge, and on the North there is a partially crumbled square-shaped tower. Three doors are remaining: the Door of the Sun (turned to the East), The Door of the Alverca (turned to the North) and the Door of Betrayal.

References

External links

Castelo Rodrigo Castle
at IPPAR Castle Castelo Rodrigo Buildings and structures in Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo Castle Castelo Rodrigo National monuments in Guarda District {{portugal-castle-stub

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links