The Fortress of Segura () is a

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

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 ,

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' ...

Idanha-a-Nova Idanha-a-Nova ( ), officially the Town of Idanha-a-Nova (), is a town and municipality in the district of Castelo Branco, in east-central Portugal. A border municipality with Spain, the population of the municipality in 2011 was 9,716, in an area ...

, the Portuguese district of Castelo Branco. It is classified by IGESPAR as a Site of Public Interest.

History

Background

The origins of the border fortification of Segura are obscure, the village only being mentioned in the early years of 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 ...

. However, its definitive possession by the Crown of Portugal only took effect in 1282.

The medieval castle

The first reference to the castle dates from the reign of

Denis of Portugal Denis (, ; 9 October 1261 – 7 January 1325), called the Farmer King (''Rei Lavrador'') and the Poet King (''Rei Poeta''), was King of Portugal from 1279 until his death in 1325. Dinis was the eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his second ...

(1279-1325), when, on 20 August 1299, the sovereign exempted its residents from the taxes traditionally paid in

Salvaterra do Extremo Monfortinho e Salvaterra do Extremo is a Freguesia (Portugal), civil parish in the municipality of Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes Monfortinho and Salvaterra do Extremo. The population in 2011 was ...

, on condition that a castle be built. Twenty years later, the monarch donated the domains of the village and its castle to the

Military Order of Christ The Military Order of Christ is a Honorific orders of Portugal, Portuguese honorific order. It is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910, it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Chr ...

, which established a commendation here, proof that, at this stage, Segura was already an expressive regional center. Under the reign of

Ferdinand I of Portugal Ferdinand I (; 31 October 1345 – 22 October 1383), sometimes called the Handsome () or occasionally the Inconstant (), was the King of Portugal from 1367 until his death in 1383. He was also briefly made King of Galicia, in 1369 (a claim whi ...

(1367-1383), the sovereign donated the domains of the village and its castle to Frei Nuno Martins (1376).Taxonomia de História Medieval Portuguesa - CIDEHUS
/ref> During this period, the construction of 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 ...

began, a defense that was articulated with a

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 ...

. Later, under

Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate (), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manu ...

(1495-1521), is figured by (

Book of Fortresses The Book of Fortresses (Portuguese: ''Livro das Fortalezas'') is a sixteenth-century manuscript written in 1509–1510 by the Royal Clerk Duarte De Armas, Duarte de Armas at the behest King Manuel I of Portugal. The work contains drawings of all ...

, c. 1509). The village was elevated to town and county seat in 1510, a position it enjoyed until 1836, when it was annexed to the municipality of Salvaterra do Extremo.

War of Restoration to the present day

In the context of the Portuguese Restoration of independence War, the village and its fortification regained strategic importance on the border of

Beira Baixa Province Beira Baixa (; "Lower Beira") was a Portuguese province. It was abolished with the Constitution of 1976. Municipalities The 13 municipalities in the province: * Belmonte - Castelo Branco District - Cova da Beira Subregion * Castelo Branco - C ...

. For this reason, its defenses were reformulated, with the town being endowed with a surrounding wall, bastioned. This defense was insufficient to stop the French invasion, which penetrated through this border during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, in 1807. Later, in 1846, its military government was extinguished, which led to the dismantling of the defenses, absorbed since then by urban progress. At the beginning of the 20th century the clock tower was erected, today referred to as a reminder of Segura's military past, although without connection to it. The remainders of the defensive set are classified as Property of Public Interest by Decree published on 8 May 1959.

References

Segura Segura may refer to: Geography * Segura (river), a tributary of the Mediterranean Sea in southeastern Spain * Sierra de Segura, a mountain range in southeastern Spain * Segura, Gipuzkoa, a town in the Basque Country, northern Spain * Segura de lo ...

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