The Castle of Leiria () 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 Leiria, Pousos, Barreira e Cortes,

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' ...

Leiria Leiria () is a city and municipality in the Central Region, Portugal, Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, after Coimbra, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat o ...

district of Leiria The District of Leiria ( ) is a district located between the Oeste e Vale do Tejo and Centro regions of Portugal, and divided between the traditional provinces of Beira Litoral and Estremadura. It borders on the north with district of Coimbra, ...

History

The castle of Leiria was built by D. Afonso Henriques for the purpose of creating a line of defense against the Arabs. In 1142 he reinforced the defense of the castle after regaining

. D. Sancho I ordered erection of the walls of the castle in 1195. In 1324 D. Dinis ordered construction of the

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 ...

(Tower of Menagem) which was completed only during the reign of D. Afonso IV. In the early 16th century D. Manuel ordered a

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

to be built between the main chapel and the bell tower. Throughout the centuries the castle gradually lost its military value. It was badly damaged during the French invasion. At the end of the 19th century restoration of the castle started in 1915 by the initiative of Liga dos Amigos do Castelo. The restoration project was directed by Ernesto Korrodi between 1921 and 1933, and then by Baltazar de Vastro. The castle hosted important events as the meetings of the first courts called by

D. Afonso III D. or d. may refer to, usually as an abbreviation: * Don (honorific), a form of address in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and their former overseas empires, usually given to nobles or other individuals of high social rank. * Date of death, as an abbreviati ...

; became the residence of D. Denis and

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

; transformed into a meeting venue for the new court in the reign of D. Ferdinand I and the marriage of D. João I's son D. Afonso was celebrated in this castle as well. 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 1910. The castle was damaged by the 1969 earthquake.

Architecture

The present configuration of the castle of Leiria was influenced by the 4 major construction periods: the 12th century's Romanesque, the 14th century's

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

Dionysus, the early 15th century's

Johannine and the restoration trends of late 19th and early 20th century. The shape of the castle is irregular

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

al with solid walls and towers. Paços Reais (Royal Palace), the Church of Nossa Senhora da Pena, Menagem Tower, the former Collegiate space, and medieval barns are located inside the complex. The castle has 4 floors; the lower two floors are hardly seen from outside and are intended for domestic services. There is a large

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

with eight

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es of twin

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

. The

has the panorama over the city and was used as a place for leisure and socializing. The loggia is accessed through a room called Royal Hall or Noble Hall which has a total area of 130 square meters used for receptions by monarchs.

Stonemasonry Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using rock (geology), stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with Mortar (masonry), mortar ...

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

and

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

were used in the construction.

Gallery

File:LeiriaCastle.JPG, Castle of Leiria File:Leiria-Château-Galeria-19670802.jpg, Gothic arcade (restored) of the Palace of D. João I File:Palacios Nuevos. Logia.jpg, Loggia File:1 Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Pena Castelo de Leiria IMG 8996.JPG, Church of Nossa Senhora da Pena File:LeiriaCastle2.jpg File:Torre dos sinos.jpg, Bell tower

References

External links

Leiria Castle
(Municipality of Leiria) {{Castles in Portugal

Buildings and structures in Leiria National monuments in Leiria District

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links