Castle of Alcanede

Parish de Alcanede

Background

Rescued from ruin by an intervention by the General Directorate of National Buildings and Monuments, which took place between 1941 and 1949, Alcanede Castle remains a historical landmark in the landscape, but today it does not allow us to understand its importance throughout the successive waves of civilization that overlapped here. Probably of Roman foundation, on an old hill fort, the primitive structure was enlarged and renovated during the High Middle Ages.

Conquered from Muslim forces by Count D. Henrique in 1091, the passage to definitive possession of the Christians took place during the reign of Afonso I of Portugal, in the same military campaign that made possible the remarkable conquests of Santarém and Lisbon.

The medieval castle

At the time of the Christian À época da Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula it was taken by Count D. Henrique (1091) and later recovered by the Moors. Its definitive possession was obtained after the conquest by King Afonso I of Portugal (1112-1185), in the context of the conquests of Santarém and Lisbon. Its first mayor was D. Gonçalo Mendes de Sousa, chief steward of D. Afonso Henriques, who was responsible for rebuilding and expanding the walled enclosure and populating and organizing the town, before 1163.

The town and its castle must have remained on alert during the Almohad incursion of 1171 under the command of the Almohad caliph Abu Yakub Yusuf. A little later, Sancho I of Portugal (1185-1211) entrusted the Castle of Alcanede to the Order of Calatrava, a town where this military order owned assets, according to a bull dated 1201. This heritage would pass into the name of the Military Order of Aviz under the reign of D. Dinis (1279-1325). Some of the castle's most important structures, such as the Keep, crowned by Battlements, date from this last period, given the region's demographic expansion.

In 1370, during the reign of King Ferdinand (1367-1383), the men of the town of Alcanede were exempted from participating in the works on the Castle of Santarém, provided that they repaired the walls of their own castle.

During the crisis of 1383-1385, he supported the Master of Avis, and his Alcaide, Álvaro Vasques, joined the Portuguese forces that fought in Castile, and died as a volunteer during the reconnaissance of a ford on the Douro River.

Under the reign of D. Manuel (1495-1521) the town experienced a new surge of growth, thanks to the New Charter granted in 1514. In addition, the sovereign paid for part of the works on the castle and the town's main church.

The earthquake of 1531 shook its structure, marking the beginning of its decline. With no military function or strategic importance, there was no interest in repairing it, and it fell into disrepair and oblivion.

Reconstruction in the 20th century

In ruins in the 20th century, Alcanede Castle was considered a Property of Public Interest by Decree of August 18, 1943, undergoing important consolidation and reconstruction works between 1941 and 1949 under the responsibility of the DGEMN. During this period, the walls were rebuilt, as well as several structures such as the towers and the internal spaces of the castle.

Features

It has an approximately oval plan, with walls surrounding the parade ground. On the opposite side of the Keep, the walls are reinforced by a Turret.