Castle of Moura

Parish de Moura

Background

It is believed that the earliest human occupation of this site dates back to an Iron Age fort, successively occupied by the Romans, the Visigoths and the Muslims, when it achieved regional importance as the capital of the province of Al-Manijah, according to the various archaeological testimonies currently collected at the Moura Municipal Museum. The construction of the Muslim fortification, in rammed earth, dates from the mid-11th century to the beginning of the 12th century, of which some remains have come down to us, such as the so-called Torre da Salúquia.

The medieval castle

At the time of the Christian À época da Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula, the town was initially conquered, in 1166, by the brothers Pedro and Álvaro Rodrigues and lost almost immediately afterwards. It was conquered by Geraldo Sem Pavor in 1166, and after that, and until the reign of Denis of Portugal, it was lost and reconquered four more times.

It received a Charter granted by " Afonso I of Portugal (1112-1185) in 1171. The town's charter would be confirmed, in 1217, by Afonso II of Portugal (1211-1223). The definitive Christian domination of the region, however, would only be achieved from 1232 onwards. Under the reign of Denis of Portugal (1279-1325), the town received a new Charter (9 December 1295, a privilege extended to the Moorish community in 1296 and renewed in 1315), and the castle was rebuilt, taking advantage of the old Muslim walls. To this end, the Military Order of Aviz donated a third of the income from the churches of Moura and Serpa for the "reconstruction and maintenance of the fortresses of the said castles" (1320). To complement the works undertaken at the castles of Moura and Serpa, a line of watchtowers covering the border was erected during this period, of which the Atalaia da Cabeça Magra survives.

In the second half of the 14th century, under the reign of Fernando I of Portugal (1367-1383), a second walled enclosure was begun, enclosing the new, enlarged limits of the town. When he died, leading to the crisis of 1383-1385, the town and its castle took sides with D. Beatriz and João I of Castile until the time of the battle of Aljubarrota.

Under the reign of D. Manuel I (1495-1521), the town and its castle were depicted by Duarte de Armas (Livro das Fortalezas, c. 1509), with emphasis on the Keep surrounded by a Turreted wall, where the gate opens in a pointed arch, framed by alfiz and Heraldry. In 1512, the sovereign granted the New Charter to the town. Around this time, work would begin to modernize its defenses at the risk of Francisco de Arruda. Later, still in this period, in 1562, D. Ângela de Moura would begin the female convent of São Domingos, within the enclosure, on the foundations of the old mosque.

From the Portuguese Restoration War to the present day

In the context of the War of Restoration of Portuguese independence, the War Council of D.João IV (1640-1656) determined the modernization and reinforcement of the old fortification, given its strategic position on the border with Spain. Thus, with a project by Nicolau de Langres, a line of bastions was built, surrounding the town, reinforced by ravelins. Also from this period is the so-called Barracks Building, originally a set of barracks integrated by the Chapel of Senhor Jesus dos Quartéis at one end.

Occupied during the War of the Spanish Succession, the walls of Moura were blown up (damaging part of the Salúquia Tower), following the withdrawal of Spanish forces under the command of the Duke of Ossuna (1707). In that century it suffered further damage due to the 1755 earthquake. Unguarded from 1805 onwards, between 1809 and 1826 the castle's old mud walls were used as raw material for the production of saltpeter. Later, in 1850, José Pimenta Calça had the western section of the citadel wall demolished to make way for the Vista Alegre wine press.

The land of Castle of Moura and the castle itself were purchased in 1915 by Tiago Romano. The ruins of the Dominican Convent and the adjoining Church are classified as a Property of Public Interest by Decree published on 27 March 1944. At the end of the 1950s, public authorities began to intervene, through the Directorate-General for National Buildings and Monuments (DGEMN), extending over the following two decades. In 1981, archaeological surveys were carried out within the perimeter of the complex, and repair and restoration work was carried out in 1982 and between 1985 and 1986. More recently, in 2002, work was carried out to enhance the landscape around the castle.

It is recommended to visit the Arab Museum, built around the old well that supplied water to the castle.

Features

On a limestone elevation, at an elevation of 184 meters above sea level, the castle consists of a citadel and an oval-shaped Barbican, with maximum dimensions of 200 x 100 meters. Inside are the ruins of the Convent of Dominican Nuns of Our Lady of the Assumption (abandoned since 1875) and the attached church, built from 1562 on the site of the original Mother Church, next to the entrance to the citadel, towards which the church façade faces. This is rectangular in plan and has a single nave, with a notable Manueline-style tomb of Pedro and Álvaro Rodrigues, the supposed conquerors of Moura from the Muslims in 1166, and protagonists of the legend of the town's founding.

The citadel is accessed through an elbow gate to the southeast. The complex is dominated by the Dionysian keep, with a square plan. Flanking it, we identify the solid base of another, smaller tower, and also a circular cube, at the junction with the external wall. Both the keep and the Turret feature pyramidal prismatic Merlons. In some sections of the wall the Battlement still remains. The external fence is reinforced by quadrangular and circular towers. In the 19th century, one of the towers was adapted to become a Clock Tower.

The keep, in Gothic style, solid in the lower part, has on the second floor an octagonal room (Sala dos Alcaides) covered by a ribbed vault with pointed arches, supported by eight columns with thin shafts.

The 17th century bastion line has a star-shaped plan, with a ramping wall (in a rampart), originally surrounded by a moat, today almost completely covered.

Legends

The legend of the Moorish Salúquia

The legend dates back to the time when the town was conquered from the Moors by the Christians, as evidenced by the old tower next to the current Jardim Dr. Santiago and perpetuated in the town's coat of arms. The beautiful Saluquia was the daughter of the Muslim governor of the region, Abu Hassan, and was engaged to a young man who was appointed by him mayor of the castle. Day after day, leaning from the top of one of the towers, she anxiously awaited the arrival of her fiancé, who had left to fight against the Christians. These, however, advancing to conquer the town, ambushed the young Moor and killed him, as well as his companions. They put on their clothes and with this ruse they managed to get the castle doors opened for them. Realizing the deception, the beautiful Moorish woman Salúquia, preferring death to being a slave and captive of the Christians, threw herself from the tower, accompanying her beloved in death. And this explains the origin of the name Moura.