Castle of Chaves

Parish Santa Maria Maior

Background

Primitive human occupation of the region dates back to prehistoric times, according to the abundant archaeological evidence there. Certainly dating back to a pre-Roman fort, at the time of the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, present-day Chaves was an important urban center, as archaeological remains also attest. To join the two banks of the river, crossed by the Roman road that linked Manuel I of Portugal (present-day Braga) and Asturica Augusta (Astorga, today in Spain), the Trajan's Bridge was built, dating from the 1st century. It is believed that the first wall surrounding the town, limited to the historic center of the current city, where the main church was built, also dates from this period.

From the 3rd century onwards, the city was the scene of invasions by the Suevi, with emphasis on the struggles between Remismund and Frumarius who, disputing the right to the throne, led to the almost total destruction of the town (411), culminating in the victory of Frumarius and the imprisonment of Bishop Idatius of Chaves. Later, Alans and Visigoths would follow one another until, at the beginning of the 8th century, the Muslims arrived, defeating Rodrigo, the last king of the Visigoths (713). The new conquerors would have reinforced the fortification of Chaves, as clashes between Moors and Christians continued until the 11th century.

The medieval castle

At the time of the Christian Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, Chaves was initially taken from the Moors by Alfonso III of León (866-910), who ordered the reconstruction of its defenses. This primitive construction of the castle is attributed to Count Odoarius, in the 9th century. In the first quarter of the 10th century, however, Chaves once again fell under Moorish rule.

Alfonso VI of León and Castile included the town of Chaves in the dowry of Princess Teresa of León and Castile, when he married her to Count Henry of Burgundy (1093), making it part of the domains of the County of Portugal. Local tradition states, however, that around 1160, the brothers Rui and Garcia Lopes, knights of " Afonso I of Portugal, conquered Chaves for the Portuguese Crown. For this feat, they would have been rewarded by the sovereign with the domains of the village and its castle. The bodies of the brothers are buried in the Church of Santa Maria Maior.

Around 1221, Afonso IX of León and Castile, aiming to secure for his wife, D. Teresa, Infanta of Portugal, possession of the castles that her father, Sancho I of Portugal (1185-1211) had bequeathed to her in his will, and that her brother, Afonso II of Portugal, claimed from her, invaded Portugal, conquering Chaves. The domain of Chaves would only be returned to Portugal between the end of 1230 and the beginning of 1231, due to negotiations conducted in the town of Sabugal (then in Leon), between Sancho II of Portugal and Ferdinand III of Leon and Castile.

Although it is traditionally claimed that Chaves was the site of the wedding of Afonso III of Portugal (1248-1279) with the Infanta D. Beatriz, illegitimate daughter of Afonso X of Castile, in reality the sovereign went to Santo Estevão de Chaves (1253). It was this sovereign who, ordering the reconstruction of its defenses, granted the first charter to Chaves, in 1258, with rights identical to those of Samora, in the kingdom of León. The reconstruction of the castle began at this time, with the erection of the keep, to which the residents of the Chaves and Montenegro regions contributed by paying the anúduva. Some authors state that the construction of this keep was a response to the construction of Monterey Castle, on the opposite side of the border, in the kingdom of Galicia. His successor, Dinis of Portugal (1279-1325), continued the works, completing the keep and the town's fence. Afonso IV of Portugal (1279-1325), in turn, confirmed the charter of the town (1350).

In the context of the crisis of 1383-1385, the town of Chaves sided with D. Beatriz and John I of Portugal of Castile. After the battle of Aljubarrota (1385), the forces of Constable D. Nuno Álvares Pereira laid siege to the castle, which lasted from January to April 1386, until the surrender of its mayor, Martim Gonçalves de Ataíde. In return, John I of Portugal of Portugal donated these domains to the Constable, who bequeathed them as a dowry to his daughter D. Beatriz, through her marriage to D. Afonso, 1st Duke of Bragança. For this reason, some authors also call Chaves Castle the Castle of the Duke of Bragança. Under the reign of Manuel I of Portugal (1495-1521), the town and its castle are depicted by Duarte de Armas (Livro das Fortalezas 1509). Chaves received the New Charter from the sovereign in December 1514.

From the Restoration War to the present day

The castle would return to action during the Portuguese Restoration War, with its defenses being modernized and adapted to the then modern artillery fire. To this end, between 1658 and 1662 the town walls were rebuilt, lower, with a bastioned layout, dry ditches were dug, stakes were placed at Alto da Trindade, and the Ravelim da Madalena and the Fort of São Francisco were erected, under the direction of the Military Governor, D. Rodrigo de Castro, Count of Mesquitela. In a second stage, between 1664 and 1668, the Alto da Trindade stake gave way to the São Neutel Fort, under the guidance of the Military Governor, General Andrade e Sousa. In the context of the Peninsular War, these defenses would be manned again. With peace, the walls of Chaves were absorbed by urban progress, as exemplified in the region of Porta do Anjo and Rua do Sol.

In the 20th century, Chaves was elevated to city status on March 12, 1929, and its castle was classified as a National Monument by Decree published on March 22, 1938. At the end of the 1950s, the DGEMN began a series of interventions to consolidate, clean, restore and rebuild its defenses. Work continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s, culminating in 1978 with the installation of a military history museum in the keep of the medieval castle. Visitors will find weapons, uniforms, flags, drawings and plans on display, from the Middle Ages to the present day. The 1980s were marked by the execution of several improvement works and archaeological research in the castle gardens, south of the keep (1985), while the 1990s prioritized the requalification of the spaces of the Fort of São Francisco and the Fort of São Neutel.

21st Century

Part of the wall collapsed in 2001 due to bad weather. About a week after the reconstruction was completed, the bastion collapsed again. Despite the fact that 450 thousand euros were at stake - the value of the reconstruction works - the investigation opened by the City Council did not find anyone responsible. No one was held responsible for the contractor, architects, the City Council or the Portuguese Institute of Architectural Heritage, which approved the project. The investigation identified the causes of the collapse as the fact that the recovery was not carried out from corner to corner and that the upper space of the bastion, where there were small vegetable gardens, was not recovered.

A competition for the new reconstruction was launched in 2004 and the works were completed in 2007.

Features

The complex is marked by the medieval castle, in a dominant position over the city, with a rectangular plan comprising the Keep Tower internally and, externally, bastioned fortifications in the Vauban style.

Of the medieval castle, only part of the wall and the Keep Tower survive. This one has a quadrangular plan with dimensions of twelve meters wide by approximately twenty-eight meters high, divided internally into a ground floor (cistern) and three more floors with a barrel vault ceiling. There are some loopholes in its granite walls, and on the eastern elevation, there are wooden balconies. Crowned by Battlements and Merlons, at the vertices, small semicircular balconies are supported by boulders. It is accessed from the first floor, via an angled stone staircase, with guardrails, also made of stone, and a door with a rounded arch, with a twisted frame, topped by a royal coat of arms with nineteen castles.

The tower's Barbican, spanned by a battlement, has, on the southwest façade, a door with a rounded arch. This door is defended by a rectangular, projecting balcony with boulders. A similar balcony can be seen on the northwest façade, as well as another, with a circular corner, at the angle of these façades. Access to the parapet is via the balcony with walkway, from the second floor of the tower. The complex is partially surrounded by an artistic garden, delimited by the walls.