Castle of Lamego

Parish of Almacave

Background

The early human occupation of the site of Lamego dates back to a prehistoric hill fort, although some authors believe that the people of Lacao (c. 5th century BC), conquered by the Romans, lived here.

During the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, Emperor Trajan ordered the reconstruction of the town, then called Lameca, which went from being a simple villa to a civitas around the 4th century, a period in which Christianity was already recognized.

Between the 5th and 8th centuries, it was under the rule of the Visigoths, when the town was the seat of a bishopric, as evidenced by the Basilica of Saint Peter of Balsemão, built between the 6th and 7th centuries in the Visigothic style. From the 8th century onwards, the town came under Muslim rule.

The medieval castle

During the Christian À época da Reconquest of the peninsula, the town was initially taken by Ordoño II of Galicia (910). It was later reconquered (997) by the forces of Almansor, Caliph of Cordoba, who would hold it until the 11th century. It was taken with difficulty by Ferdinand the Great from the Muslims (November 29, 1057), which demonstrates the value of its fortifications at the time: And, since the city was very strong, it was surrounded on all sides. And so many mills and wooden castles were built there and so strong was the battle that he took it by force. (General Chronicle of Spain, 1344).

The town's domains and its castle were donated as a dowry to D.Teresa of León upon her marriage to D.Henry of Burgundy, and became part of the domains of the County of Portugal. With the independence of Portugal, they were donated to the Mendes, lords of Bragança. In the construction campaign that took place in the second half of the 12th century, to which we owe the keep and the citadel, the walls, without battlements, and the cistern, built by the Muslims in the 11th century, were maintained.

During the reign of Sancho II of Portugal (1223-1248), Abril Peres de Lumiares was mayor of the castle until 1245. It is believed that the erection of the town walls took place after the Inquisitions of 1258, during the reign of Afonso III of Portugal (1248-1279).

In the 14th and 15th centuries, the town prospered thanks to the manufacture of textiles, with an annual fair of regional importance. During this period, the Coutinhos were mayors of the castle, among whom Gonçalo Vasques Coutinho, also mayor of Trancoso Castle, stood out, and during the crisis of 1383-1385, he sided with the Master of Avis. At the end of the period, D.Francisco Coutinho, 4th Count of Marialva, had a window opened in the middle of the tower.

After a brief period of economic recession during the 16th century, the wine trade brought new prosperity to the region in the 17th century, which is evident in the construction of a large number of manor houses in Lamego. During this period, the town gate was formed by an arch with two towers, where there was a bell that served as a clock. The town hall was then an old bastion, a porch with carved stone columns and a tower. A second bastion was then called Castelinho (1730), and the old cistern was cleaned (1749), which was later closed for safety reasons (1758).

From the 20th century to the present day

The castle was classified as a National Monument by Decree published on June 23, 1910.

The intervention of the public authorities in the monument, through the General Directorate of National Buildings and Monuments (DGEMN) began in a first phase from 1940 to 1944. Later, in 1949, the City Council carried out repairs to the accesses. New intervention campaigns would follow, under the responsibility of the DGEMN, between 1955 and 1991, freeing the monument of attached buildings, consolidating, recovering or rebuilding structures, in various improvements that greatly enhanced the monument's value.

Architecture

The castle stands in a dominant position over the city, on a hill of granite and schist outcrops, at an elevation of 543 meters above sea level. It has an irregular polygonal plan, organic (adapted to the terrain), in the Romanesque and Gothic art style. In addition to the internal fence, covered by a battlement, which includes the citadel, dominated by the Keep, an external fence surrounds the complex at a lower level.

The complex was accessed by two doors: the Porta do Sol, to the south, and the Porta da Vila (Porta dos Figos, do Aguião, do Norte or dos Fogos), to the north, flanked by two cubelos, one square and the other circular.

The keep, with a quadrangular plan, off-centered to the west in the parade ground, is divided internally into three floors, with wooden floors and stairs, lit by cracks, some of which were transformed into windows at the end of the 16th century. It was originally accessed by a door raised about 2 meters above the ground. There is currently a door at ground floor level. It is topped by battlements.

Outside the walls stands the ancient cistern made of carved stone, measuring approximately twenty meters long by ten meters wide. The roof is vaulted with a ribbed ogee supported by four arches resting on pillars. It is believed to be one of the best preserved specimens in the country.

The legends of the Moorish Ardínia

During the time of Muslim rule in Lamego, there lived in the castle a Moorish princess, named Ardínia, daughter of the ruler, who fell in love with a Christian knight, Tedom Ramires. Having arranged for the marriage and the escape to Christian lands, they did so. The young woman's father, however, managed to catch up with her in the chapel of São Pedro, next to the river Távora, when the young woman had just converted to the Christian faith, and was drowned by her own father in the waters of that river. The knight in love, upon hearing this news, vowed never to marry, and was killed in combat with the Muslims, near the Tedo River, which is why it took its name. (in: Pinho Leal. Portugal Antigo e Moderno. 1874)

Another version states that, at the same time, the castle was owned by a Moorish king named Alboacém, father of a beautiful princess named Ardônia. The young woman's beauty was such that she immediately seduced the Christian knight Tedon, great-grandson of Ramiro II of León, when one day, in disguise, he came to Lamego. The first meeting between Tedon and Ardônia took place in the castle's orange grove on a moonlit night. As secret encounters continued, the forbidden passion between the two young people grew to the point where they decided to flee to the convent of São Pedro das Águias, where Abbot Gelásio married them. The princess's father, however, aware of the escape, searched for her everywhere and found her taking refuge in that convent, where he killed her. To this day, it is said in the region that when the castle is enveloped by fog in winter, the princess's soul flies over it.