Castle of Abrantes

Parish of São João and São Vicente

Background

Some authors believe that its site has been occupied since prehistoric times by a fort, conquered, within the scope of the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the year 130 BC, by the consul Decimus Junius Brutus and later occupied by Visigoths and Muslims, arguing that the site was a crossroads of land routes, justifying its occupation and military garrison. Other authors, on the contrary, understand that the middle course of the Tagus River did not, strictly speaking, have any organization linked to the main peninsular powers until to the 12th century.

The medieval castle

At the time of the Christian À época da Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, in 1118 or 1148, the town was conquered from the Moors by the forces of Afonso I of Portugal (1112-1185), who ordered the reconstruction of its defences. The defense needs of the so-called Tagus Line, increased the value of the site, at a time when the Order of the Templars provided the middle course of the river with an impressive defensive line, in which it was included. In this way, he resisted the harassment of the forces of the Almohad Caliphate under the command of Abem Jacob, who had to withdraw, suffering heavy losses. As a reward for this heroic deed, he received his Charter from the sovereign (1179).

Later, Afonso III of Portugal (1248-1279) made important improvements to its defense, which began in 1250 and were completed between 1300 and 1303, during the reign of D. Dinis (1279-1325), with emphasis on the keep and the expansion of the walls. This monarch donated the town to his wife, D. Isabel de Aragão, and from then on it became part of the heritage of the queens of Portugal.

At the time of the crisis of 1383-1385 he sided with the forces of the Master of Avis, tradition having it that it was in this castle that the decision was taken to fight the Castilian troops in Aljubarrota.

Under the reign of D. Manuel (1495-1521), the town received the New Charter (1510).

In the second half of the 16th century, Abrantes Castle fell into decline, particularly during the Philippine Dynasty.

In the context of the Portuguese War of Restoration of Independence, in the last quarter of the 17th century, D. Pedro II (1667-1706) ordered its reconstruction, transforming the town and its medieval castle into a modern bastioned fortress (Praça-forte de Abrantes), in the Vauban style. To this end, the medieval walls were lowered and reinforced, with two half-bastions being added to them (1704). At the time it was considered "the key to the Province of Estremadura".

In the 18th century, the castle facilities were adapted for use as barracks, and became the quarters of a regiment of the Royal Cavalry. Later, between 1792 and 1799, these facilities were expanded and occupied by the legion commanded by the Marquis of Alorna from the 19th century to ours.

From the 19th century to the present day

At the beginning of the 19th century, during the Peninsular War, the town was twice subject to the passage of Napoleonic troops:

• on 22 November 1807, it was occupied by troops under the command of General Jean-Andoche Junot, who was awarded the title of Duke of Abrantes (March 1808);


• in October 1810 it was reoccupied, following the defeat of the troops under the command of Marshal André Masséna at the Lines of Torres.

Later, the castle facilities were deactivated as barracks, giving way to a military prison, leading to tampering with the structures.

In the mid-20th century, the complex was classified as a Property of Public Interest by Decree of July 1957. At the end of the 1960s, consolidation and restoration work was begun. on the castle walls, which lasted until the beginning of the 1970s, with emphasis on the partial reconstruction of the old keep. Recently, starting in 2002, a global project was formulated to intervene and enhance the complex.

Features

Features

The Keep, with a quadrangular plan, unusually located in the center of the parade ground, originally consisted of three floors, with the two upper floors having collapsed in the 1531 earthquake. Its features were altered by works carried out in the 19th century.

The first section of walls is reinforced by cylindrical towers and pierced by rectangular openings. The eighteenth-century bastions are distributed around the town, halfway up the hill.

In the old parade ground, on the west side, stand the ruins of the old Palace of the Counts of Abrantes, begun around 1530 by the Mayor of the Town, Diogo Fernandes de Almeida, demolishing that section of walls to build it. This building was substantially modified in the 18th century on the initiative of the 1st Marquis of Abrantes, D. Rodrigo Anes de Meneses. The Palace of the Marquises of Abrantes, marked by the grandeur of its architectural elements in the Baroque style, among which the loggia stands out, an arcade with eleven rounded bays, symmetrically flanked by two cylindrical Turrets.

Also within the walled enclosure stands the Gothic-style Church of Santa Maria do Castelo, converted into a historical museum, where one can see collections of Roman sculpture, tomb sculpture from the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as panels of Seville tiles and other works of art.