Castle of Bragança

Parish of Santa Maria (ext.)

Background

It is accepted that the primitive human occupation of the site took place in a place neighboring the current city, where built a hill fort in the Neolithic period. After the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula this defense would have been remodeled, dominating the Roman road that would have cut through the region. When you give barbarian invasions was called Brigância and, later, occupied by the Muslims, being destroyed during the struggles of the Christian À época da Reconquest of the peninsula.

There is little information about the original defensive fence built here, as the great work Bragança's military was already on its way towards the end of the Middle Ages. According to studies by Paulo Dórdio Gomes, the interior of the citadel also reveals part of its road organization sanchina, "according to two main axes that converge towards the Town Gate", with, between they, "trapezoidal blocks containing series of lots with buildings and yards"

The medieval castle

In the mid-10th century, at the time of the repopulation of the Guimarães region by Count Hermenegildo Gonçalves and his wife Mumadona Dias, the Bragança domains were lord over a brother of Ermenegildo, the count Paio Gonçalves. Subsequently, the landlord came into possession of a branch of the Mendes family, being, as mentioned in a document dated July 7, 1128, in the domain of Fernão Mendes de Bragança II, brother-in-law of Afonso I of Portugal (1112-1185). It is considered that, during this period, for defense reasons, the village had been transferred to the current site, on the Benquerença hill, on the banks of the Fervença river, reusing the materials for the construction of new residences and a castle for the defense of the people.

The most reliable information, however, states that, due to the importance of its position strategic on the border with Galicia, in 1187 it received a Charter from Sancho I of Portugal (1185-1211). This sovereign provided the town with its first walled enclosure at the time (March 1188). The conflicts between this sovereign and King D.Afonso IX of Leon led to this region was invaded by Leonese forces (1199) until the reaction of the Portuguese sovereign.

Under the reign of Denis of Portugal (1279-1325), it was decided to build a second walled perimeter (1293), which indicates the prosperity of the town. His successor, Afonso IV of Portugal (1325-1357), ascending the throne, he confiscated the assets of his illegitimate brother, D.Afonso Sanches, who was then residing in the village of Albuquerque. Defending his interests, D.Afonso Sanches declared war on sovereign and invaded Portugal through the border of Bragança, killing people, looting goods and destroying property. Peace would be agreed upon, with difficulty, by Denis of Portugal' widow, the Queen Saint Elizabeth.

Later, during the reign of Fernando I of Portugal (1367-1383), it underwent improvement works. In this phase, this sovereign having been involved in the Castile succession dispute, Bragança was besieged and conquered by Castilian troops, returning to Portuguese possession only upon signature from the Treaty of Alcoutim (1371). In the crisis of 1383-1385, opened by the succession of this sovereign, the The loyalty of the mayor of Bragança, João Afonso Pimentel, wavered between Portugal and Castile: supporter of the heiress D.Beatriz and her husband John I of Castile, only by diligence of the Constable D.À época da Nuno Álvares Pereira , in 1386, came to recognize the sovereignty of John I of Portugal (1385-1433). However, in 1398, the new sovereign having left the murderer of his daughter D.unpunished. Brites, the mayor of Évora, Martim Afonso de Melo, as retaliation returned to the party of Castile, where he emigrated, leaving him a tribute to his town and castle, which he would only return to Portuguese possession, now by the Treaty of Segovia (1400). D.João proceeded to him, from 1409, to the modernization and reinforcement of defenses, works included in the greater task that was imposed, of reinforcement from that border.

The marriage of D.Afonso (1st Count of Braganza), bastard son of John I of Portugal, with D.Beatriz, daughter of D.À época da Nuno Álvares Pereira , he inaugurated the House of Bragança. Date of this period of construction of the imposing keep, with the works being completed around 1439, during the reign of his successor, D.Duarte (1433-1438). Afonso V of Portugal (1438-1481) elevated the town from Bragança to the status of city (1466).

Under the reign of Manuel I of Portugal (1495-1521), the town and its castle are represented by Duarte de Armas (Book of Fortresses, c. 1509).

From the succession crisis of 1580 to ours days

During the succession crisis of 1580, Bragança sided with D.António, Prior of Crato. Node 17th century, at the end of the Philippine Dynasty period, during the Portuguese Restoration War of Portuguese independence, the fence of the old castle lost several battlements, due to the installation of artillery pieces in the battlements space. In 1762, the Spanish troops that invaded Trás-os-Montes under the command of the Duke of Sarria, attacked the castle walls and the houses that then they stuck to the walls, causing extensive damage. They were repelled by Portuguese forces under the command of the Count of Lippe.

On the eve of the Peninsular War, the eastern section of the walls was used for the construction of the barracks of an infantry battalion. During this period he repelled the Napoleonic troops, phase in which the region experienced new waves of looting and pillaging.

In the 20th century, the castle was listed as a National Monument by Decree published on 23rd June 1910. From the 1930s onwards the General Directorate of National Buildings and Monuments (DGEMN) began extensive consolidation and restoration work, which included the inclusion of battlements along the entire length of the walls, the demolition of the nineteenth-century barracks and several buildings attached to the walls, as well as the replacement of missing sections of walls and the recent reconstruction of the Gate of Treason.

Since 1936, a military history museum has been installed in the keep's premises. (initially only on one of the sidewalks), one of the busiest in the country.

Architecture

The castle, with an oval plan, built at an elevation of 700 meters above sea level, is made up of by a crenellated fence with a perimeter of 660 meters, reinforced by fifteen cubes. The cloths of walls, with an average thickness of two meters, surround the historic center of the city, occupying an area of ​​about three hectares, and delimits four spaces, oriented by two axes roads, the main one being the old Cidadela street. Inside, visitors can enjoy the buildings of the Domus Municipalis (a unique example of Romanesque civil architecture in the country and which believed to have originally served as a cistern), of the Church of Santa Maria (or of Our Lady of Sardão) and the medieval pillory. In this fence, three doors are torn (two under the invocation of Saint Anthony and the Sun Gate, to the East) and two gates (the Gate of Treason and the King's Well Gate).

The main gate of Santo Antônio, in a perfect arch, between two Turrets, is defended by a Barbican, in which the Porta da Vila is located, in an ogival arch. Inside, in the square of weapons, it is possible to observe the adaptations of the accesses and the platforms intended for artillery.

In the North sector, where the facilities of the 3rd Hunters Battalion were built, the Keep, with a square plan, 17 meters wide, rising 34 meters high height, attached to the fence. In shale masonry, an abundant rock in the region, in the corners and in the openings granite was used. Its interior, where the dungeon and the cistern are located, It is divided into two floors, with rooms covered by groin vaults, reinforced by arches toral. Originally a drawbridge accessed the door at a higher level, today replaced by an external masonry staircase attached to the north face of its armor. On the South face, the half At the height of the tower, there is a coat of arms with the coat of arms of the House of Avis. The top is crowned by battlements with crossed arrow slits, balconies with machicolations, with four cylindrical Bartizan in the vertices, dominating, on the East and South faces, two mullioned Gothic windows. A fence, reinforced by seven Turrets (three to the East, three to the West and one to the South) with a circular plan, defend the exterior of the tower, delimiting an approximately rectangular space.

Also on the North side of the external fence, next to one of the blocks, the so-called Tower of Princess, former Mayor's Palace. Building of residential features (tower-alcaçova), Its existence is surrounded by stories, one of the most popular being the Legend of the Moorish Princess. In historical times, it is said that it was inhabited by D.Sancha, sister of Afonso I of Portugal, title of refuge in the face of marital infidelities committed by her husband Fernão Mendes. There, D.Leonor, wife of the fourth Duke of Bragança, D.Jaime, was also imprisoned. (wrongly) accused of adultery by her own husband. The duke ended up murdering his wife, in the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa, with stab wounds, on November 2, 1512.

In the southern sector, a quadrangular protrusion is closed by the so-called Poço del'Rei, a structure sixteenth century with the function of defending a cistern.

Castle Legends

The Legend of the Princess Tower

Local tradition states that a long time ago, when the village was still the village of Benquerença, There was a beautiful orphan princess, who lived there with her uncle, the lord of the castle. This The princess fell in love with a noble, courageous and young knight, but lacking in resources. So the young man left the village on a long journey in search of fortune, promising return only when he felt worthy of asking for her hand. In the meantime, for years the thread, the young girl refused all her suitors, until her impatient uncle promised her to a friend, forcing her into commitment.

When introduced to her uncle's candidate, the young woman confessed that her heart belonged to another man, whose return he had been waiting for years. The revelation infuriated the uncle, who decided to increase the coercion by means of a stratagem: that night, he disguised himself as a ghost and, penetrating through one of the two doors to the princess's chambers, pretending to be the ghost of the absent young man, He told her in a mournful voice that she was condemned to eternal damnation if she did not accept it. marry the new suitor. About to get an oath for Christ from the princess, miraculously the other door opened and, despite it being night, a ray of sunlight penetrated the rooms, unmasking the imposter uncle. From then on, the princess lived in seclusion in tower that today bears his name, and the two doors became known as the Gate of Treason and Puerta del Sol, respectively.