Castle of Castelo Bom

Parish of Castelo Bom

Background

Occupied during proto-history, this dominant point on the Côa River was part of the territory disputed by Portugal and the kingdom of León during the 12th and 13th centuries. During this period, Castelo Bom was indeed an advanced guard on the Leonese side, a context in which its first configuration as a medieval castle.

In 1282, Denis of Portugal conquered the town and immediately ordered the structural reinforcement of the its defensive system, for which it issued a charter. Before the end of the century, in 1297, Castelo Bom was definitively incorporated into the kingdom of Portugal and its importance strategic, on a still tense border line, determined that the works continued.

The medieval castle

At the time of the Christian À época da Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the region was initially conquered by forces of the kingdom of Leon.

The domains of Castelo Bom and its castle passed to the Portuguese Crown as the Queen's dowry Saint when she married Denis of Portugal, in 1282, the sovereign having granted her a charter in 1296. Part of the territory of Ribacôa, disputed from Leão by Denis of Portugal (1279-1325), its definitive possession for Portugal was assured by the Treaty of Alcanices (1297). The sovereign, the From then on, he sought to consolidate its borders, having the Castle of Tailors, the Almeida Castle, the Castle Bom, the Better Castle, the Mendo Castle, the Castle Rodrigo, Pinhel Castle, Sabugal Castle and Vilar Maior Castle. In this context work began on rebuilding the castle and the fence of the village of Castelo Bom, which extended into the early 14th century.

According to the iconography of Duarte de Armas in his Book of Fortresses (c. 1509), under the reign of D.Manuel (1495-1521), the castle walls had two quadrangular towers, dominated by the Keep, with a Barbican, also with two towers, to the south and to the north. The wall of the village was double, with a tower to the northwest. The sovereign renewed the town's charter (New Charter) in 1510, ordering the repair of the castle and the town fence, work started from 1512, under the responsibility of the master builder João Ortega and the bricklayer Pero Fernandes.

From the Portuguese Restoration War to the present day

In the context of the Portuguese Restoration War, the Viscount of Vila Nova de Cerveira was the mayor of the town. and Marquis of Ponte de Lima. The castle had a bastioned tower (where the chain) and was defended by two artillery pieces, constituting an important defense post for the border, having been used as a refuge by the governors of Beira. They are believed to date back from this period the Well of the King and the Well of the Stairs.

Referenced in the "Parish Memoirs of 1758", in the context of the Seven Years' War, when invasion of Portugal in 1762, was besieged and conquered. Later, at the time of the War Peninsular, invaded by Napoleonic troops, the castle was destroyed.

In the 19th century, with the extinction of the Municipality of Castelo Bom (1834), a period of decay, which culminated in the degradation of the town's remaining defenses.

In the mid-20th century, the castle was listed as a National Monument, by Decree published on January 2, 1946. At this time, the keep was still standing, when It was demolished by a private individual who wanted to build a shelter for his donkey there. Between 1987 and 1988, with the remains of the castle partially buried, a study was carried out for the restoration of the castle by the General Directorate of National Buildings and Monuments (DGEMN).

Currently, among the remains, you can see the sections of the wall, the Town Gate, a ruined tower, the coat of arms with the old coat of arms of the village, the cistern (Poço do Rei), a magazine, a guardhouse and two wells.

Architecture

At an elevation of 725 meters above sea level, the castle, made of granite masonry, has a floor plan irregularly shaped, almost rectangular, organic, externally surrounded by a Barbican as well with an irregular plan in which the Town Gate opens to the east. This door, with floor uneven, it has a broken arch on the outside and a full arch on the inside, with barrel vault roof and stone hinges. On the inside of the walls, a staircase stone accessed the battlement and the square-shaped keep, now in ruins. Still in a cloth of the walls, to the south, the coat of arms with the coat of arms of the old town stands out.

In the southern sector, there is a cistern, locally known as Poço do Rei, with a floor plan rectangular; to the south, the powder magazine, with a circular layout, also known as Rebolim or Polvorim; two wells served the defenders: the Poço da Escada, with a quadrangular plan, and the Poço d’El Rei, rectangular in plan.

One of the flag castles

One of the explanatory theories for the origin of the seven golden castles represented on the shield and the national flag places Castelo Bom as one of the squares represented. The aforementioned theory identifies the seven castles as being the seven border squares consecrated by the Portuguese in the Treaty of Alcanices (Castelo Bom, Castelo Mendo, Almeida, Alfaiates, Sabugal, Vilar Maior, Castelo Rodrigo and Castelo Melhor). This fact fills the people of Castelo with pride. Well, it attests to the secular importance of this castle in defending integrity and identity. from Portugal.