Portugal · Partial ruin
Castle of Aljezur
Castelo de Aljezur
The Castle of Aljezur is a medieval hilltop fortress in the parish and municipality of Aljezur, Portugal, sited on an 88-metre promontory above the old town and the Aljezur River. The surviving remains today include irregular polygonal curtain walls and two main towers, with archaeological evidence of occupation from the Bronze Age through the 12th–13th centuries.
Its prime
1250
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1250
What Castle of Aljezur looked like in its prime.
An irregular polygonal stone fortress crowning an 88 m hill, defined by roughly coursed local stone walls approximately 1.5 metres thick and 3–5 metres high, reinforced by two prominent towers: a massive circular tower (c.5 m diameter, c.9 m high) and a rectangular tower of similar height; western and northwestern wall outcroppings include low barbican-like projections. The site opens onto a main enclosure/parade ground with a rounded vaulted cistern set into the interior and a narrow pedestrian ramp giving access from the town.
Its story
The story of Castle of Aljezur.
The hilltop above Aljezur was occupied in the Bronze and Iron Ages, and by the beginning of the 10th century a small town had been founded there by Arabs, who reworked its defences and built dependencies within and outside the walls. The parade ground, dwelling structures and two silos inside the castle date to the 12th and 13th centuries.
The castle holds an 88-metre hilltop, the smaller of two above the old town, circuited by the winding Aljezur ravine. During the Moorish period the river below was navigable, and remained so until the 18th century, making the fortress guardian of the port as well as a defensive structure over the town.
The irregular polygonal circuit stands three to five metres high and about 1.5 metres thick, reinforced by two massive, incomplete towers: a circular north tower nearly five metres across and nine metres tall outside, and a rectangular southern one. Elements of barbicans survive on the western and north-western walls, and a single opening in the north-east gives onto the schist cliffs.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1250.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Castle of Aljezur, including 1 interior: rounded vaulted cistern (interior). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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