Portugal · Restored
Castle of Pombal
Castelo de Pombal
The Castle of Pombal is a medieval hilltop castle in Pombal, Portugal, whose core fabric dates to the 12th century. It is a shield-shaped fortification of limestone ashlar with a rectangular keep, curtain walls, corner turrets and a barbican; the keep now houses a museum and the site has been restored. The castle overlooks the town and the River Arunca and includes ruins of an adjacent chapel and lower defensive walls.
First raised
1128
Its prime
1171
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1171
What Castle of Pombal looked like in its prime.
A shield-shaped limestone fortress sitting on a hilltop, surrounded by continuous curtain walls topped by crenellated chemin de ronde and prismatic merlons, reinforced at corners by rectangular turrets; the stone is pale, roughly squared ashlar. Two arched gates pierce the main wall (a smaller southeast gate between towers and a larger northwest gate surmounted by a royal coat-of-arms with an armillary sphere and cross). A rectangular two-storey keep rises from a sloping base near the southeast gate; vestiges of a barbican and lower terraces with three rectangular towers and a chapel lie below.
Its story
The story of Castle of Pombal.
The Castle of Pombal crowns a hilltop above the town and the River Arunca in central Portugal, a shield-shaped fortification of limestone ashlar with curtain walls, rectangular turrets and a barbican. In 1171 the keep was constructed in the castle courtyard; in that era of the passive Reconquista it served as the last defensive bastion, the lord lieutenant's personal stronghold. A limestone inscription to the Templars survives on a slab along one of the ruined buildings.
Rebuilding of the Church of Santa Maria do Castelo began in 1560 under the alcalde Pedro de Sousa Ribeiro, an antecedent of the Count of Castelo-Melhor; his family held the governorship from the reign of Afonso V until 1834, and the Sousa Ribeiro coat-of-arms is carved beside a double window on the south-west wall. The larger north-west gate is surmounted by a royal coat-of-arms between armillary sphere and Christian cross.
An inscription at the tunnel entrance records that 'the history of this castle was recorded with gratitude by the Portuguese of 1940'. The rectangular two-storey keep has been transformed into an exhibition hall, while the restored courtyard preserves the visible foundations of other buildings and the holes of the cistern.
Step inside
10 places to explore in 1171.
The record describes 10 distinct spots at Castle of Pombal, including 4 interiors: castle courtyard (praça de armas) with cistern remains (interior), keep interior (dungeon and upper floors) (interior), lower terrace ruins and church of santa maria do castelo (exterior/interior) and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Build Your Own Castle
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Clans who held Castle of Pombal.
The families that held Castle of Pombal for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Sousa Ribeiro
The Sousa Ribeiro, hereditary alcaldes of the castle, held its governorship from the reign of Afonso V until 1834.
